Data Services

Fundamentals

Guidance: Data Management and Business Analytics

Learn about the technologies in Windows Azure that help you work with both relational and non-relational data.

Guidance: Data Management: Choosing the Right Technology

Learn about different scenarios for data management technologies in Windows Azure.

Windows Azure Storage

Feature guide: Blob Service

Blobs are the simplest way to store large amounts of unstructured text or binary data such as video, audio and images. Blobs are an ISO 27001 certified managed service that can auto-scale to store up to 100 terabytes of data. They are accessible from virtually anywhere via REST and client APIs.

Feature guide: Table Service

Tables offer NoSQL capabilities for applications that require storage of large amounts of unstructured data. Tables are an ISO 27001 certified managed service that can auto-scale to store up to 100 terabytes of data. They are accessible from virtually anywhere via REST and managed APIs.

Tutorial: .NET Multi-Tier Application Using Storage Tables, Queues, and Blobs

This in-depth tutorial series describes how to build a multi-tier ASP.NET web application that uses Windows Azure tables, queues, and blobs. You will learn how to build a resilient and scalable data-driven web application and deploy it to the cloud.

Relational Data

Feature guide: SQL Database

For applications that need a full featured relational database-as-a-service, Windows Azure offers SQL Database, formerly known as SQL Azure Database. SQL Database offers a high-level of interoperability, enabling customers to build applications using many of the major development frameworks.

Feature guide: SQL Reporting

SQL Reporting provides many of the features you know from SQL Server Reporting to create reports with tables, charts, maps, gauges, and more and deploy them on both private and public clouds. You can export reports to various popular file formats including Excel, Word, HTML, PDF, XML, CSV, and ATOM feeds.

How to: Manage Windows Azure SQL Database using SQL Server Management Studio

You can use SQL Server Management Studio to manage SQL Database logical servers and databases. This article includes details about creating and managing databases, creating and managing logins, and monitoring using Dynamic Management Views.

Tutorial: Create and deploy an ASP.NET web site and SQL Database with Visual Studio

Implement a simple web site using ASP.NET MVC that supports creating, editing, and listing to-do items from a database. You will learn the basics of creating a Windows Azure web site, deploying an application to Windows Azure, and storing data in SQL Database.

Tutorial: Create a mobile-friendly REST service using ASP.NET Web API and SQL Database

ASP.NET Web API is a framework for building web APIs on top of the .NET Framework. In this tutorial, you use the Web API to create a REST service that provides data stored in a SQL Database instance.

Tutorial: Create and deploy a cloud service and SQL Database with Visual Studio

Implement a simple Cloud Service application using ASP.NET MVC that supports creating, editing, and listing to-do items from a database. You will learn the basics of deploying an application to Windows Azure and storing data in SQL Database.

Big Data

HDInsight: Hadoop on Windows Azure

HDInsight is Microsoft’s 100% Apache-compatible Hadoop distribution. Find articles, videos, and samples about using HDInsight to store and analyze data.

Tutorial: Create an ASP.NET Application on Windows Azure with MongoDB using the MongoLab Add-On

Create an ASP.NET MVC web site that connects to a MongoDB instance running on a Windows Azure virtual machine. You will learn how to use Windows Azure Virtual Machines to host unstructured data in MongoDB.

Tutorial: Store non-relational data using MongoDB on a Virtual Machine

Create an ASP.NET MVC web site that connects to a MongoDB instance hosted by MongoLab. You will learn how to provision and manage a MongoDB database from MongoLab.