Glossary
Search Azure terms
Open a clear definition, then continue into exam context, architecture, commands, operational examples, common mistakes, and related concepts.
Search all
Commands
Learning guides
Concept graph
Compare
Search-first Azure knowledge base
Term results
Search for a term or click a category. Results render only after you ask for them, so the glossary does not dump every available term on first load. Each result includes Quick peek and Open full term page actions.
Start with a search or a category.
Try managed identity , resource group , az group , private endpoint , or click Databases to load all database-related terms.
Showing 50 of 1,992 matching terms. Narrow the search to reduce the list.
Analytics
premium
External data source
An External data source is a database object that defines the location and connection information used by SQL engines to access external data. Teams use it to point serverless SQL, dedicated SQL pools, or PolyBase-style queries to data stored outside the database, such as Azure Storage or Data Lake paths. It is not the external table schema, the file format definition, the storage account itself, or proof that the credential can read every file under the path.
Synapse SQL and data virtualization
intermediate
6 commands
Aliases: CREATE EXTERNAL DATA SOURCE, PolyBase external data source, Synapse external data source
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
premium
External file format
An External file format is a database object that describes the file type, delimiter, compression, and parsing options used to read or write external data. Teams use it to tell SQL engines how to interpret external files such as delimited text, Parquet, ORC, or compressed data before external tables and CETAS jobs use them. It is not the data source location, the external table schema, the actual lake file, or a guarantee that every file in a folder has the same structure.
Synapse SQL and data virtualization
intermediate
6 commands
Aliases: CREATE EXTERNAL FILE FORMAT, PolyBase file format, Synapse external file format
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
premium
External table
An External table is a SQL table definition whose data is stored outside the database, commonly in Azure Storage or Azure Data Lake Storage. Teams use it to let SQL users query lake files or remote data through familiar table names while the actual data remains in external storage. It is not a managed internal database table, a copy of the data, a storage access policy, or proof that the external files are optimized, fresh, or secure.
Synapse SQL and data virtualization
intermediate
6 commands
Aliases: Synapse external table, SQL external table, PolyBase external table
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
learning-path-anchor
Synapse SQL CETAS
Synapse SQL CETAS means CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE AS SELECT. It creates external table metadata and exports the result of a T-SQL SELECT statement in parallel to files in Azure Storage or Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 for later SQL or lake consumption.
Synapse Analytics
fundamentals
6 commands
Aliases: CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE AS SELECT, CETAS, Synapse CETAS, serverless SQL CETAS
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
learning-path-anchor
Synapse SQL external table
A Synapse SQL external table is database metadata that lets Synapse SQL query files stored outside the database, usually in Azure Storage or ADLS Gen2. It references an external data source, file format, and file location for governed SQL analytics.
Synapse Analytics
fundamentals
6 commands
Aliases: external table in Synapse, Synapse external table, SQL external table, external table over lake files
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
learning-path-anchor
Synapse SQL on-demand
Synapse SQL on-demand is the serverless SQL pool model in Azure Synapse Analytics. It lets teams run T-SQL queries over data in the lake without provisioning dedicated warehouse capacity, storing only metadata objects while using external data sources, views, functions, and security objects.
Synapse Analytics
fundamentals
6 commands
Aliases: SQL on-demand, Synapse serverless SQL, serverless SQL in Synapse, built-in serverless SQL pool
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
learning-path-anchor
Synapse SQL script
A Synapse SQL script is a saved T-SQL authoring artifact in Synapse Studio. Users create or import scripts in the Develop hub, connect them to a dedicated or serverless SQL pool, run queries, review tabular results, export output, and organize scripts into folders.
Synapse Analytics
fundamentals
5 commands
Aliases: SQL script in Synapse, Synapse Studio SQL script, T-SQL script artifact, Synapse query script
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
premium
Synapse SQL
Synapse SQL is the T-SQL analytics capability in Azure Synapse Analytics. It includes dedicated SQL pools for provisioned warehousing and serverless SQL pools for on-demand lake queries, letting teams analyze structured and semi-structured data through familiar SQL endpoints inside a Synapse workspace.
