Search the Community

Microsoft SQL Server is commonly used to manage controls/permissions, backup, recovery, and data migration — but it may not be the best option for you. Through this blog post, we will be listing out the top 10 SQL Server alternatives for you to consider while investigating the best fit. Whatever might be the reason for […]View the full article

sources using multiple techniques. This data can be thoroughly analyzed to gain valuable insights that optimize business performance. There are various tools and platforms that facilitate data storage and analysis. SQL Server and Azure Synapse are potent and robust platforms that help you comprehensively analyze your business data and develop innovative solutions. Moving your SQL […]View the full article

Cloud SQL for SQL Server is a fully managed relational database that offers native SQL Server features along with several Google Cloud innovations, and allows migrating databases while retaining their existing versions or upgrading to newer ones. But migrating SQL Server databases to the cloud can be daunting. Concerns about downtime, complexity, and security risks can hinder your move to managed cloud databases. This week at Google Cloud Next, we announced the preview of support for SQL Server migrations to Cloud SQL for SQL Server in Database Migration Service , a fully managed serverless cloud service that performs database migrations with minimal downtime. Database Migration Service reduces migration complexity by loading an initial snapshot of the database followed by non-intrusive incremental load, reducing operational downtime. Let’s take a look at how it works and how to get started. Introducing SQL Server migration support Database Migration Service leverages built-in backup and restore to facilitate high-fidelity, low-downtime SQL Server migrations. Similar to other Database Migration Service homogeneous migration paths, SQL Server to Cloud SQL for SQL Server migrations are secure and reliable, and available at no additional charge. Database Migration Service offers: Minimal downtime and system overhead : Database Migration Service’s continuous native backup and restore technology helps ensure that your SQL Server source databases remain operational while the migration progresses, for reduced downtime. Because Database Migration Service leverages SQL Server backups to perform the migration, no additional overhead is introduced to your production operational systems. Serverless simplicity: As a managed service, you don’t need to manage any infrastructure for Database Migration Service, allowing your IT teams to focus on strategic initiatives rather than on managing complex migration setups. Security at the forefront: Database Migration Service supports encrypted SQL Server backups for robust protection throughout the migration. At Google Cloud, we’ve been working closely with customers who are looking to migrate SQL Server workloads. One of them is GoodRx Holdings, Inc., an American healthcare company that operates a telemedicine platform. "GoodRx is excited that Database Migration Service is now available to migrate SQL Server to Cloud SQL for SQL Server. Google Cloud's solutions help our business improve operational efficiencies in an intelligent, innovative, and cost-effective way." - Nitin Shingate, CTO GoodRx Migrating your SQL Server Databases with Database Migration Service Here’s how to start migrating your SQL Server workloads today using Database Migration Service: Navigate to the Database Migration area of the Google Cloud console, under Databases, and create a Connection Profile pointing to a Cloud Storage bucket to which your SQL Server backup files will be uploaded. Similarly, create another Connection Profile pointing to your chosen Cloud SQL for SQL Server instance. Create a migration job to connect both connection profiles and choose which databases you’d like to migrate. Test your migration job and make sure the test was successful as displayed below.,Then start it whenever you're ready. 5. Upload a full backup and continuously upload transaction log backups for each database to the Cloud Storage bucket at your desired frequency. 6. Once the full backups have been restored, the migration phase will change from “Initial Load” to “Incremental Load”. Database Migration Service keeps looking for new transaction log backup files and continuously restore them. 7. Monitor the progress of your migration jobs using the built-in metrics and logs to assess the right moment to complete the migration. 8. When ready to complete the migration, click “Promote” for Database Migration Service to recover the databases, making them available and completing the migration. Congratulations! You’ve completed your migration to Cloud SQL for SQL Server. Get started today Ready to migrate? Start your SQL Server migration to Google Cloud with the Database Migration Service. View the full article

Data migration between different platforms is critical to consider when generating multiple organizational strategies. One such migration involves transferring data from a cloud-based data warehousing service environment to a relational database management system. Amazon Redshift SQL Server Integration can give organizations an edge, allowing them to conduct enhanced analysis and reporting through custom report application […]View the full article

Starting today, Amazon RDS Custom for SQL Server supports memory-optimized X2iedn instance types and EBS-optimized R5b instance types. Amazon RDS Custom for SQL Server is a managed database service that allows customization of the underlying operating system and includes the ability to bring your own licensed SQL Server media or use SQL Server Developer Edition. View the full article

Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) for SQL Server now supports db.t3.micro instances in all commercial regions and the AWS GovCloud (US) Regions. This provides you with more options in addition to the db.t2.micro instance in the current AWS Free Tier for new AWS customers. View the full article

Amazon RDS Custom for SQL Server now supports changing the server-level collation when creating a new DB Instance. If the collation is not specified the default server-level collation will continue to be SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS. To learn more about which collations are supported please visit the RDS Custom for SQL Server User Guide. View the full article

Amazon RDS for SQL Server now supports memory optimized X2iedn DB instances that are well-suited for memory-intensive, read-heavy and high-throughput write operations. View the full article

Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service) Performance Insights supports SQL-level metrics for Amazon RDS for SQL Server so that you can identify high-frequency, long-running, and stuck SQL queries in seconds. SQL level statistics are already available for all other Amazon RDS engines. View the full article

Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) for SQL Server now supports TDE enabled database migrations using Native Backup/Restore for Microsoft SQL Server. Previously, you would need to disable TDE on your on-premises TDE enabled SQL Server database in order to migrate to Amazon RDS. View the full article

A new minor version of Microsoft SQL Server is now available on Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) for SQL Server, offering performance and security fixes. Amazon RDS for SQL Server supports the new minor version for Microsoft SQL Server 2014 on the Express, Web, Standard, and Enterprise Editions. View the full article

The global events of the last couple of years have introduced significant changes to how companies operate and the way we work, accelerating digital transformation for many as they seek the additional flexibility, scale, and cost savings of the cloud. More companies are choosing Azure SQL for their SQL Server workloads and it’s easy to see why. Azure SQL provides a full range of deployment options ranging from edge to cloud and a consistent unified experience that makes the most of your on-premises skills and experience. It’s very cost-effective, too, when you use the Azure Hybrid Benefit to maximize your on-premises licensing investments. Customers moving SQL Server workloads to the cloud have choices. Whether simply migrating to virtual machines (VMs) to offload infrastructure costs or modernizing on fully-managed database services that do more on your behalf, every choice on Azure is a great one… View the full article

AWS Launch Wizard announces support for SQL Server Always On Failover Cluster Instances (FCI) with Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP. Now you can use a simple console wizard to deploy SQL Server FCI on Amazon EC2 with FSx for NetApp ONTAP as the shared storage. This feature will save you time and effort replacing a complex manual deployment process with a simple to use, guided wizard that accelerates the migration of your on-premises SQL Server workloads that rely on network-attached storage (NAS) appliances. View the full article

New minor versions of Microsoft SQL Server are now available on Amazon RDS for SQL Server, offering performance and security fixes. Amazon RDS for SQL Server supports the new minor versions for Microsoft SQL Server 2016, 2017, and 2019 on the Express, Web, Standard, and Enterprise Editions. View the full article

Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) for SQL Server now supports the Microsoft Business Intelligence suite on SQL Server 2016, 2017, and 2019 in the AWS GovCloud (US) Regions. You can now run SQL Server Integration, Analysis, and Reporting Services on DB instances using the latest major versions. View the full article

Amazon RDS for SQL Server now supports Multi-AZ support for Amazon RDS for SQL Server in the AWS US West (Northern California) Region. This new high availability option leverages the SQL Server Database Mirroring (DBM) or Always On Availability Groups (AGs) technology. View the full article

With AWS Launch Wizard, you can now easily deploy SQL Server Always On availability groups on Ubuntu Server, making it easier for you to run SQL Server workloads on free Linux-based operating systems, without the need to buy Windows Server licenses. View the full article

On December 1, we announced support for Amazon EC2 R5b instance types in the US East (Ohio), Europe (Frankfurt) and Asia Pacific (Singapore) Regions. Starting today, we’re happy to announce you can now launch Amazon EC2 R5b instance types using Amazon RDS for Oracle and Amazon RDS for SQL Server in additional AWS Regions: North America US East (Northern Virginia), US West (Oregon) Asia Pacific Asia Pacific (Tokyo) View the full article

Amazon RDS for SQL Server now supports the Microsoft Business Intelligence suite on SQL Server 2019. You can now run SQL Server Integration, Analysis, and Reporting Services on DB instances using the latest major version. View the full article

You can now use AWS Launch Wizard to perform single-instance deployments of Microsoft SQL Server on Windows Server and Ubuntu Server. View the full article