Configure your sync group (SDS)

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A sync group is a logical grouping of SQL Database instances and optional SQL Server databases. This grouping defines which databases, tables and columns are synchronized together. This topic walks you through the final step in creating a working sync group – configuring your sync group.

The Microsoft Azure SQL Data Sync plug-in on the Microsoft Azure Silverlight portal has been decommissioned. Going forward, use the Microsoft Azure Management portal, for Azure SQL Data Sync.

You access SQL Data Sync (Preview) via the SYNC tab under SQL Database at the Microsoft Azure Management portal. The SYNC tab is only available when you have one or more sync groups. See the topic How To: Create a Sync Group (SDS) for guidance on creating and modifying a sync group from this portal.

See the Navigation section below for links to topics you should read before you start and guidance on creating and modifying sync groups.

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How To: Configure your Sync Group

Navigate to the configuration page

  1. Navigate your browser to the Azure Management Portal.

  2. Click SQL DATABASES in the left pane.

  3. Click the SYNC tab.

  4. From the list of sync groups, click the name of the sync group you want to configure.

  5. Click CONFIGURE.

Set the configuration

  1. AUTOMATIC SYNC
    Click ON to configure this sync group to synchronize on the schedule you define.
    Click OFF to configure this sync group to synchronize only when you click SYNC NOW.

  2. SYNC FREQUENCY
    Set the frequency of synchronizations. The frequency must be between 5 minutes and 1 month. This value is applicable only if AUTOMATIC SYNC is ON.

    If you need near real time synchronization of your data you should look at AlwaysOn availability groups.

  3. Click SAVE.

SQL Data Sync (Preview) is a feature of SQL Database. From the Azure Management portal you can perform all tasks necessary to create, deploy, and modify a sync group.

Before you start

Before you begin to design and implement your synchronizations, you should be familiar with these topics.

How to create a sync group

There are six steps to creating a sync group from the Azure Management portal. Details on each step can be found by following these links.
  1. Sign in to the Azure SQL Database Management portal
    SQL Data Sync (Preview) is found as a tab under SQL Database only after you create a sync group.

  2. Install a SQL Data Sync Client Agent

  3. Register a SQL Server database with a Client Agent

  4. Create your sync group

  5. Define your data sync

  6. Configure your sync group (SDS)
 

How to modify a sync group

You can modify a sync group’s schema by adding/removing tables or columns in the sync group; or by altering a column’s width or data type. Details can be found by following the links.

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See Also

Concepts

SQL Data Sync
SQL Database Data Types supported by SQL Data Sync
Data Security in SQL Data Sync
Conflict Resolution when Synchronizing
SQL Data Sync Troubleshooting Guide
Glossary of SQL Data Sync Terms

Other Resources

Azure Management Portal
SQL Azure Data Sync [Channel 9 videos]