6/01/2016

SQL Server 2016 Stretch Database

New to SQL 2016 is the ability to send archived data off-premises to MS Azure storage, in the form of a "Stretch Database."  Sounds like a great idea in theory but do your testing and bust out the calculators before you put production data in the cloud. 
Things I like:
  • Not buying storage, especially on a maxed out server
  • Easy to query full dataset across on-prem and Azure stretch
  • Ummm...all editions is a good thing instead of Enterprise only
  • Nope.  That's it.
Not fond of:
I'm pretty sure I could roll my own "stretch" function into a Azure SQL Database, and I'm an admin much more than a developer.
Maybe down the road this will be better, but right now its an expensive alternative to a USB drive from Fry's, or a NAS/SAN upgrade.
Are/were you planning to use Stretch?  Have a differing opinion?  Let's hear it!
Kevin3NF