Databases compatibles with Windows Azure

Question

Hi!

I want to know if Windows Azure can work with others databases apart from SQL Azure Database. If yes, what are the compatible databases? Oracle? MySQL?

Thanks!!

Answer 1

An application hosted in Windows can connect to any external database it has visiblity too (Oracle, mySQL, Sybase, etc...). However, being able to host those database systems in Windows Azure requires that they can exist in Windows Azure's stateless virtual machines, which is a significant challenge. I've heard succesful reports of mySQL being hosted in a non-clustered manner in Windows Azure, but have heard of no real attempts to host Oracle.

Until such time as Windows Azure supports persistent virtual machines (like Amazon does), I would recommend finding a specialized hoster that provide those other databases for you an then connect to them from your Windows Azure hostered solutions.

Answer 2

Thanks again!

I am in a project related with Cloud-Computing. In this case, I have to do a recopilation the differents databases compatibles with Azure for working with Java. Once I know these databases, I will need to know the differents drivers for working with each database, for example, for working with MySQL, I need the driver J-Connector.

I don't know if I explain it good, sorry by my english.

Thanks!!

Answer 3

I'm not sure I understand the question. But I'll take a stab at answering it anyways. :)

Windows Azure is at its simpliest, a platform for hosting applications. That said, the ability to utilize a specific database from an application is based on what the language(s) that application was developed in will support. So having a Java application connect to SQL Server, SQL Azure, Oracle, mySQL is less about if Windows Azure can support thoe database then it is about if Java can.

Now hosting a database in Windows Azure is a seperate matter entirely. That does depend on what the platform itself will support. Unfortunately, that question often goes back to the database vendor. SQL Azure and mySQL are both scenarios I've been done in Windows Azure successfully. And Hadoop and MongoDB (while not traditional relational databases) are both also supported as well (the Hadoop framework is in preview at this time).

Answer 4

I'll also mention Windows Azure Storage, including the Blob, Queue, and Table services.  The Table service can be used for many database scenarios, though some relational DB scenarios can be better if done with SQL.  We also provide a full Java library for all three of these services, which you can see more about here: http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/develop/java/

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-Jeff

Answer 5

Then... if I don't have understood bad, you can use any database compatible with Java language (in this case).

Thanks and regards Jeff and BrentDaCodeMonkey!!

Answer 6

I cannot understand why everyone is deflecting the answer. Azure's stateless machine i.e the cloud services cannot host MySQL database or any other database other than Microsoft SQL Server, which is one of Azure's major drawback, but it can connect to it remotely if the driver is available. The question is how to connect remotely. Somehow, nobody is answering that. 

My understanding is that if we deploy the MySQL Connector/J with the project and if we could make amendments to the startup batch file then the remote connection could be possible. 

I was expecting a tutorial on that on the Azure website. I hope someone in the Azure team would give it some more attention.

Answer 7

If you have your database on the virtual machine or any accessible location, then any database could be queried from the azure cloud provided the driver files are copied in the project folder and their dependencies are declared (like for java with mysql the j-connector files should be copied to the WEB-INF folder)