SQL Azure Feature Voting on UserVoice

Support full-text indexing [updated]

2012-01-31T19:02:57-05:00

Our application is heavily dependent on it. So this is a blocker right now.

Mauricio Marques said:

Oh my Gosh... It's veryyyyyyyyyyyy important.

Without it my clients can't move !!!

Full Management Studio Support [updated]

2012-01-31T13:59:24-05:00

Currently you can only run queries against SQL Azure databases. It would be good to get the rest of management studio working (object explorer etc.)

Tim B said:

I just connected to my SQL Azure database for the first time through SQL Server Management Studio, only to discover it doesn't support database diagrams.

Are you kidding me? I have to script each and every modification?

I'm not too far along in my project, I may just use an ordinary SQL Express DB. Given the prevalence of transient errors, this means it may make more sense to drop SQL Azure altogether.

Add SEQUENCE GENERATOR feature

2012-01-30T14:08:38-05:00

Shaun suggested:
Add the ability to create user-defined sequence generators. This includes adding the funcitonlaity in a Federated Member.

Include Analysis Services in SQL Azure [updated]

2012-01-27T11:12:42-05:00

drjlbailey said:

To become and stay the leader in the cloud space, adding Analysis Services is a critical move.

http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/total-cio/interest-growing-in-cloud-based-business-intelligence-tools/?track=NL-964&ad=860003&asrc=EM_NLN_16191578&uid=8236367

OLE DB Provider for connecting to SQL Azure [updated]

2012-01-25T16:05:11-05:00

Mihkail Dikov said:

Same here, we use OleDB all over our products and for a good reason. Support of OleDB for will enable us to migrate much sooner.

Support full-text indexing [updated]

2012-01-25T15:15:50-05:00

Our application is heavily dependent on it. So this is a blocker right now.

Elias Farah said:

We definitely need the full text search feature as soon as possible. If this item is not prioritized and a release released date is no communicated, it will definitely hurt the move to Azure.
We have more than 60 clients waiting for this. Please respond.

OLE DB Provider for connecting to SQL Azure [updated]

2012-01-24T18:25:42-05:00

Zie3D said:

We use OleDB extensively in our product. Currently OleDB works with Azure but it is not supported by MS, we would appreciate OleDB support. Thanks!

Send Email when nearing database MaxSize Limit [updated]

2012-01-24T12:22:31-05:00

It would be great if SQL Azure would send out an email when your database was reaching it's MaxSize limit. This would allow for us to increase the quota BEFORE our applications go down due to "database full" exceptions! Possibly, when hitting 80% of MaxSize and then a gain at 90%.

Henry said:

If you are open to using a 3rd party service, the Cotega service (http://www.cotega.com/) allows you to do this through email notifications when your database reaches a certain size. They are free right now while in Beta.

Support Sql Change Tracking [updated]

2012-01-24T12:17:37-05:00

Add in Sql 2008 Change Tracking

Henry said:

Until change tracking is added to SQL Azure, you might find this "how to" helpful: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/how-to-enable-sql-azure-change-data-capture.aspx

Support full-text indexing [updated]

2012-01-23T06:36:34-05:00

Our application is heavily dependent on it. So this is a blocker right now.

Leif Aksel Grøthe said:

Any progress on this issue? Understand Microsoft would not commit to a date, but can anyone say anything of what we could expect?

Support CLR Stored Procedures [updated]

2012-01-23T02:51:01-05:00

Anonymous said:

SqlCacheDependency requires this.

Support full-text indexing [updated]

2012-01-20T09:21:16-05:00

Our application is heavily dependent on it. So this is a blocker right now.

Christian said:

Our app relies on SQL full-text and the application features based on it cannot be omitted. The lack of the full-text feature in Azure causes that we cannot use it in production for customers deployments.

Easy way to identify federated tables

2012-01-20T08:39:02-05:00

Larry Franks suggested:
Currently the only way to determine which tables in a federation are federated is to do a join between sys.objects and sys.federated_table_columns. It would be nice to have a field in sys.objects similar to the federated field added to sys.databases.

