Administering Relational Databases on Microsoft Azure

Prepare to maintain SQL databases on Azure

Prepare to maintain SQL databases on Azure

• Describe Microsoft Intelligent Data Platform roles
• Understand SQL Server in an Azure virtual machine
• Design Azure SQL Database for cloud-native applications
• Explore Azure SQL Database Managed Instance

Deploy IaaS solutions with Azure SQL

Deploy IaaS solutions with Azure SQL

• Explain IaaS options to deploy SQL Server in Azure
• Understand hybrid scenarios
• Explore performance and security
• Explain high availability and disaster recovery options
• Exercise: Provision a SQL Server on an Azure Virtual Machine

Deploy PaaS solutions with Azure SQL

Deploy PaaS solutions with Azure SQL

• Explain PaaS options for deploying SQL Server in Azure
• Explore single SQL database
• Deploy SQL database elastic pool
• Understand SQL database hyperscale
• Examine SQL managed instance
• Describe SQL Edge
• Exercise: Deploy an Azure SQL Database

Evaluate strategies for migrating to Azure SQL

Evaluate strategies for migrating to Azure SQL

• Understand compatibility level
• Understand Azure preview features
• Describe Azure database migration options

Migrate SQL workloads to Azure SQL databases

Migrate SQL workloads to Azure SQL databases

• Choose the right SQL Server Instance option in Azure
• Migrate SQL Server to Azure SQL Database offline
• Migrate SQL Server to Azure SQL Database online
• Load and move data to Azure SQL Database

Migrate SQL workloads to Azure Managed Instances

Migrate SQL workloads to Azure Managed Instances

• Evaluate migration scenarios to SQL Database Managed Instance
• Migrate to SQL Database Managed Instance
• Load and Move data to SQL Database Managed Instance

Configure database authentication and authorization

Configure database authentication and authorization

• Describe Active Directory and Azure Active Directory
• Describe authentication and identities
• Describe Security Principals
• Describe database and object permissions
• Identify authentication and authorization failures
• Exercise: Authorize Access to Azure SQL Database with Azure Active Directory

Protect data in-transit and at rest

Protect data in-transit and at rest

• Explore Transparent Data Encryption
• Configure server and database firewall rules
• Explain object encryption and secure enclaves
• Enable encrypted connections
• Describe SQL injection
• Understand Azure Key Vault
• Exercise: Configure a server-based firewall rule using the Azure portal

Implement compliance controls for sensitive data

Implement compliance controls for sensitive data

• Explore data classification
• Explore server and database audit
• Implement Dynamic Data Masking
• Implement Row Level security
• Understand Microsoft Defender for SQL
• Explore Azure SQL Database Ledger
• Implement Azure Purview
• Exercise: Enable Microsoft Defender for SQL and Data Classification

Describe performance monitoring

Describe performance monitoring

• Describe performance monitoring tools
• Describe critical performance metrics
• Establish baseline metrics
• Explore extended events
• Describe Azure SQL Insights
• Explore Query Performance Insight
• Exercise: Isolate problems with monitoring

Configure SQL Server resources for optimal performance

Configure SQL Server resources for optimal performance

• Explain how to optimize Azure storage for SQL Server virtual machines
• Describe virtual machine resizing
• Optimize database storage
• Control SQL Server resources

Configure databases for optimal performance

Configure databases for optimal performance

• Explore database maintenance checks
• Describe database scoped configuration options
• Describe automatic tuning
• Describe intelligent query processing
• Exercise: Detect and correct fragmentation issues

Explore query performance optimization

Explore query performance optimization

• Understand query plans
• Explain estimated and actual query plans
• Describe dynamic management views and functions
• Explore Query Store
• Identify problematic query plans
• Describe blocking and locking
• Exercise: Identify and resolve blocking issues

Evaluate performance improvements

Evaluate performance improvements

• Describe wait statistics
• Tune and maintain indexes
• Understand query hints
• Exercise: Isolate problem areas in poorly performing queries

Explore performance-based design

Explore performance-based design

• Describe normalization
• Choose appropriate data types
• Design indexes
• Exercise: Identify database design issues

Automate deployment of database resources

Automate deployment of database resources

• Describe deployment models in Azure
• Automate deployment by using Azure Resource Manager templates and Bicep
• Automate deployment by using PowerShell
• Automate deployment by using Azure CLI
• Exercise: Deploy an Azure SQL Database using an Azure Resource Manager template

Create and manage SQL Agent jobs

Create and manage SQL Agent jobs

• Create a SQL Server maintenance plan
• Describe task status notifications
• Exercise: Create a CPU status alert for a SQL Server

Manage Azure PaaS tasks using automation

Manage Azure PaaS tasks using automation

• Explore Elastic jobs
• Understand Azure Automation
• Build an automation runbook
• Automate database workflows by using Logic Apps
• Monitor automated tasks
• Exercise: Deploy an automation runbook to automatically rebuild indexes

Describe high availability and disaster recovery strategies

Describe high availability and disaster recovery strategies

• Describe recovery time objective and recovery point objective
• Explore high availability and disaster recovery options
• Describe Azure high availability and disaster recovery features for Azure Virtual Machines
• Describe high availability and disaster recovery options for PaaS deployments
• Explore an IaaS high availability and disaster recovery solution
• Describe hybrid solutions

Explore IaaS and PaaS solutions for high availability and disaster recovery

Explore IaaS and PaaS solutions for high availability and disaster recovery

• Describe failover clusters in Windows Server
• Configure Always-on availability groups
• Describe temporal tables in Azure SQL Database
• Describe active geo-replication for Azure SQL Database
• Explore auto-failover groups for Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Managed Instance
• Exercise: Configure geo replication for Azure SQL Database

Back up and restore databases

Back up and restore databases

• Back up and restore SQL Server running on Azure virtual machines
• Back up a SQL Server virtual machine
• Back up and restore a database using Azure SQL Database
• Exercise: Backup to URL