Module 2da - Exploring Azure Core Products - Database Solutions - Non-SQL Server

Question 1

General Knowledge: Describe in generic terms the process for database migration to Cloud.

Answer 1

Assess which On-Prem DB can be migrated to a Managed Instance, determine blocking issues and resolve them. Once resolved, migrate your data then cutover by changing connection strings in your apps

Simple terms:

• Discovery
• Assess
• Migrate
• Cutover
• Optimize

Microsoft has a documented process for the entire thing

Question 2

How is PaaS Database scaling handled in general?

Answer 2

Through Dynamic Scaling, thanks to Pay-As-You-Go!

This way, you can develop against a cost-efficient SMALL database, then GROW it as your resource requirements grow, only paying for scale that you need at any given time~

Question 3

What is Azure Cosmos DB?

What are four (4) of its largest benefits?

Answer 3

A PaaS multi-model database service with a grip of features and benefits:

Schema-less data - allowing any number of applications to support constantly changing data models

Globally distributed - w/ single-digit-millisecond data access

Elastic and independent scaling - for throughput and storage across any number of Azure Regions worldwide

Comprehensive SLAs

Question 4

Hint: Three (3) things, none of which are “no-schema”

What makes Azure Cosmos DB flexible?

Answer 4

Atom-Record-Sequence (ARS) format - Cosmos stores data in this format

REST Access - Once stored, data is abstracted and projected as an API, and you PICK the API you want to when creating the DB

Familiarity - Your choices of API are SQL Server, MongoDB, Cassandra, Tables and Gremlin. When you migrate your data to Cosmos, your developers can stick with the API they are most comfortable with!

Question 5

What is Azure DB for MySQL?

What are some of its benefits?

Answer 5

PaaS RDB based on MySQL Community v 5.6/5.7/8.0.
Built-in High Availability, Security and Perf/Administration

Built-in High Availability:

• SLA 99.99 (Quad 9s)
• Powered by global Microsoft-managed datacenters, providing 24/7 availability

Built-in Security:

• Fault tolerance and data protection
• Data protection at-rest or in-motion
• Enterprise-grade security and compliance

Built-in Performance and Administration:

• Predictable performance with inclusive, pay-as-you-go pricing
• Auto backups
• Takes seconds to scale

Question 6

Auto-backups for Azure MySQL DB can recover and restore as far back as 90 days (T/F)?

Answer 6

False. 35 days.

Question 7

How would you migrate your MySQL DB to Azure?

Answer 7

Azure Database Migration Service supports migration between On-Prem MySQL and Azure MySQL DBs

Question 8

What Service Tiers are available for Azure MySQL DB?

Answer 8

Basic - workloads with light compute and I/O performance (testing or small-scale infrequent use apps)

General Purpose - Most business workloads demanding balanced in-memory performance and scalable I/O throughput (web and mobile apps)

Memory Optimized - High-performance workloads, fast transaction processing and higher concurrency (servers that process real-time data, high-performance transactional or analytical apps)

Question 9

Provisioned Azure MySQL DB storage can be scaled up or down as needed to ensure cost-efficient storage use (T/F)?

Answer 9

False. Storage can only be scaled up.

Question 10

What is Azure PostgreSQL DB?

Answer 10

PaaS RDB based on PostgreSQL Community version. Everything you know about PostgreSQL translates directly to Azure PostgreSQL DB.

• Build-in High Availability. No additional config, replication or cost
• Simple and flexible pricing. Predictable performance based on price tier
• Tiers include Patching, monitoring and security
• Scale up or down within seconds
• Adjustable auto-backups
• Enterprise-grade security and compliance

Question 11

Unlike Azure MySQL, Azure PostgreSQL can be scaled up or down, both for storage and compute capabilities.

Answer 11

True. Storage and Compute can be scaled independent of each other, either up or down

Question 12

What is Azure PostgreSQL Single Server Deployment and what are some of its benefits?

Answer 12

One of two deployment options for Azure PostgreSQL that provides ALL the listed advantages at almost no administration or additional cost:

• Built-in High Availability at 99.99% SLA (Quad 9s)
• Predictable performance, inclusive pay-as-you-go pricing
• Vertical Scale as needed
• Monitor and alerting
• Enterprise-grade security and compliance
• Ability to protect in-motion and at-rest data
• Auto-backups

Question 13

Describe Azure PostgreSQL Hyperscale (Citus) Deployment:

• How does it achieve “Hyperscale”?
• How does it manage queries
• What type of applications is Hyperscale suited for?

Answer 13

Horizontal scaling for Azure PostgreSQL across multiple machines using *Sharding*, providing support for multi-tenant apps, real-time analytics, and high-throughput transactional workloads

Queries are parallelized across multiple servers for faster responses on large datasets

Suited for apps that require greater scale and performance ie workloads approaching or exceeding *100 GBs*

Question 14

Auto-backups for Azure PostgreSQL DB can recover and restore as far back as 35 days (T/F)?

Answer 14

True

Question 15

Both Azure PostgreSQL and Azure MySQL have virtually the same advantages w.r.t. pricing, scaling, capabilities and features (T/F)

Answer 15

False. Generally true except PostgreSQL can be scaled up and down w.r.t. storage, whereas MySQL storage can only be scaled UP.

Question 16

For websites that use the LAMP Stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP), it’s best to implement a Cloud DB solution using Azure PostgreSQL since it supports the same functionality as MySQL but with the added advantage of up AND down scaling (T/F)

Answer 16

FALSE…just use Azure MySQL DB. It’s best for devs who already use that kind of open-source stack for their web app solutions