is azure an option for multiple instances of dev engine and ssas?

  • Hi as you can see at https://www.sqlservercentral.com/forums/topic/test-sql-servers#post-4422832  we would really like multiple instances in dev or on our desktop of the engine , ssas etc so we can manage multiple projects at the same time.   i realize if we use azure instead we are probably excluding ssrs and ssis but wonder if the community can comment, especially on initial steps tenents etc?   we already use the cloud for pbi.    sooner or later i suspect our "right sized" servers will only be for ssrs and ssis.   i'm aware that data factory can call ssis but wonder if the community can comment on the appropriateness of a big data tool like df COMPLETELY (without calls) replacing ssis?  And perhaps what appears like MS bullying us into using pbi (for reporting) exclusively instead of ssrs when a big goal is to right size (on prem) server wise?

  • IMO, migrating to Power BI 'Tabular Reports' from SSRS is super simple and worth investigating.

    DF does not replace SSIS, however. We have tried to migrate and failed (and gone back to SSIS), for the following two main reasons:

    1. Cost
    2. No support for C# (or other code, other than T-SQL) in DF pipelines.

     

    The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence
    - Martin Rees
    The absence of consumable DDL, sample data and desired results is, however, evidence of the absence of my response
    - Phil Parkin

  • thx phil, i agree that pbi is super simple but the cost of ownership seems prohibitive.   Not to mention the lack of folder depth/organization in pbi.  by cost of ownership, i havent done the math but i suspect once you have an on prem server (right sized) ssrs reports are "essentially" free.  but MS will ding you noticeably if you put your reports in pbi for no apparent reason.   but i am anxious to hear your take on azure for everything else.   we have a tenant so are we looking at multiple instances in the cloud of the engine and ssas especially if we want to test multiple projects simultaneously?  do we really need MS's warehouse offering when we are already pretty good at shaping our own warehouse?

  • again VDI will be best

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    "Ya can't make an omelette without breaking just a few eggs" 😉

  • Folders in Workspaces is now in Preview.

    No need for SSAS, now that there are semantic models.

     

    The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence
    - Martin Rees
    The absence of consumable DDL, sample data and desired results is, however, evidence of the absence of my response
    - Phil Parkin

  • thx Perry and Phil.   Perry i'm not sure why you say vdi is better.  Phil, i dont see semantic models and ssas necessarily as alternatives.  i see them more as complimentary tools.

  • Vdis can be started and disposed to meet dev requirements

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    "Ya can't make an omelette without breaking just a few eggs" 😉

  • stan wrote:

    Phil, i dont see semantic models and ssas necessarily as alternatives.  i see them more as complimentary tools.

    Would you care to expand on this comment, please?

    I am currently migrating from SSAS to semantic models and to me the Azure version is pretty much the same thing, but with a fancier wrapper.

    The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence
    - Martin Rees
    The absence of consumable DDL, sample data and desired results is, however, evidence of the absence of my response
    - Phil Parkin

  • loaded question but i'll try.  for starters we plumb more than just pbi to cubes.  for example excel pivots.   i understand there is an extension to excel called power pivot which no doubt / maybe can see semantic models but we aren't there.   so my first answer is compatibility with other products, even those belonging to MS.

  • stan wrote:

    loaded question but i'll try.  for starters we plumb more than just pbi to cubes.  for example excel pivots.   i understand there is an extension to excel called power pivot which no doubt / maybe can see semantic models but we aren't there.   so my first answer is compatibility with other products, even those belonging to MS.

    It's actually easier to access semantic models from Excel than it is to access SSAS cubes.

    Simply Data / Get Data / From Power Platform

    And then the process of building pivot tables is exactly as before.

    If you're still using an old version of Excel, it probably doesn't work so well.

    The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence
    - Martin Rees
    The absence of consumable DDL, sample data and desired results is, however, evidence of the absence of my response
    - Phil Parkin

  • didnt know.  so answer #2,  kind of piling on answer #1 is that the users who pivot would need minimally a pbi pro license.   i dont think we want to give those out to everybody.

  • stan wrote:

    didnt know.  so answer #2,  kind of piling on answer #1 is that the users who pivot would need minimally a pbi pro license.   i dont think we want to give those out to everybody.

    Now that certainly is an issue. Pro wasn't feature-rich enough for us, so our users have PPU (Premium Per User) licences.

    The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence
    - Martin Rees
    The absence of consumable DDL, sample data and desired results is, however, evidence of the absence of my response
    - Phil Parkin

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