Bob Ward on SQL Edge to Cloud - Episode 162

This week, Jeffrey is joined by Bob Ward, a Principal Architect for the Microsoft Azure Data team. Bob has worked for Microsoft for 27+ years on every version of SQL Server shipped from OS/2 1.1 to SQL Server 2019, including Azure SQL. He is a well-known speaker on SQL Server and Azure SQL; often presenting talks on new releases, internals, and specialized topics. Additionally, he has a popular web series online, called “Azure SQL 4 Beginners.”   In this episode, Bob speaks about SQL Edge to Cloud; from the overall vision to recent developments, and what to look forward to in the coming years. He touches on Azure Arc, SQL in the Linux space, the main components of the SQL platform, the latest and greatest for deploying changes, synchronization tools, testing frameworks, and what Azure SQL version he recommends (depending on what you’re trying to accomplish as a developer).   Topics of Discussion: [:39] About The Azure DevOps Podcast, Clear Measure; the new video podcast Architect Tips; and Jeffrey’s offer to speak at virtual user groups. [1:11] About today’s episode with Bob Ward! [2:15] Jeffrey welcomes Bob to the podcast. [2:43] About Bob’s upcoming talk at the 2021 DEVintersection Conference. [3:26] What is the overall vision for SQL with Edge to Cloud? [5:40] Bob’s insights on the NoSQL movement. [6:56] Bob reflects on SQL entering the Linux space and the doors it opened up. [8:44] The main components of the SQL platform. [10:20] Where Azure Arc fits into the picture. [12:50] How does SQL Server get installed on devices that are not Windows operating systems? [15:00] Are the containers all Linux? Or are some Windows? [17:55] Bob shares about the replication technology that keeps things “in sync” with SQL Server and how syncing technology has evolved over the years. [20:35] A word from The Azure DevOps Podcast’s sponsor: Clear Measure. [21:06] Does Raspberry Pi support this new synchronization with Azure SQL? [22:31] Is it part of the SQL Edge vision to be able to replicate a single, small table? [23:36] About Bob’s upcoming keynote at the 2021 DEVintersection Conference, “Microsoft SQL Server and Azure SQL Futures.” [25:11] What is the latest and greatest method for deploying changes? [27:28] is there a particular test framework that the SQL team uses? [29:34] All about one of Bob’s favorite tools: Ostress and some of the other internal benchmark testing that they use. [32:57] What version of Azure SQL would Bob recommend to developers that are looking to create a brand-new 100% in-the-Cloud application? [33:40] The difference between Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Managed Instance. [37:00] Bob highlights an important resource that developers should take a look at if they’re interested in learning more about Azure SQL completely for free. [38:20] Jeffrey thanks Bob Ward for joining the podcast!   Mentioned in this Episode: Architect Tips — New video podcast! Azure DevOps Clear Measure (Sponsor) .NET DevOps for Azure: A Developer’s Guide to DevOps Architecture the Right Way, by Jeffrey Palermo — Available on Amazon! bit.ly/dotnetdevopsebook — Click here to download the .NET DevOps for Azure ebook! Jeffrey Palermo’s YouTube Jeffrey Palermo’s Twitter — Follow to stay informed about future events! DEVintersection Conference — Dec. 7th‒9th in Las Vegas, Nevada Bob Ward’s LinkedIn Azure SQL 4 Beginners TPC Benchmarks Ostress Blazor WebAssembly Azure Arc Linux Kubernetes Raspberry Pi Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Managed Instance Azure SQL Fundamentals   Want to Learn More? Visit AzureDevOps.Show for show notes and additional episodes.