SQL Server Advanced Troubleshooting and Performance Tuning

Chapter 16. SQL Server in the Cloud

Cloud computing is the new norm. Businesses are reducing their datacenter footprints and either building hybrid solutions or migrating to the cloud completely. Troubleshooting and tuning cloud-based database systems has thus become a common task for database engineers.

Cloud database instances use the same SQL Server Engine internally, and you can use familiar tools and techniques when dealing with them. There are some minor differences between the technologies, however, and that’s what this chapter will cover.

I will start with a high-level discussion of cloud applications, then move to SQL Server’s cloud offerings: first, SQL Server instances running in cloud VMs; then, the managed database services available in Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS, and Google Cloud Platform. I’ll also give you an overview of the services architecture and platform monitoring tools, as well as the limitations of both.

Cloud Platforms: A 30,000-Foot View

A long time ago, when cloud computing was just beginning to emerge, I picked up a sticker at a conference (Figure 16-1). It read, “There is no cloud, it’s just someone else’s computer.”

There was a time when this really was the best definition of cloud computing, though the situation has become more complex over time. clouds are still just someone else’s datacenters; however, they’ve evolved and now provide many services to help you build applications, offering out-of-the-box solutions to complex problems and often ...