Microsoft Fabric is the latest buzz in the tech world, with companies actively discussing its adoption. Now is the perfect time to evaluate if Microsoft Fabric is suitable for your organization. This blog aims to provide insights for decision-makers, database administrators, DWH developers, SQL Server, and Azure Synapse developers.
Evaluating Microsoft Fabric DWH for Your Workloads
As a seasoned database and DWH developer with extensive experience as a DBA, I have critically evaluated Microsoft Fabric DWH. I asked myself crucial questions: What will happen if I migrate my Azure Synapse SQL Server-based DWH to Fabric DWH? How will I create indexes and views, and what will be the impact? Can I migrate my Azure Synapse DWH dedicated SQL pool to Fabric DWH? Will I be able to create round-robin or hash distribution, manage compute nodes, and control nodes? These are the questions that many developers are pondering.
Microsoft Fabric vs. PaaS and DaaS Services
Developers are accustomed to working with PaaS or DaaS services like Azure Synapse and Azure SQL Server, which offer more control over configurations. However, Microsoft Fabric is a SaaS offering, where all components are designed as Software as a Service, limiting some configuration and fine-tuning options.
Understanding Microsoft Fabric DWH and Azure Synapse
To make an informed decision, it’s crucial to understand that Microsoft Fabric DWH is essentially Azure Synapse. But what exactly is Azure Synapse, specifically the dedicated SQL pool?
Azure Synapse Dedicated SQL Pool Overview
Azure Synapse Dedicated Pool is built on a Massively Parallel Processing (MPP) engine. In MPP, data physically moves among compute nodes, which include multiple compute nodes and one control node. The control node handles requests and returns results, with both compute nodes running on Azure Data Storage. Increasing the number of compute nodes enhances parallel data processing, making it a robust solution for high-volume workloads.
By comparing the features and performance of Microsoft Fabric DWH with Azure Synapse, we can determine the best fit for your organizational needs.
Azure Synapse vs. Microsoft Fabric: Key Differences and Implementation
Azure Synapse DHW is a PaaS service, allowing you to manage compute nodes based on workload and modify data distribution methods (Hash or Distributed) across Azure Storage. However, Microsoft Fabric, implemented as a SaaS service, introduces some key differences.
Microsoft Fabric retains the robust SQL Server Query Optimizer but replaces the Massively Parallel Processing (MPP) engine with a Distributed Query Processing engine, similar to the serverless Azure Synapse DWH instance, but much more optimized. One significant downside is that you cannot control the compute nodes; they are managed entirely by Fabric, which operates under Azure Synapse’s management.
Unified Storage and Compute Separation
Microsoft Fabric utilizes OneLake for unified storage, separating compute from storage just like Azure Synapse. It supports ACID transactions and all standard DML and DDL statements. Also, we cannot create column-stored indexes on Fabric Synapse DWH tables.
Scalability and Configuration
In Azure Synapse dedicated pools, you can scale up and down, increasing compute nodes to match your data warehouse needs. Microsoft Fabric, on the other hand, does not allow you to specify the number of compute nodes or change underlying configurations. However, you can plan your Fabric capacity based on your existing Azure Synapse DWU units. Microsoft provides a comparison of processing power between these two platforms to assist with capacity planning.
By understanding these differences, you can better evaluate if Microsoft Fabric DWH is suitable for your Azure Synapse workloads and make an informed decision.
Pricing Comparison: Azure Synapse Dedicated SQL Pool vs. Microsoft Fabric Capacity
To assist with this comparison, the following table provides a handy reference for evaluating pricing and capacity between Azure Synapse Dedicated SQL Pool and Microsoft Fabric Capacity:
There’s a lot more to discuss regarding Microsoft Fabric DWH and its comparison with Azure Synapse DWH. In upcoming blogs, I will delve deeper into comparing Microsoft Fabric DWH with Azure SQL Server and MS SQL Server, providing comprehensive insights and guidance.
If you have any questions or need further information, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Stay tuned for more detailed analyses and expert advice on optimizing your data warehouse strategies with Microsoft Fabric.
This blog is part of Microsoft Azure Week! Find more similar blogs on our Microsoft Azure Landing page here.
About the author:
Practice Manager, Business Intelligence at AlphaBOLD | Data Engineering | Big Data Analytics | Cloud Data Architect
Aslam, A. (2024) Is Microsoft Fabric DWH Ready for Your Azure Synapse DWH Workload?. Available at: Is Microsoft Fabric DWH Ready for Your Azure Synapse DWH Workload? | LinkedIn [Accessed on 24/06/2024]