Synapse Analytics
intermediate
7 commands
Aliases: Synapse SQL engine, Azure Synapse SQL, Synapse serverless and dedicated SQL, SQL analytics in Synapse
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
learning-path-anchor
Databricks SQL warehouse
A Databricks SQL compute resource for interactive queries, dashboards, BI tools, and governed analytics workloads.
Databricks
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: SQL warehouse, Databricks SQL compute, serverless SQL warehouse
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
field-manual-complete
Synapse data explorer pool
A analytics platform concept in Synapse Analytics that helps teams move, transform, query, and govern data at scale with clearer ownership, safety, and operational context.
Synapse Analytics
fundamentals
6 commands
Aliases: Azure Synapse data explorer pool, Data Explorer pool, Kusto pool in Synapse, Synapse Kusto pool, Synapse data explorer pool, legacy Synapse Data Explorer, synapse data explorer pool, synapse-data-explorer-pool
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
field-manual-complete
Synapse dataset
A data structure referenced by Synapse pipelines.
Data engineering and analytics
intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: Azure Synapse dataset, Azure Synapse dataset JSON, Synapse dataset, dataset linked service, integration dataset, pipeline dataset, synapse dataset, synapse-dataset
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
field-manual-complete
Synapse lake database
Synapse lake database is documented by Microsoft as part of the Synapse Analytics area in Azure.
Synapse Analytics
fundamentals
5 commands
Aliases: Azure Synapse lake database, Synapse database designer, Synapse lake database, lake database, lake-backed database, metadata over data lake, synapse lake database, synapse-lake-database
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
premium
Synapse SQL administrator
A Synapse SQL administrator is the Synapse RBAC role focused on serverless SQL access and SQL artifacts. It grants broad serverless SQL pool permissions plus create, read, update, and delete access to published SQL scripts, credentials, and linked services within a workspace.
Synapse Analytics
intermediate
6 commands
Aliases: Synapse SQL Administrator, Synapse SQL admin, SQL administrator in Synapse, Synapse SQL admin role
Quick peek
Open full term page
Databases
premium
Azure SQL Database
Azure SQL Database is a fully managed relational database service in Azure that provides SQL Server-compatible engines as single databases, elastic pools, and serverless or provisioned compute choices. Microsoft Learn presents it as platform as a service with built-in availability, backups, patching, scaling, and security integration.
Database
intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: Azure SQL DB, Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL pooled database, Azure SQL single database, SQL Database
Quick peek
Open full term page
Databases
premium
Azure SQL database copy
Azure SQL database copy creates a transactionally consistent copy of an Azure SQL Database using portal, PowerShell, Azure CLI, or Transact-SQL.
Azure SQL Database
fundamentals
5 commands
Aliases: Azure SQL copy, Azure SQL database copy, CREATE DATABASE AS COPY OF, SQL database copy, database copy
Quick peek
Open full term page
Databases
premium
Azure SQL Database DTU model
Azure SQL Database DTU model is a purchasing model that bundles compute, storage, and I/O resources into Database Transaction Units for Basic, Standard, and Premium tiers.
Azure SQL Database
fundamentals
5 commands
Aliases: Azure SQL Database DTU model, DTU model, DTU-based purchasing model, Database Transaction Unit, eDTU
Quick peek
Open full term page
Databases
premium
Serverless SQL database
A serverless SQL database is an Azure SQL Database single database configured with the serverless compute model. It automatically scales compute within configured limits, can auto-pause in supported tiers, resumes on activity, and keeps the managed SQL Database platform features such as backups, patching, monitoring, and security.
Azure SQL Database
fundamentals
5 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
Quick peek
Open full term page
Databases
premium
Azure SQL transparent data encryption
Azure SQL Transparent Data Encryption helps protect Azure SQL Database data, log files, and backups at rest by encrypting and decrypting database pages without requiring application changes.
