[Note from Pinal]: This is a 56th episode of Notes from the Fields series. If you are DBA and Developer there is always a situation when you want to prove yourself by building a small proof of concepts of your idea. However, most of the time, it is way more complicated than we think. Building proof of the concepts required many different resources and skills. Above all there are chances that what we have built is not upto the mark and we have to rebuild the example one more time. Trust me it is never simple those tasks which looks simple from the beginning.
In this episode of the Notes from the Field series database expert John Sterrett (Group Principal at Linchpin People) explains a very common issue DBAs and Developer faces in their career – how to build proof of concepts and how to maximize the power of Azure. Linchpin People are database coaches and wellness experts for a data driven world. Read the experience of John in his own words.
Whether you know it or not cloud services are here and they are changing the way we will provide information technology services. For example, in many information technology shops it can take weeks if not months to get an instance of SQL Server up and running. Here are some minimal action items that must be completed before DBA’s get access server to install SQL Server. You have to order a physical server, your procurement team must approve the order, and the server has to be shipped. Once the server is received the server must be racked in the data center, cables must be connected, and the data center team needs to document their changes. Then the operations team needs to install and configure windows. I could keep going but there are a lot of things that should be done to a server before the DBA team gets its hands on it. What are you going to do if you’re a DBA and you need instance up in 30 minutes for a proof of concept? It’s becoming more common that the cloud is the answer.
Every time I need a server for a proof of concept I jump to Windows Azure. I can quickly build a Windows Azure Machine with SQL Server provided within 30 minutes. In this tip, I am going to walk through the steps to create your first Windows Azure Machine.
1. Get Azure Windows Account. If you don’t have one you can get a free trial. At the time of writing this tip your free trial would include $220 of credit.
http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/free-trial/
Are you an MSDN Subscriber who isn’t leveraging Microsoft’s cloud service? If so, you can sign up for free monthly credit.
2. Log In to Azure Portal
https://manage.windowsazure.com
3. Create New Virtual Machine
On the left hand side, click on Virtual Machines and then the add button on the bottom of the left side of the screen. This will load our wizard for creating our first virtual machine.
Now that wizard is loaded as you can see below we can select virtual machine and create it from the gallery. In the Gallery we will be able to select one of many images used that already includes SQL Server baked in.
Looking at the SQL Server images you will see you can access Enterprise Edition, Standard Edition and Web Edition for SQL 2014 down to SQL 2008 R2.
Next you can customize your image by release date. This will allow you to have different service packs or CUs. You can also select between two different tiers and sizes. You will have to create a user name and password and you will want to keep this credential as it will be your first account.
Next you will be able to select more machine configuration options. You will get to determine where the Azure Virtual Machine is located. Below you will see I am using my MSDN Subscription.
Finally, you will get to configure more configuration extensions to help automate or secure your virtual machine.
Finally, you will see your server being provisioned. What once use to take weeks or months can now be done in the cloud in minutes.
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Reference: Pinal Dave (https://blog.sqlauthority.com)