Add SQL Server Agent or its ability to create custom jobs [updated]

2012-01-19T09:43:21-05:00

Ability to create jobs that can run from 1 minute, 1 hour etc. BTW Love SQL Azure keep up the good work guys!

Henry said:

Have you tried cotega.com? You can do things like scheduled database backups and run custom stored procs on a scheduled basis. it is still in beta though.

Make Azure SQL available through Azure Virtual Network

2012-01-19T06:46:32-05:00

jnystad suggested:
For easier access til Azure SQL databases from a local server in an enterprise application environment.

Include Analysis Services in SQL Azure [updated]

2012-01-18T15:45:57-05:00

igor said:

The power of Hadoop and Hive will be enhanced with an instance of SSAS

Support for newsequentialid() [updated]

2012-01-17T12:42:02-05:00

To avoid fragmentation for clustered indexes, the newsequentialid() function should be suported for uniqueidentifier primary key columns as a default value.

Fernando Correia said:

It doesn't have to be perfectly identical to the SQL Server implementation. For instance, it could be implemented as the popular "COMB GUID" strategy, combining the current date/time with a random number. The important thing is that it is roughly sequential instead of all over the place like full random GUIDs.

Enable backups [updated]

2012-01-17T04:28:40-05:00

We need the ability to do backups. Just simple, standard backup files that we could create and download at the very least. It doesn't have to go directly blob storage or all these other suggestions. But we really, really need backups to use SQL Azure for production. Not data sync, not bcp, not SqlAzureMW -- just regular old sql server backups.

Basil Rormose said:

Point-in-time Backup/Restore capability for live DB is needed. Database copies are not a solution, in part because of the cost of making daily backups of multiple DBs.

Support CLR Stored Procedures [updated]

2012-01-16T08:45:01-05:00

Michele said:

I hope MS will add full CLR support.

Profiler for SQL Azure [updated]

2012-01-11T07:12:21-05:00

Gayomard Mehta said:

SQL Profiler is very beneficial as it gives us an idea of how it is being executed...

Support full-text indexing [updated]

2011-12-31T01:28:05-05:00

Our application is heavily dependent on it. So this is a blocker right now.

Admin said:

Our new app uses full text search quite extensively. Hopefully it will be implemented on azure by feb 2012 otherwise we would need to roll out our own server with SQL server as the db

Enable SET CONTEXT_INFO [updated]

2011-12-27T02:36:34-05:00

I'm using the command SET CONTEXT_INFO to pass information about current User and Application (among others) to be used with insert and updating in all the tables. In SQL Azure this command is not available because, I think, it is used to set the session GUID: "When the client application connects to SQL Azure, CONTEXT_INFO (Transact-SQL) is set with a unique session specific GUID value automatically. Retrieve this GUID value and use it in your application to trace the connectivity problems."

Venkatappa Reddy K said:

Yes

Enable SET CONTEXT_INFO [updated]

2011-12-27T02:24:49-05:00

Sesha Ram prasad said:

or work around

Enable SET CONTEXT_INFO [updated]

2011-12-27T02:05:51-05:00

LVPrasad Y said:

YES

Implement FILESTREAM for blobs into Azure Blob Store [updated]

2011-12-26T19:13:32-05:00

Storing blobs in the database is fairly pointless when you have a dedicated blob store. Implement the FILESTREAM protocol to store blobs in a user's azure storage

Brian McKinley said:

This should include the ability associate a storage account with database, federation or federation "member." If a database, federation or federation member is dropped the associated blobs referenced in the tables should be deleted automatically from the blob storage. When a federation is split we should have the option to specify a new storage devices for the new federation member at the same time.

SQL Azure Emulator [updated]

2011-12-26T04:43:35-05:00

Given the feature delta between SQL Azure and SQL Server 2008 R2, it would be helpful to have a version of SQL Azure that could be used for local development purposes.

