SQL Azure Data Sync

In this lab, you will learn how to synchronize data between SQL Azure and on-premises SQL Server databases, using SQL Azure Data Sync.

Overview

The SQL Azure Data Sync is a cloud-based data synchronization service, which provides uni-directional and bi-directional data sync, allowing data to be easily shared between SQL Azure and on-premises SQL Server databases as well as between multiple SQL Azure databases, within the same or different data centers. The SQL Azure Data Sync Previews can be accessed directly from the Windows Azure Management Portal.

In this Lab, you will synchronize two databases, a SQL Azure database against an on-premises SQL Server database, changing the sync settings available in a Sync Group.

Objectives

In this hands-on lab, you will learn how to:

• Provision a SQL Azure Data Sync Server
• Create a Sync Group Topology with a SQL Azure Database, a SQL Azure Sync Hub and an on-premises SQL Server database.

Prerequisites

The following is required to complete this hands-on lab:

• Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0
• SQL Server Data Tools

Setup

In order to execute the exercises in this hands-on lab you need to set up your environment.

1. Open a Windows Explorer window and browse to the lab’s Source folder.
2. Open the configuration.xml file and enter your SQL Azure database, user and password. Enter the server name for the On-Premises SQL Server. You can leave the database name.
3. Double-click the Setup.cmd file in this folder to launch the setup process that will configure your environment and install the Visual Studio code snippets for this lab.
4. If the User Account Control dialog is shown, confirm the action to proceed.

Exercises

This hands-on lab includes the following exercise:

1. Provisioning Data Sync
2. Creating a Sync Group Using SQL Azure Management Portal

Estimated time to complete this lab: 45 minutes.