Azure SQL Database
fundamentals
4 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
Quick peek
Open full term page
Databases
complete
SQL contained database user
Microsoft Learn describes contained database users as users that authenticate at the database level rather than through a matching login in the master database. In Azure SQL Database, they can support SQL authentication or Microsoft Entra identities, and the database name must be included in the connection string.
Data platform
intermediate
6 commands
Aliases: contained database user, database-contained user, Azure SQL contained user, CREATE USER FROM EXTERNAL PROVIDER
Quick peek
Open full term page
Databases
complete
SQL database
Microsoft Learn describes Azure SQL Database as a fully managed relational database service where a single database is created on a logical server and configured with compute, storage, backup, security, and availability settings. It supports portal, PowerShell, Azure CLI, REST, and Transact-SQL operations for deployment and management.
Azure SQL
fundamentals
5 commands
Aliases: Azure SQL database, single SQL database, Azure SQL DB, SQL DB resource
Quick peek
Open full term page
Databases
complete
SQL database collation
Microsoft Learn explains that database collation defines the default rules for character data comparison, sorting, case sensitivity, accent sensitivity, and Unicode behavior. A database collation can be specified when creating or modifying a database, but existing column-level collations and stored data are not automatically changed.
Data platform
intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: database collation, SQL collation, Azure SQL collation, default database collation
Quick peek
Open full term page
Databases
complete
SQL database copy
Microsoft Learn describes database copy in Azure SQL Database as an operation that creates a new database from an existing database through the portal, Azure CLI, PowerShell, or Transact-SQL. The copy runs asynchronously, creates the target database after acceptance, and can require login remapping across servers.
Azure SQL
intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: database copy, Azure SQL database copy, copy database, SQL DB clone
Quick peek
Open full term page
Databases
complete
SQL database export
Microsoft Learn describes SQL database export as creating a BACPAC file that contains database schema and data and storing it in Azure Storage or local tooling output. Export can be started from the portal, PowerShell, Azure CLI, SqlPackage, SSMS, or supported developer tools.
Azure SQL
fundamentals
5 commands
Aliases: database export, Azure SQL BACPAC export, SQL export, export database to BACPAC
Quick peek
Open full term page
Databases
complete
SQL database firewall rule
Microsoft Learn describes Azure SQL firewall rules as IP allow rules that must permit traffic before clients can reach a logical server or database. Server-level rules can be managed through Azure tools, while database-level rules are scoped to individual databases and managed with Transact-SQL.
Data platform
intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: Azure SQL firewall rule, SQL server firewall rule, database-level firewall rule, SQL IP firewall rule
Quick peek
Open full term page
Databases
complete
SQL database import
SQL database import is the Azure SQL workflow that rebuilds a database from a BACPAC file stored in Azure Storage or supplied through tooling.
Azure SQL
fundamentals
5 commands
Aliases: Azure SQL Database import, BACPAC import, SQL import, database import operation
Quick peek
Open full term page
Databases
complete
SQL transparent data encryption
Microsoft Learn describes transparent data encryption for Azure SQL as encryption at rest for databases, backups, and transaction logs. It is enabled by default for Azure SQL Database, uses a service-managed protector unless customer-managed keys are configured, and stays transparent to applications.
Azure SQL security
intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: SQL TDE, Azure SQL TDE, transparent data encryption, TDE for Azure SQL
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
learning-path-anchor
Synapse Spark pool
A Synapse Spark pool is the workspace compute definition Azure Synapse uses to start Apache Spark sessions. It records node size, node count, autoscale behavior, runtime version, packages, and idle timeout so notebooks, Spark jobs, and pipelines get repeatable distributed processing.
Synapse Analytics
fundamentals
8 commands
Aliases: Apache Spark pool, Spark pool, Synapse Apache Spark pool, serverless Spark pool
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
learning-path-anchor
Synapse workspace managed identity
A Synapse workspace managed identity is the workspace's own identity in Microsoft Entra ID. Instead of saving passwords, keys, or connection strings inside pipelines and notebooks, Synapse can use this identity to ask for tokens and reach trusted Azure resources. It is commonly used for Data Lake Storage, Key Vault, SQL, and linked service...
