Available for download

Jul 5, 2010 12:00 GMT  ·  By

A free resource available for download from Microsoft is designed to help customers get started with SQL Azure. Customers taking advantage of the “Getting Started with SQL Azure” document will be able to tap a document containing a range of guidelines illustrating scenarios such as SQL Azure sign up, but also details related to the building of SQL Azure servers and databases. The guide is an excellent resource for customers just starting to use Microsoft’s Cloud alternative to its SQL Server data platform, and can be grabbed free of charge from the Microsoft Download Center.

“Microsoft SQL Azure Database is a cloud-based relational database platform built on SQL Server technologies. By using SQL Azure, you can easily provision and deploy relational database solutions to the cloud. SQL Azure Database is the relational database service on the Windows Azure platform. To start using SQL Azure, you must first purchase a Windows Azure Platform subscription,” Microsoft stated.

Subscriptions are available for purchase via the Windows Azure Platform offers page or from the Microsoft Online Services Customer Portal. Only after the Windows Azure Platform subscription is purchased will customers be able to actually activate their accounts. The software giant sends all users a confirmation email for their purchases, also providing information on how to set up their accounts. Remember, a valid Windows Live ID is essential to the entire process.

“When you write applications for SQL Azure, you can use one of the .NET Framework programming languages, which come with Visual Studio 2008 or later: Microsoft Visual Basic, Microsoft Visual C#, or Microsoft Visual C++. You can also use the ADO.NET data provider for SQL Server, the SQL Server 2008 Native Client ODBC driver, and the SQL Server 2008 Driver for PHP version 1.1,” Microsoft added.