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Category: Cloud

Streaming Data to Azure Event Hub via Mockaroo and Kafka API

Published 2025-01-21 by Kevin Feasel

Jasleen Kaur Wahi generates some data:

In a recent project, I faced the need to generate randomized data for transmission to the Azure Event Hub. This hub is a key component of Microsoft Azure, used for real-time data ingestion and processing.

First, let’s take look at how I created this random data. I wanted to come up with a way to make data that looks like what we see in the real world, but without using any real information from users. This made-up data was really important for a bunch of things, like checking if our software works well.

Read on to see how Mockaroo works and the end result. Creating tests for streaming services like Event Hubs is a challenge, so this is an interesting approach to the task.

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Point-in-Time Restoration for Azure SQL Managed Instances

Published 2025-01-17 by Kevin Feasel

Andy Brownsword points and clicks:

One of the benefits which comes with a Managed Instance is having backups taken care of for you. That also includes restores. Particularly useful is a one-click (ish) restore for a specific point in time.

Restoring a database is as easy as creating a new database, as its part of the same workflow.

Read on to see how it works, as well as one limitation around existing databases.

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What’s Ahead for SQL Server in 2025

Published 2025-01-17 by Kevin Feasel

Bob Ward lays out the plan:

As we begin a new year in 2025, many of you are looking at new projects, new applications, trying to determine how to integrate AI into your business, modernizing your data estate, or considering an upgrade or a cloud migration. As you consider your options, let’s look at the state of the union in 2025 of Microsoft new releases and capabilities for SQL Server, Azure SQL, SQL database in Fabric, Copilots, tools, and developer experiences.

There’s a lot on the list, so check it out.

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Creating a Microsoft Fabric Warehouse with Service Principal

Published 2025-01-16 by Kevin Feasel

Gilbert Quevauvilliers sets up a new warehouse:

In this blog post I am going to show you how to create a Microsoft Fabric Warehouse, where the owner will be the Service Principal.

As mentioned in the blog post here are some of the advantages of having the Service Principal as the Warehouse Owner.

  • Using a Service Principal to create the warehouse avoids issue where the person who created the warehouse leaves the organization and issues arise when the users account is deleted from Entra ID.
  • You avoid the painful logging in with the user account to ensure the password remains updated.
  • The organization now owns the warehouse and not an individual user.

I will show you how I created a Warehouse with the owner being a Service Principal this using a Microsoft Fabric Notebook

Click through for the notebook and additional commentary.

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Data Masking in Azure Databricks

Published 2025-01-14 by Kevin Feasel

Rayis Imayev hides some information:

One way to protect sensitive information from end users in a database is through dynamic masking. In this process, the actual data is not altered; however, when the data is exposed or queried, the results are returned with modified values, or the actual values are replaced with special characters or notes indicating that the requested data is hidden for protection purposes.

In this blog, we will discuss a different approach to protecting data, where personally identifiable information (PII – a term you will frequently encounter when reading about data protection and data governance) is actually changed or updated in the database / persistent storage. This ensures that even if someone gains access to the data, nothing will be compromised. This is usually needed for refreshing the production database or dataset containing PII data elements to a lower environment. Your QA team will appreciate having a realistic data volume that resembles production environment but with masked data.

Rayis goes into depth on the process. I could also recommend checking out the article on row filters and column masks for more information.

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Connecting a Web App to Azure SQL DB via Entra Managed Identity

Published 2025-01-14 by Kevin Feasel

Joey D’Antoni doesn’t have time to create a password:

Managed identities in Microsoft Entra have simplified authentication in Azure, particularly If all of your resources are in Azure. In this basic example, I’m going to walk you through connecting a Web App (aka App Service) running an API server to an Azure SQL Database. The best part? There are no passwords involved–let’s get started.

Read on for the process. It’s interesting to see how far identity-based security has developed in Azure over the years.

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Azure VM Constrained CPU and SQL Server Licensing

Published 2025-01-10 by Kevin Feasel

Rod Edwards works to save some money:

Our SQL servers have specific loads, patterns and resource requirements. We’ve monitored them, we know what they are inside and out. You know that x number of CPUs, and y GB or RAM means that your DBs happily sweat the hardware, but are sized to perfection to make sure it has just enough resource to complete what it needs to do. The negotiations with your Infra team in command of the VM resources were tough, but you’re not greedy… you appreciate that other VMs may require resource as well…

Now you have to migrate to Azure, and SQL on Azure VM is your only option. Great, loads of different types/flavours of VMs out there, one of them must be in the the goldilocks perfect porridge zone right? Right?

Licensing around this gets a little weird. Basically, Rod is absolutely right that an E64-16, for example, would require 16 cores of SQL Server, and that can save a good bit of scratch. For the OS, however, you’re paying for 64 cores, so keep that in mind while you’re rolling in a bed of the cash you’ve saved on SQL Server licensing.

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