LVPrasad Y said:

Providing one more option in Database Properties --> Options --> Compatibility Level to select SQL Azure would be great help to test/simulate/emulate SQL Azure locally.

Support full-text indexing [updated]

2011-12-21T14:40:36-05:00

Our application is heavily dependent on it. So this is a blocker right now.

Michael Yeaney said:

Agreed...we ended up building our own inverted-index / IDF system on top of SQL Azure. Very fast, nice perf, but definitely code debt we didn't want to own. However, the product needed to ship, and we couldn't wait.
Timeline anybody??

Implement FILESTREAM for blobs into Azure Blob Store [updated]

2011-12-20T07:27:50-05:00

Storing blobs in the database is fairly pointless when you have a dedicated blob store. Implement the FILESTREAM protocol to store blobs in a user's azure storage

Daniel Kornev said:

Totally agree; enabling FileTables as part of SQL Azure would also enable full-text search and semantic search scenarios.

create a new pricing model [updated]

2011-12-19T16:41:21-05:00

Charge very little for basic database (say $2/DB), and then charge me for storage size (say $0.50/GB/month) and usage (say $1.00/1M logical IOPs) - so I can start off small, and pay for usage.

craig said:

As other people have said, billing in $1 for 100mb increments rather than starting at $10 will be major boon for SAAS multi tenant applications.

Reporting Services [updated]

2011-12-17T07:35:37-05:00

Anonymous said:

Azure RS works great! Any ETA on the prod release?

(btw: maybe the link posted by Mary needs updating?)

Full Management Studio Support [updated]

2011-12-16T12:40:30-05:00

Currently you can only run queries against SQL Azure databases. It would be good to get the rest of management studio working (object explorer etc.)

Azure Admin said:

@Roopish, @Dan

This feature is NOT available in SQL 2008 R2's Management Studio. Query Designer is not available, nor is the table designer. Its a pain in the ass typing out table alter scripts by hand. Query designer is a huge time saver as well. Does anyone know why this doesnt work out of the box?

bulk insert

2011-12-16T11:59:04-05:00

Support database sharding [updated]

2011-12-15T19:08:00-05:00

[idea moved from Windows Azure Feature Voting]

Cihan said:

This is done. Here is the annoucement!
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/cbiyikoglu/archive/2011/12/12/sql-azure-federations-is-open-for-business.aspx

Support full-text indexing [updated]

2011-12-12T06:41:33-05:00

Our application is heavily dependent on it. So this is a blocker right now.

Brian said:

Maybe the product planner could update this to give some idea of when its planned? I really dont want to ship Crystal Reports in an Azure app...would they even work, since they like to write temp files to C:\Windows\Temp?

Enable sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats() so we can index fragmentation levels. [updated]

2011-12-12T02:55:11-05:00

Saket said:

Please enable this DMV to view index fragmentation details.

Enable backups [updated]

2011-12-05T02:25:35-05:00

Thirumalai said:

For automating backup on SQL Azure, you can look at the following codeplex url.
http://azureautobackup.codeplex.com/

This utility enables to backup of the SQL Azure database using DAC framework and store the .bacpac file in blob storage service or in local file system.

To support older @@version. Nov'11 release has many Spatial issues [updated]

2011-11-30T15:21:52-05:00

Every few months, we see frustrated Azure's users about SQL Azure (forceful) releases. Here are some from last week. We successfully tested same setup on 2012RC0 with no issues. http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-CA/ssdsgetstarted/thread/77618325-ba1a-4af8-b5cb-171f13e09794 http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/ssdsgetstarted/thread/7a30eee1-015c-4c71-b932-15bfb51ca43a

TerryW said:

As a 25 year veteran of IT and software development, I have to say that deploying new server environments is a process that should never go without a testing phase. Azure users need to be able to test for breaking changes BEFORE moving to new versions of Windows, SQL Server, etc. This is entry level software engineering stuff. What was Microsoft thinking?

