We are pleased to announce that Azure DocumentDB is now generally available. DocumentDB is a fully managed NoSQL document database service that allows applications to query and process JSON data at scale. With general availability, DocumentDB is now offered in three purchase options; each with reserved performance, hourly billing and 99.95% availability. Today we are also releasing a new open source data migration tool to ease the movement of existing data from other database systems to DocumentDB.
We built DocumentDB in response to the increasing demands of mobile first, cloud first application development. NoSQL databases are becoming the tool of choice for many developers however running and managing these databases can be complicated and costly, especially at scale. DocumentDB is delivered as a fully managed database-as-a-service (DBaaS) with built in high availability, SQL query over indexed JSON and multi-document transaction processing. Since we previewed DocumentDB last year, we have been focusing on delivering a reliable and scalable service for customers to develop new application experiences. SGS International, an industry leader in design-to-print solutions uses DocumentDB to solve color management through their cloud based InkLab application.
“InkLab is highly responsive because DocumentDB provides faster access to data … We also used it to avoid design compromises that we would have had with a structured-data solution.”
New performance based purchase options
DocumentDB now supports three new purchase options (performance levels) and hourly billing for the standard pricing tier. Performance levels provide a guaranteed, reserved level of throughput and request processing over high performance SSD based storage. Performance levels can be set through the Azure portal or one of the DocumentDB SDKs. You can adjust performance levels at any point to meet the unique needs of your application and control how you consume service capacity. Learn more about DocumentDB’s performance levels here.
Data Migration tool
We’re always looking for ways to ease getting started with DocumentDB. We’ve provided code samples, a query playground and lots of documentation. However, we’ve heard that getting existing data into a new DocumentDB account can be difficult. To simplify this process we’ve released the DocumentDB Data Migration tool, an open source solution that imports data from a variety of sources, including JSON files, CSV files, SQL Server, MongoDB and existing DocumentDB collections. In addition to basic data import operations, the tool supports transforming tabular source data (e.g. SQL Server or CSV files) such that hierarchical relationships (subdocuments) can be created during import, as well as, options for handling date fields. The migration tool source code is available on GitHub with a compiled version available from the Microsoft Download Center. Either compile the solution or simply download and extract the packaged version to a directory of your choice. For full details on how to use the tool, including command line samples for each data source option, access the full documentation here.
Get started now!
Today is just the beginning in enabling new applications and experiences built on Microsoft Azure DocumentDB. We believe that as a fully managed NoSQL service, DocumentDB will allow you to move faster and quickly adapt to the needs of your application users. We will continue to deliver new service capabilities based on what we hear from you. We are already hard at work on the features that customers have told us are important. Please send us your feedback through the forum or by tweeting with #DocumentDB. Get started now with Azure DocumentDB by using your existing Microsoft Azure subscription or by signing up for a free trial. DocumentDB offers a variety of SDKs including support for .Net, Node, Java and Python. The service also offers integrated support for other Azure data services including HDInsight and Azure Search. If you just want a taste of DocumentDB with no commitment, no credit card, no hassles – check out our free query playground. Thanks, Azure DocumentDB Team
