{"id":16265,"date":"2016-06-29T13:15:38","date_gmt":"2016-06-29T20:15:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.technet.microsoft.com\/dataplatforminsider\/?p=16265"},"modified":"2024-01-22T22:52:23","modified_gmt":"2024-01-23T06:52:23","slug":"sql-server-2016-broader-access-better-reporting-faster-analytics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/sql-server\/blog\/2016\/06\/29\/sql-server-2016-broader-access-better-reporting-faster-analytics\/","title":{"rendered":"SQL Server 2016: Broader access, better reporting, faster analytics"},"content":{"rendered":"

We want to make it easier for businesses to use their data. Otherwise, what\u2019s the point? In SQL Server 2016 you\u2019ll find a virtual tool chest full of features, all with one primary goal: unlocking your data and helping you create new ways of analyzing, visualizing and sharing it.\n<\/p>\n

Building data-rich biz apps<\/h2>\n

The advent of machine learning and natural language processing made it easier to analyze unstructured data. The challenge was effectively integrating it with structured data, leading to more meaningful discoveries.<\/p>\n

Enter SQL Server PolyBase, a feature in SQL Server 2014 that was specific to the Microsoft Analytics Platform System, through which you could access data in a Hadoop Distributed File System. With SQL Server 2016 we cut the strings, making it possible to query data in Hadoop, as well as Azure Blob Storage. Now you can combine the results of your findings with relational data stored in SQL Server.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s just the beginning. PolyBase becomes a data-rich foundation upon which to build powerful business applications. It dynamically creates columnar tables for your structured data, parallelizes the extraction of data from Hadoop and Azure\u2014even pushing data to Hadoop clusters for additional processing.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, on the front end users can continue using their apps, consuming data and discovering new insights, all without needing to understand the finer points of data base management.<\/p>\n

You can install PolyBase in one of two ways: using the SQL Server Installation Wizard or from the command-prompt window. See below for an example of the installation script.<\/p>\n

\"Installing<\/p>\n

Subsequently, you\u2019ll also need to configure to PolyBase to connect either to Hadoop or Azure Blog Storage, using one of the following values:<\/p>\n