1 out of 3 rated this helpful - Rate this topic

SQL Database Data Types supported by SQL Data Sync (Preview)

Each column, local variable, parameter, and expression has a data type. The data type specifies the kind of data that the column, variable, parameter, or expression can contain. The data type informs the system how to interpret bit patterns.

SQL Data Sync supports a subset of SQL Database data types. The first table below lists SQL Database data types supported by SQL Data Sync (Preview). The second table lists the SQL Database data types currently not supported by SQL Data Sync (Preview).

The Windows Azure SQL Data Sync plug-in on the Windows Azure Silverlight portal has been decommissioned. Going forward, use the Windows Azure Management portal, for Windows Azure SQL Data Sync.

You access SQL Data Sync (Preview) via the SYNC tab under SQL Database at the Windows Azure Management portal. The SYNC tab is only available when you have one or more sync groups. See the topic How To: Create a Sync Group (SDS) for guidance on creating and modifying a sync group from this portal.

See the Navigation section below for links to topics you should read before you start and guidance on creating and modifying sync groups.

Sections in this topic

Section	Description
Supported Data Types	Table of SQL Database data types supported by SQL Data Sync (Preview) Preview.
Unsupported Data Types	Table of SQL Database data types that are not supported by SQL Data Sync (Preview) Preview.
Unsupported Column Properties	List of column properties that are not supported by SQL Data Sync (Preview) Preview.
Navigation	Topics you should read before you start and guidance on creating and modifying sync groups.

Supported Data Types

Data Type Category	Supported SQL Database Data Type
Exact Numbers	Supported: bit, decimal, int, numeric, smallint, tinyint.
Approximate Numbers	Supported: float, real.
Date and Time	Supported: date, datetime2, datetime, datetimeoffset, time.
Character Strings	Supported: char, varchar, text.
Unicode Character Strings	Supported: nchar, nvarchar, ntext.
Binary Strings	Supported: *binary, varbinary, image*. See Unsupported Data Types: binary(50) and varbinary(5) are not supported.
Spatial Data Types	Supported: geography, geometry.
Other Data Types	Supported: sql_variant, table, uniqueidentifier, xml.

Unsupported Data Types

Data Type Category	Unsupported Data Type
Exact Numbers	Not supported: money, smallmoney.
Binary Strings	Not supported: binary(50), varbinary(5).
Date and Time	Not supported: smalldatetime.
FileStream	Not supported.
CLR UDT	Not supported.
SQL UDT	Not supported.
XML Data Types	Not supported: XmlSchemaCollection.
Other Data Types	Not supported: cursor, timestamp, hierarchyid.

Unsupported Column Properties

The following column properties are not supported.

ROWGUICOL
FILESTREAM
XML SCHEMA COLLECTION

Navigation

SQL Data Sync (Preview) is a feature of SQL Database. From the Windows Azure Management portal you can perform all tasks necessary to create, deploy, and modify a sync group.

Before you start

Before you begin to design and implement your synchronizations, you should be familiar with these topics.

How to create a sync group

There are six steps to creating a sync group from the Windows Azure Management portal. Details on each step can be found by following these links.

Sign in to the Windows Azure SQL Database Management portal
SQL Data Sync (Preview) is found as a tab under SQL Database only after you create a sync group.
How To: Install a SQL Data Sync (Preview) Client Agent
How To: Register a SQL Server Database with a Client Agent
How To: Create your Sync Group (SDS)
How To: Define your sync data (SDS)
How To: Configure your sync group (SDS)

How to modify a sync group

You can modify a sync group’s schema by adding/removing tables or columns in the sync group; or by altering a column’s width or data type. Details can be found by following the links.

Community Additions

ADD