dataMinds News Round up – April 2021

SQL

To meet today’s security and compliance challenges, SQL Server DBAs and other security professionals need to implement comprehensive protection plans that safeguard their data, databases, and the environments in which they operate. One of the most important steps they can take is to monitor their SQL Server instances, auditing events that can indicate a threat against sensitive data. What to monitor for SQL Server Security? Robert Sheldon walks the talk!

Extended events is a lightweight performance monitoring system that enables users to collect data needed to monitor and troubleshoot problems in SQL Server. One can easily select the results in XML. However, there are other possibilities as well. Grant Fritchey works his way around XML.

Azure Synapse

Automating tasks in Azure Synapse using Powershell often ends up in using the default Az Powershell Module for simplification reasons. However, in particular cases, it can be beneficial to directly connect to the Synapse REST API. Fonseca Sergio guides you through the procedure.

Azure Cosmos DB is a low-latency, highly available and globally distributed NoSQL database, that Microsoft recommends as a database platform for high-velocity data from IoT devices. However, real-time data ingestion requires services like Azure Event Hubs, Azure IoT Hubs to serve as a gateway for streaming data. Fikrat Azizov explains how to build a real-time data ingestion pipeline from Azure Event Hubs into Azure Cosmos DB, with minimal coding.

Azure Arc

Power BI

In the third part of his Power BI Performance series, Dan Szepesid helps you to understand how the VertiPaq engine works a bit below surface level, which can help you optimize your DAX code. While doing so, Dan is going to emphasize a DAX performance maxim: Filter columns, not tables. If you didn’t do so already, make sure to also check out the previous two blogs which tackled topics such as understanding a Power BI architecture and lifting the performance of report visuals.

Ever wondered how to efficiently set up a P&L report in Power BI? As there was quite some response, Matt Allington decided to write a follow-up article in which he extends his initial P&L report. Interesting fact: You get to learn how to solve DAX problems in a pragmatic manner.

Digital transformation is accelerating because of the digitization of processes, productivity through remote work, and increased collaboration in new tools like Microsoft Teams. Organizations need to look to capture the opportunity these new ways of working represent. Deploying Power BI integrated in Microsoft Teams for an organization is one easy way to capitalize on these trends by enabling more people to find and use data in more decision making.

Therefore, Microsoft assembled a guide which helps organizations, decision makers, and IT professionals to fully understand and deploy Power BI more broadly to their Microsoft Teams users.

In many data modeling cases, we are striving towards a star schema model. But is this the right thing to do? Can’t we just stick to one large single table for a dataset in Power BI? James Serra elaborates on the why’s (and why not’s).

Raise your voice

Microsoft has recently published an Azure SQL survey that is aimed at gathering feedback from customers, to inspire product development and future strategy. The survey covers a range of Azure SQL products and features.