Synapse Analytics
intermediate
8 commands
Aliases: Synapse managed service identity, Synapse MSI, workspace system-assigned identity, Synapse workspace identity
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
learning-path-anchor
Synapse Studio
Synapse Studio is the browser-based workspace experience for Azure Synapse Analytics. It exposes hubs for data, development, integration, monitoring, and management, letting users author notebooks and SQL scripts, build pipelines, configure connections, review access, and work with Git-backed or live artifacts.
Synapse Analytics
fundamentals
6 commands
Aliases: Azure Synapse Studio, Synapse web workspace, Synapse workspace UI, Synapse authoring experience
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
learning-path-anchor
Synapse workspace repository
A Synapse workspace repository is where a Synapse workspace saves its authoring artifacts when Git integration is enabled. Instead of every notebook, pipeline, SQL script, linked service, or dataset living only in the live workspace, the team works through branches, commits, pull requests, and a publish branch. That gives data engineers a familiar code-review...
Synapse Analytics
fundamentals
5 commands
Aliases: Synapse Git repository, Synapse source control, Synapse code repository, workspace Git integration
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
learning-path-anchor
Databricks notebook
A collaborative Azure Databricks document for code, SQL, visualizations, exploration, jobs, and ML workflows attached to compute.
Databricks
fundamentals
4 commands
Aliases: Azure Databricks notebook, Databricks workspace notebook, interactive notebook
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
command-rich
Synapse workspace
A Synapse workspace is the main container where a team builds and operates Azure Synapse Analytics. It gives the team one named place for SQL pools, Spark pools, pipelines, notebooks, linked services, access rules, monitoring, and the connection to the default data lake. The workspace is not just a folder in the portal; it...
Analytics platform
fundamentals
9 commands
Aliases: Azure Synapse workspace, Synapse Analytics workspace, workspace in Azure Synapse, Synapse analytics boundary
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
premium
Change data capture in Data Factory
A Data Factory capability for processing changed data from supported sources.
Data integration
intermediate
10 commands
Aliases: CDC
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
premium
Synapse workspace key
A Synapse workspace key is the customer-managed encryption key that a Synapse workspace uses when an organization does not want to rely only on Microsoft-managed encryption. The key is stored in Azure Key Vault, and the workspace references it by name and key identifier. For operators, this is not just a checkbox. The key...
Synapse Analytics
fundamentals
8 commands
Aliases: Synapse customer-managed key, Synapse CMK, workspace encryption key, Synapse workspace customer-managed key
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
premium
Azure Synapse Analytics
Azure Synapse Analytics is Microsoft’s integrated analytics service for enterprise data warehousing, big data, data integration, and exploratory analytics.
Synapse Analytics
intermediate
6 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
premium
Azure Databricks
A unified, open analytics platform on Azure for building, deploying, sharing, and maintaining enterprise data, analytics, and AI solutions at scale.
Data engineering and AI
intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: Databricks on Azure
Quick peek
Open full term page
Databases
premium
Azure SQL auditing
Azure SQL auditing tracks database events and writes audit logs to supported destinations such as storage, Log Analytics, or Event Hubs.
Azure SQL Database
fundamentals
5 commands
Aliases: Azure SQL audit logs, Azure SQL auditing, SQL auditing, database auditing
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
premium
Data warehouse unit
Data warehouse unit is documented by Microsoft as part of the Synapse Analytics area in Azure.
Synapse Analytics
intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
premium
Serverless SQL external table
A serverless SQL external table in Azure Synapse SQL is a metadata object that references files in Azure Storage or Azure Data Lake Storage. Serverless SQL pools use native external tables to read external data, map columns, apply supported file formats, and support CETAS export patterns.
