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Category: Cloud

Saving Unity Catalog Tables in Microsoft OneLake

Published 2026-07-01 by Kevin Feasel

Gerhard Brueckl pushes boundaries:

Microsoft and Databricks recently announced the next step of their collaboration and integration. It is now possible to store Databricks Unity Catalog tables directly in Microsoft OneLake. Here are the official announcement from Microsoft: https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Fabric-Updates-Blog/Extending-interoperability-Azure-Databricks-can-now-store-Unity/ba-p/5199741

Both parties have been working together to make this possible: Microsoft introduced the new item type Azure Databricks Storage and Databricks added support for OneLake for Unity Catalog External Locations (which can then be used to store the actual data). The UC External Location would then simply point to the storage endpoint provided by the Azure Databricks Storage item in Microsoft Fabric.

Click through to see what Gerhard found, as well as the results of some experimentation.

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Using Entra ID Authentication in Azure Database for PostgreSQL

Published 2026-06-19 by Kevin Feasel

Taiob Ali wants to use Entra for authentication:

During the livestream of my session at the POSETTE: An Event for Postgres 2026 conference, I received the following question on the hallway track via Discord:

I have one question : I added an Entra group as PostgreSQL Entra administrator, created/mapped the PostgreSQL role for that group, and granted permissions to that group. I am a member of the Entra group, but I still cannot log in with my own Entra user. Does Azure PostgreSQL allow group members to authenticate through the group role, or must each user also be individually created/mapped as a PostgreSQL role?

Read on for Taiob’s full answer.

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Automating Azure SQL DB Tasks without SQL Agent

Published 2026-06-17 by Kevin Feasel

Garry Bargsley solves a problem:

Many routine administrative tasks that have traditionally been handled by SQL Agent still need to be performed:

  • Scheduled stored procedures
  • ETL processes
  • Report generation
  • Data cleanup
  • Monitoring and alerting
  • Business process automation

However, Azure SQL Database does not include SQL Agent.

Garry provides several solutions, and I would add to it third-party job scheduling solutions. Granted, that’s usually an extra expense (whether due to fees or supporting a roll-your-own solution), but it’s on the table. And some of them are better than what SQL Agent has to offer, even if I do like the fact that there’s an okay option built-in for DBAs.

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Re-Migration and Data Engineering

Published 2026-06-11 by Kevin Feasel

Andy Leonard shares some thoughts:

Right-sizing didn’t always work out the way some clients were led to believe it would.

In nearly every instance, the right-sizing argument was presented (sold) as the solution to over-provisioning, or purchasing hardware to serve peak loads. The classic example was a US income tax service that needed more and faster compute available to meet increasing demand starting in late January and peaking in mid-April each calendar year. After mid-April, hardware that was beefy enough to handle that peak load sat mostly idle for the next 9 months.

I don’t think I’ve ever worked for a company where this scenario really made sense. Even in the e-commerce company where a sizable fraction of our total annual revenues happened over a 5-day period, the load was still significant enough the rest of the year that we made good use of our on-premises SQL Server hardware.

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Automatic Index Compaction in Azure SQL

Published 2026-05-29 by Kevin Feasel

Chad Callihan takes a look at a preview feature:

There isn’t one set way to manage indexes. Maybe you use Ola Hallengren scripts. Maybe it’s something you put together yourself. Either way, there might be a big shift coming for SQL Server database administrators and how index management is handled.

Last month, Microsoft announced Automatic Index Compaction, which is in preview for Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance, and SQL Database in Fabric. Instead of utilizing something like Ola Hallengren scripts or your own homegrown setup to monitor and rebuild indexes, the database engine will continuously run in the background and handle indexes for you, hence the “automatic” in the name.

Read on to see how it works, as well as a note around page density and index fragmentation. But Jeff Moden makes a good point in the comments, so check that out.

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An FAQ-Based Introduction to Data Factories in Azure

Published 2026-05-26 by Kevin Feasel

Koen Verbeeck answers some questions:

Is Microsoft Fabric replacing Azure Data Factory?

Officially, no. Or maybe not yet. At the time of writing, ADF still remains a separate product but it’s noticeable that more new features are added to Fabric than to ADF. There are still many customers using ADF, so Microsoft might keep the service around for a while. There’s also still a bit of a feature gap between the two services, but this becomes more narrower each month. Microsoft is offering migration scenarios from ADF to Fabric.

I picked this question because of how much the concept annoys me. There are three separate Data Factory code bases in Azure with overlapping but not matching functionality (which is how you can tell it’s multiple code bases and not just one code base reskinned). This can lead to a scenario where Person A says, “Oh, do this thing in Data Factory.” Person B then says, “But I can’t do that in Data Factory.” Person A’s response: “Oh, that’s weird, because I can do it in Data Factory.” This leads to necessary but somewhat absurd clarifications around how you need to use Microsoft Fabric Data Factory, not Azure Data Factory because, even though Microsoft Fabric Data Factory is hosted in Azure, it’s a different product.

And don’t get me started on the wide variety of KQL platforms, all of which are subtly different.

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Visualizing Redshift Explain Plans

Published 2026-05-07 by Kevin Feasel

Eduardo Pivaral has created a tool:

PlanTrace takes your raw EXPLAIN output, parses it into a structured tree, and gives you three ways to reason about it — all in your browser, with no data ever leaving your machine.

Click through for a link. It looks a bit like Paste the Plan, in that it’s an online tool that accepts an explain (or execution) plan and generates a visual output for it.

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Managed Identities in SQL Server 2025

Published 2026-05-06 by Kevin Feasel

Greg Low offers another security option for service management:

Those who have worked with SQL Server will understand the need to avoid storing passwords for accessing resources. Windows-based identities are fine for on-premises SQL Server systems, including those on cloud-based virtual machines (VMs), but are of no use when you need to access cloud-based resources like those in Azure.

Some Azure-based resources (including storage accounts) offer other access methods, such as shared access signatures (SAS), but these aren’t much of a step-up from passwords.

What’s really needed is for SQL Server to have its own Microsoft Entra based identity. These can be used directly with Azure-based resources – and that’s exactly where managed identities come in.

Click through to see how it works. Importantly, this is a feature that requires additional payment.

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Microsoft Fabric Eventstream Network Security Features

Published 2026-04-22 by Kevin Feasel

Alex Lin looks at network security features:

Eventstream in Fabric Real-Time Intelligence stream data from both inside and outside the Fabric platform. When your external sources sit behind firewalls or in private networks, choosing the right network security feature is essential. This post breaks down the available options in Eventstream and helps you determine which one fits your scenario.

Click through for more information.

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