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Category: Deployment

GitHub Actions for CI/CD against SQL Server 2022

Published 2023-03-07 by Kevin Feasel

Kevin Chant has a new template for us:

In this post I want to cover performing CI/CD for SQL Server 2022 using GitHub Actions. For a couple of reasons.

First one is due to the fact that last week I was answering a query on the well known SQLHelp hashtag about deploying updates to SQL Server using GitHub Actions. That is when it dawned on me that I had never shared a repository to solely perform CI/CD for SQL Server using GitHub Actions.

Second reason is due to the fact that I wanted to show how to create an SDK-style database project for SQL Server 2022. By Using the ‘Microsoft.Build.Sql‘ .NET SDK for database projects.

Click through for the GitHub repo and plenty of links and information.

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SqlPackage Support for the Serverless SQL Pool

Published 2023-03-06 by Kevin Feasel

Rui Cunha announces an update to SqlPackage.exe:

SqlPackage release 161.8089.0, dated February 13, 2023, brings a new feature: support for Synapse serverless SQL pools. According to the release notes, you can use SqlPackage to extract and publish both external and internal objects from serverless SQL pools. This includes the T-SQL surface area of serverless SQL pools is limited by design to external tables, external views, stored procedures, functions, statistics, and credentials. 

The following features are included in support for serverless SQL pools:

  • delta external file format
  • openrowset provider CosmosDB with PROVIDER, CONNECTION, OBJECT, and CREDENTIAL or SERVER_CREDENTIAL specified
  • openrowset format SStream
  • with () clause on openrowset

Rui also includes a quick demonstration of this new functionality.

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Disabling Classic Pipelines in Azure DevOps

Published 2023-03-02 by Kevin Feasel

Kevin Chant shares some thoughts:

In this post I want to share my thoughts about disabling classic pipelines in Azure DevOps. Which I know there are mixed feelings about.

In addition, I want to raise awareness that this is now possible. Due to the fact that towards the end of January Microsoft announced that you can now disable creation of classic pipelines in Azure DevOps.

In other words, you can now disable the use of the GUI-based Classic Editor and the Releases features in Azure Pipelines.

I agree with Kevin here: it’s generally time to bite the bullet on infrastructure as code if you haven’t already. We talk about it in the data platform context a lot (database schemas in source control, repeatable deployment processes, maintaining config files and applying them) and it matters just as much elsewhere.

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Rolling Your Own Serverless SQL Pool Database Project

Published 2023-02-28 by Kevin Feasel

Kevin Chant doesn’t let the lack of support for a product limit him:

In this post I want to share how I created a homemade serverless SQL Pool database project.

Because I know people are keen to work this way right now. Mostly due to the comments I received when I covered how to deploy a dacpac to a serverless SQL pool.

By the end of this post you will know how I created a database project for it. Plus, how you can deploy the contents of the database project with Azure DevOps. I also share plenty of links along the way.

Though Kevin did run into some challenges trying to hack in a solution, so it’s not quite as useful as you’d first hope.

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Lessons Learned from Creating Database Projects

Published 2023-02-21 by Kevin Feasel

Olivier Van Steenlandt shares some hard-earned knowledge:

Almost 5 years ago I made the switch from “traditional” database development using SQL Server Management Studio to a more flexible way of development by using Database Projects and Source Control. In the first few years, I worked with BitBucket as my code management system and for 2 years I’m using Azure DevOps. In my spare time, I’m using GitHub as well.

During this transition, I came across a couple of bumps, because I wasn’t familiar with Database Projects and I only had a notion about Source Control (Git). In this blog post, I will describe my journey and the lessons learned during the process.

Click through for several tips.

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Deploying a dacpac to the Serverless SQL Pool

Published 2023-02-16 by Kevin Feasel

Kevin Chant drops some dacpacs off at the (serverless) pool:

In this post I want to cover deploying a dacpac to a serverless SQL pool using Azure DevOps. Yes, you are reading that right. It is now possible thanks to a sqlpackage update.

To clarify, a dacpac file is a special file that you can use to deploy updates to SQL Server related databases using a state-based deployment. Plus, when I say serverless SQL pool I mean an Azure Synapse Analytics serverless SQL Pool.

Kevin includes examples for Azure DevOps as well as GitHub Actions.

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Power BI Publish to Web

Published 2023-01-26 by Kevin Feasel

Reza Rad takes us through the Publish to Web option in Power BI:

Publish to the web is an easy way of sharing public data. However, it has some disadvantages as well. In this article and video, you will learn about this feature in more detail, and you will learn this feature is, and how it is different from Power BI Embedded. It will be a very long article if you want to learn about both Power BI Embedded and Publish to the web and compare them here. So in this article, I’ll explain Publish to Web, and in another article, you’ll learn about Power BI embedded and their differences. In this article, you will learn how easy it is to share your report with the public through a web page which can be your blog post, an HTML page, or any other web page. Some frequently asked questions about this feature are answered through the content of this article. If you like to learn more about Power BI, read Power BI online book, from Rookie to Rock Star.

Read on for the video as well as a full-length article.

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SQLCMD Variables in Database Projects

Published 2023-01-24 by Kevin Feasel

Olivier Van Steenlandt can’t live in this static world:

When I started to explore and use Database Projects, I ran into a specific situation quite fast where I was required to use SQLCMD variables. In this blog post, I will describe what they are, how you can use SQLCMD variables in Database Projects and where this might become very useful for you.

Click through for a scenario, a primer on using SQLCMD variables, and some basic details on how to use them in database projects.

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