Yesterday we looked at how you can easily make a copy of a database in SQL Azure. You could even consider that copy to be a backup of your database. I know many DBAs that are reluctant to jump into SQL Azure because of the fact that there is no BACKUP command, and I was one of them at first as well. But then I realized something that scared me even more: breaking changes.
See, SQL Azure is updated frequently, perhaps three times a year. I’ve written before about how that scares the hell out of me. In the two years since I have written that post a lot has changed regarding my perceptions. One of those you read about yesterday, and how it is easy to create a copy of your database should you need one. The other is the SQL Azure system view sys.dm_db_objects_impacted_on_version_change.
Whereas before I may have been in the dark about what changes may break my existing application, these days I have an easy way of identifying them by simply using this system view against my user database in SQL Azure:
SELECT *
FROM sys.dm_db_objects_disabled_on_version_change
This means I have two easy ways of finding out important information about SQL Azure: The first is with this link to “what’s new” in SQL Azure, and the second is found at the bottom of the MSDN page for the sys.dm_db_objects_impacted_on_version_change entry. At the bottom of that page you will find detailed information on how to update the impacted objects.
Tomorrow we start the final full week for this series and will take a look under the hood of your SQL Azure database.
its not working.. 🙁