Azure Databases - AZ-104¶

📖 Azure Databases Documentation - Managed database services on Azure

Azure SQL Database¶

📖 Azure SQL Database Documentation - Fully managed SQL Server database engine - PaaS relational database - Always latest SQL Server version - Automatic patching and backups - Built-in high availability

Deployment Options:

📖 Azure SQL Deployment Options - Choose the right SQL deployment model

Single database: Dedicated resources
Elastic pool: Share resources across databases
Managed instance: Near 100% SQL Server compatibility

Service Tiers:

📖 SQL Database Service Tiers - Understand vCore and DTU purchasing models

DTU-based: Basic, Standard, Premium
vCore-based: General Purpose, Business Critical, Hyperscale

Backup:

📖 Automated Backups in SQL Database - Backup and restore capabilities

Automatic backups (7-35 days retention)
Point-in-time restore
Long-term retention (up to 10 years)
Geo-replication for disaster recovery

Azure Cosmos DB¶

📖 Azure Cosmos DB Documentation - Globally distributed, multi-model NoSQL database

Globally distributed NoSQL
Multi-model (document, key-value, graph, column-family)
APIs: SQL, MongoDB, Cassandra, Gremlin, Table
Multi-region writes
Consistency levels: Strong, Bounded staleness, Session, Consistent prefix, Eventual

Throughput:

📖 Cosmos DB Request Units - Understand and optimize throughput costs

Provisioned: Reserve RU/s
Serverless: Pay per request
Autoscale: Dynamic scaling

Azure Database for MySQL/PostgreSQL¶

📖 Azure Database for MySQL - Managed MySQL database service

📖 Azure Database for PostgreSQL - Managed PostgreSQL database service

Fully managed open-source databases
Deployment: Single server, Flexible server
Automatic backups and patching
High availability options
Read replicas

Exam Tips¶

SQL Database for relational, PaaS
Managed Instance for lift-and-shift SQL Server
Cosmos DB for global, multi-region NoSQL
Elastic pools for multiple databases with varying usage
vCore for predictable workloads, DTU for simplicity