Azure Synapse Analytics
intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
premium
Serverless SQL pool
Serverless SQL pool in Azure Synapse Analytics lets users query data in the lake with T-SQL without provisioning dedicated SQL compute. It stores only metadata objects in databases, supports SELECT, CETAS, views, credentials, users, and object permissions, and charges based on data processed by queries.
Azure Synapse Analytics
fundamentals
5 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
learning-path-anchor
Synapse workspace firewall
A Synapse workspace firewall is the IP allowlist around a Synapse workspace when it accepts public network traffic. It decides which client IPv4 ranges can attempt to connect before identity permissions are evaluated. It does not grant access by itself; a user or service still needs the right Azure, Synapse, or SQL permissions. It...
Synapse Analytics
intermediate
6 commands
Aliases: Synapse IP firewall rule, workspace firewall rule, Synapse workspace IP allowlist, Synapse public endpoint firewall
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
premium
Dedicated SQL pool pause
Dedicated SQL pool pause stops compute resources for an Azure Synapse dedicated SQL pool so compute charges stop while the database storage remains available and billable.
Analytics platform
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: pause dedicated SQL pool, Synapse SQL pool pause, pause SQL DW compute
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
premium
Dedicated SQL pool resume
Dedicated SQL pool resume restarts compute for a paused Azure Synapse dedicated SQL pool so users and workloads can query the warehouse again and compute billing resumes.
Analytics platform
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: resume dedicated SQL pool, Synapse SQL pool resume, start SQL DW compute
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
learning-path-anchor
Synapse workload group
A Synapse workload group is a dedicated SQL pool workload management object that reserves, caps, and grants resources for classified requests. It uses settings such as MIN_PERCENTAGE_RESOURCE, CAP_PERCENTAGE_RESOURCE, and request resource grant percentages to shape isolation, containment, concurrency, and execution behavior.
Synapse Analytics
fundamentals
5 commands
Aliases: workload group in Synapse, dedicated SQL pool workload group, CREATE WORKLOAD GROUP, Synapse workload isolation group
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
learning-path-anchor
Databricks model serving
A managed serving endpoint pattern for exposing Databricks models or AI workloads for online inference with operational controls.
Databricks
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: Databricks Model Serving, serving endpoint, model serving endpoint
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
learning-path-anchor
Databricks Photon
The native vectorized Azure Databricks engine for accelerating eligible SQL, DataFrame, ETL, and streaming workloads.
Databricks
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: Photon engine, Photon acceleration, Databricks vectorized engine
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
learning-path-anchor
Databricks repo
A workspace Git integration, now called Git folders, for versioning notebooks and files used in Databricks development and CI/CD.
Databricks
fundamentals
4 commands
Aliases: Databricks Repos, Databricks Git folder, Azure Databricks Git folders, workspace Git folder
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
learning-path-anchor
Databricks secret scope
A named Databricks collection of secrets used to store credentials and grant controlled read or manage access to workloads.
Databricks
fundamentals
4 commands
Aliases: Databricks secrets scope, secret scope, Azure Databricks secrets
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
learning-path-anchor
Databricks table
A governed Databricks data object, commonly managed, external, or foreign, queried through Unity Catalog and optimized for analytics.
Databricks
fundamentals
4 commands
Aliases: Unity Catalog table, Delta table in Databricks, Databricks managed table
Quick peek
Open full term page
Analytics
learning-path-anchor
Synapse workload classifier
A Synapse workload classifier is a dedicated SQL pool workload management rule that assigns incoming requests to a workload group and importance level. It can classify by user or role, query label, session context, and time window so different workloads receive different resource behavior.
Synapse Analytics
fundamentals
3 commands
Aliases: workload classifier in Synapse, dedicated SQL pool classifier, CREATE WORKLOAD CLASSIFIER, Synapse classification rule
Quick peek
Open full term page
No glossary terms matched that search.
Try a service name, acronym, command group, or category such as RBAC , az group , App Service , Application Insights , Databases , or Azure AI Search .
Clear filters and show matches
Reset search