SQL Azure Capacity Grows to 50 GB, Data Sync Service Offered

Several items were announced at TechEd North America this week. For a summary, see Roadmaps Announced at TechEd for Client, Server, Cloud.

Several more announcement were made around SQL Azure.

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Microsoft announced it will offer spatial data support and access to 50GB of SQL Azure Database capacity allowing for higher scalability, flexibility and easier management of applications and services. Further enhancements to management capabilities include the public preview of SQL Azure Data Sync Service, which provides more flexible control over where and how data is distributed and synced across multiple datacenters, and Microsoft SQL Server Web Manager, a lightweight and easy to use tool to help develop, deploy, and manage data-driven applications on the cloud.

Here’s some more details.

SQL Azure Capacity Grows to 50 GB

SQL Azure database is now extending from 10GB to 50GB size of database storage capacity. With 50GB capacity, SQL Azure service offers customer much higher scalability for their applications and data to extend your existing applications to the cloud or explore the cloud only new application scenarios. With 50 GB capacity now available, customers can have much broader use of the SQL Azure highly available, relational database service for many of your line-of-business (LOB) applications.

SQL Azure lets you take full advantage of the SQL Azure elasticity, ease of provisioning and managing and familiar development environment and tools.

The new 50GB database size will be available to our customers worldwide starting June 28. Please refer to offer comparison table for more details on pricing. You’ll have the flexibility to buy SQL Azure in 10GB database limits.

SQL Azure subscription offer

Microsoft is offering more flexible ways for customers to try larger SQL Azure databases. Starting August 1, we will have a new discounted SQL Azure promotional offer (SQL Azure Development Accelerator Core) for you to subscribe to larger SQL Azure databases at a significant discount. This offer includes exclusively SQL Azure Business Edition database and will enable you to use the larger database size with discounting. More information is available at Windows Azure Offers.

Public Preview of the Data Sync Service

SQL Azure Data Sync Service offers customers flexibility and control over their data, allowing you to make discrete and granular decisions on how their data. Data Sync Service lets you choose which components should be distributed across multiple datacenters in different geographic locations. Based on the customers’ internal policies and business needs, you can at SQL Azure Labs within a week or two you will receive an invitation to subscribe to the service.

CTP of the SQL Server Web Manager for SQL Azure Due This Summer

A Community Technology Preview (CTP) of the Microsoft SQL Server Web Manager (SSWM) , a lightweight and easy to use database management tool for SQL Azure databases, will be offered this summer. SSWM is designed specifically for Web developers and other technology professionals seeking a straightforward solution to quickly develop, deploy, and manage your data-driven applications in the cloud. SSWM is geared toward basic database management tasks such as authoring and executing queries, designing and editing database schema, and editing table data.

Access 2010 Support for SQL Azure

Microsoft Office 2010 will natively support data connectivity to SQL Azure opening up opportunities for Office users and technology providers to create rich experiences using cloud computing.

For Information Workers, this gives an easy way to connect directly from Office applications to cloud-based relational databases, enabling ease of use and providing flexibility to IT. Microsoft partners will have more choices to integrate rich Office Business Applications that can connect directly to both on-premise or cloud databases creating unique and agile solutions.

Spatial Data Goes Live

As it was announced at MIX back in March in the blog post Spatial Data Support Coming To SQL Azure, SQL Azure will offer spatial data support. Spatial is a data type for storing location based information (like latitude, longitude) that enables spatial operations like mapping, distance between points, is a location in a region etc and enables development of the location aware operations.

The feature was introduced on-premise with SQL Server 2008 is now becoming available in SQL Azure.

About SQL Azure

SQL Azure Database is a cloud-based relational database service built on SQL Server® technologies. It provides a highly available, scalable, multi-tenant database service hosted by Microsoft in the cloud. SQL Azure Database helps to ease provisioning and deployment of multiple databases. Developers do not have to install, setup, patch or manage any software. High availability and fault tolerance is built-in and no physical administration is required. SQL Azure Database supports Transact-SQL (T-SQL). Customers can use existing knowledge in T-SQL development and a familiar relational data model for symmetry with existing on-premises databases. SQL Azure Database can help reduce costs by integrating with existing toolsets and providing symmetry with on-premises and cloud databases.

Getting Started with SQL Azure

See How Other ISVs are Using Windows Azure

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Bruce D. KyleISV Architect Evangelist | Microsoft Corporation

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