What is the difference between Server less SQL and SQL Database?

Question

When I use sever less SQL with Azure Synapse Analytics, it provided me an endpoint, And when I use that endpoint in Power Bi, and Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio it shows that A Database is there and show me all files, but when When I use Azure Ai Search and Select Data Source as Azure SQL Database, nothing is shown. So I want to know what is the reason behind this?

Answer 1

Hi @Lovedeep Singh,

Thanks for the question and using MS Q&A platform.

Server less SQL:

• Serverless SQL is a feature of Azure Synapse Analytics that lets you run queries on data stored in Azure Data Lake or Blob Storage whenever you need to. You don’t have to manage any SQL server, which makes it easy to use. It's great for working with large amounts of unstructured or semi-structured data without needing to load it into a traditional database first.
• You only pay for the data processed with each query, so it's cost-effective for occasional or ad-hoc queries. You can query data directly from Azure Data Lake or Blob Storage in formats like CSV and Parquet, without having to organize or store it in traditional tables beforehand.

SQL Database:

• SQL Database is a fully managed relational database service that runs on SQL Server. It’s built for applications that need to handle transactions. You have to choose a specific size for the database, including both computing power and storage space.
• It’s ideal for applications that require a complete relational database with strong transaction features. You’ll be billed based on the resources you choose, measured in DTUs or vCores, which is great for steady workloads. You need to organize your data into tables with defined structures and relationships, and the data is stored in a traditional database format.

When using serverless SQL with Azure Synapse Analytics, you get an endpoint that allows you to query files stored in Azure Data Lake or Blob Storage. This endpoint works well in tools like Power BI and SQL Server Management Studio because they can directly access the data from the files you’ve queried.

But when you try to use Azure AI Search and choose Azure SQL Database as your data source, you might not see any data. Here are a few reasons why:

Data Types: Azure AI Search is mainly for structured data in Azure SQL Databases. Serverless SQL works with unstructured data from files, which Azure AI Search may not recognize.

File Formats: The files in Azure Data Lake or Blob Storage might be in formats like CSV or Parquet, which Azure AI Search may not read as part of an Azure SQL Database.

Connection Settings: Make sure your connection in Azure AI Search is set up correctly. It may need different settings than those used in Power BI or SQL Server Management Studio.

Indexing: Azure AI Search may need an index to find the data. If the data isn’t indexed, it won’t show up.

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