Enable Azure Synapse Link

Azure Synapse Link is a powerful feature in Microsoft Azure that allows seamless integration between Azure Cosmos DB and Azure Synapse Analytics. With Synapse Link, you can enable real-time analytics on your operational data stored in Cosmos DB, enabling faster insights and reducing data movement.

1. Create an Azure Cosmos DB account

Before enabling Synapse Link, you must have an existing Azure Cosmos DB account. If you don’t have one, you can create it using the Azure portal or programmatically using Azure CLI, Azure PowerShell, or Azure SDKs.

2. Enable Azure Synapse Link

Once you have your Cosmos DB account, follow these steps to enable Azure Synapse Link:

• Open the Azure portal and navigate to your Cosmos DB account.
• Select the “Synapse Link (Preview)” option from the left menu.
• Click on the “Enable Synapse Link” button.
• Choose your Azure Synapse Analytics workspace from the list or create a new one.
• Click on the “Apply” button to enable Synapse Link.

3. Configure Azure Synapse Analytics

After enabling Synapse Link, you need to configure your Azure Synapse Analytics workspace. Follow these steps:

1. Go to the Azure portal and navigate to your Azure Synapse Analytics workspace.
2. Select the “Data” tab and choose “Linked” from the left menu.
3. Click on the “New” button and select “Azure Cosmos DB” as the data source.
4. Provide the required information such as Cosmos DB account, database, and container name.
5. Click on the “Create” button to establish the link between Azure Synapse Analytics and Cosmos DB.

4. Querying data with Synapse Link

Now that you have enabled Synapse Link, you can query data from Azure Cosmos DB directly within Azure Synapse Analytics using familiar SQL syntax. Here’s how you can perform a SQL query:

• Open your Azure Synapse Analytics workspace and navigate to the “Query” editor.
• Select the “Cosmos DB” as the source, and choose the appropriate database and container.
• Enter your SQL query in the editor.
• Click on the “Run” button to execute the query and retrieve real-time results.

5. Analyzing data with Synapse Studio

Azure Synapse Studio provides a unified workspace to analyze and visualize data. With Synapse Link, you can leverage the capabilities of Synapse Studio to gain insights into your operational data stored in Cosmos DB. Here’s how you can analyze data:

• Open Azure Synapse Studio and navigate to the “Data” hub.
• Select your Cosmos DB account and choose the desired database and container.
• Explore your data using various tools and visualizations available in Synapse Studio, such as notebooks, Power BI, or Spark.

By enabling Azure Synapse Link, you unlock the potential for real-time analytics on your operational data in Azure Cosmos DB. It eliminates the need for data movement, reduces latency, and provides faster insights for your applications and analytics workloads.

Please note that the steps mentioned above are based on the Azure portal experience at the time of writing this article. Microsoft documentation might have the latest updates and changes to the Synapse Link feature.