To support older @@version. Nov'11 release has many Spatial issues

2011-11-30T15:15:49-05:00

GerryT suggested:
Every few months, we see frustrated Azure's users about SQL Azure (forceful) releases. Here are some from last week. We successfully tested same setup on 2012RC0 with no issues. http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-CA/ssdsgetstarted/thread/77618325-ba1a-4af8-b5cb-171f13e09794 http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/ssdsgetstarted/thread/7a30eee1-015c-4c71-b932-15bfb51ca43a

Provide an easy or automatic methanism for horrizontal partitioning [is now none]

2011-11-30T11:07:20-05:00

Just as Azure storage has accomplished, implement automatic partitioning. All the developer should have to provide is an optional PartitionKey

Add Spatial types in SQL Azure [is now none]

2011-11-30T11:03:44-05:00

Althought this is a Windows Azure ideas forum, I thought I would post this here to get Microsoft to support full spatial types in SQL Server as they do in the desktop product. [idea moved from Windows Azure feature voting]

Add Support for Spatial Datatypes and Spatial Indexing [is now none]

2011-11-30T11:02:38-05:00

Please add support for SqlGeometry and SqlGeography datatypes and support for Spatial indexing. To be honoust we were amazed that it is not currently available. [idea copied over from Windows Azure feature voting]

Allow SQL Azure in East Asia [is now none]

2011-11-30T11:01:49-05:00

Carry on course with Federations, make them rock! [is now completed]

2011-11-30T11:01:21-05:00

Am very excited for this feature. Hope this feature shines!

Carry on course with Federations, make them rock! [updated]

2011-11-30T11:01:21-05:00

Am very excited for this feature. Hope this feature shines!

Guy Haycock (admin) responded:

We have announced support for federations at the recent PASS conference. At that time we announced that we plan to have federations live by the end of this calendar year.

create a new pricing model [is now under review]

2011-11-30T10:56:51-05:00

Charge very little for basic database (say $2/DB), and then charge me for storage size (say $0.50/GB/month) and usage (say $1.00/1M logical IOPs) - so I can start off small, and pay for usage.

create a new pricing model [updated]

2011-11-30T10:56:51-05:00

Charge very little for basic database (say $2/DB), and then charge me for storage size (say $0.50/GB/month) and usage (say $1.00/1M logical IOPs) - so I can start off small, and pay for usage.

Guy Haycock (admin) responded:

We are always thinking about new business models. We've nothing specific to share today, but stay tuned.

Enable backups [updated]

2011-11-30T04:23:29-05:00

Joerg Mehlhorn said:

For all the guys needing backups:
you can think about exporting the database with the daccli import / export tool. http://sqldacexamples.codeplex.com/releases/view/77085

To be on the safe side for transactions.
1st copy your prod-db to a prod_copy-db
this allows you to already use it as a standby database
2nd you can export the prod_copy-db to a local file
3rd the prod_copy-db can be deleted
4th be sure that the bacpac-export file can be reimported: if there is an inconsitancy in say views or procedures the import-tool currently stops importing.
5th all the above tasks can be automated and scheduled.
That's it ...

Custom Fonts for Azure Reporting

2011-11-30T01:37:05-05:00

Douw suggested:
Allow custom fonts to be loaded on a Azure Reporting server.

Enable backups [updated]

2011-11-29T22:20:54-05:00

ThunderCloud said:

It's one thing that you haven't delivered this yet (and as the comments below suggest we've been waiting a long time), but the worst bit about this is that you are giving us the cold shoulder in the meantime. We get a link, then NOTHING for 6 months.

Front up and be honest about it. If it's not coming until 2014, then tell us. At least we would know where we stand.

Enable sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats() so we can index fragmentation levels. [updated]

2011-11-29T09:33:01-05:00

Anonymous said:

Checking index fragmentation is a must! Please ad this feature.