Hi, and welcome to Administering Relational Databases on Microsoft Azure learning path. In this learning path, we will be looking at all elements to set up, manage, and successfully use databases from the SQL Server family within the Azure ecosystem, focusing on preparing for the DP-300 exam. Whether you aim to pass the exam or you want to become an Azure SQL database specialist, this learning path will get you well on the way to achieving those goals.

My name is Hallam Webber, and I'm an Azure content producer at Cloud Academy.

The DP-300 certification exam will test your knowledge of key areas related to the deployment, security, performance tuning, and disaster recovery of Azure-hosted SQL databases. While the courses align with the learning objectives as set out in the DP-300 skills measured documentation, they do cover topics that may not be in the exam but that you should know as an Azure SQL database practitioner.

We will start by looking at the Azure SQL database's various versions, their features, and what you need to consider when migrating to an Azure database. The security of data, users, and the ecosystem is critical, and we will see how you can implement a secure database environment. Besides external threats, we will look at ways to protect your data from unforeseen events and how to get back online quickly when disaster does strike. Databases are dynamic structures, and we will see how you can monitor and respond automatically to growing data volumes and workloads. As databases are often the backbone or heart of applications and systems, efficient operation is paramount, so we will investigate ways to improve server, database, and query performance.

As you may or may not know, Azure SQL is based on Microsoft's mature SQL Server platform and, as such, shares a lot of features and functionality. If you are coming from an on-premise SQL Server background, then you'll find much of the content familiar. If you are relatively new to Microsoft's SQL technology, this learning path will get you acquainted with how it works in the Azure ecosystem and on-premise. Either way, you'll be learning about SQL databases and the engines that power them. Some courses focus on how the different versions of Azure SQL operate within the Azure cloud environment and don't require in-depth SQL knowledge. However, as a learning path about SQL databases, other courses do assume some prior knowledge of SQL statements.

Whether you're preparing for the DP-300 exam or you want to transition from on-premise to the cloud, or you want to learn about Microsoft's SQL Server technology, there's a lot to cover, so let's jump in.