Linked Services, Datasets & Copy Data Tool in Azure Synapse Analytics Explained
📘 Overview
Azure Synapse Analytics offers a visual and low-code environment to integrate data from various sources using Linked Services, Datasets, and the Copy Data Tool. These components are essential for building scalable data ingestion and ETL pipelines inside Synapse Studio.
🔗 What Is a Linked Service?
A Linked Service acts like a connection string. It defines the connection information required for Synapse to connect to a data source or compute environment.
📥 Examples:
- Azure Blob Storage
- Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2
- Azure SQL Database or Synapse SQL Pools
- Amazon S3 or external APIs
📄 What Is a Dataset?
A Dataset defines the structure of the data (like schema or file type) used as input or output in a data activity (e.g., Copy Data).
📝 Dataset Examples:
- CSV file in Blob Storage
- Table in Synapse SQL Pool
- JSON document in ADLS Gen2
🚀 Using the Copy Data Tool
The Copy Data Tool is a wizard-driven interface that lets you quickly copy data between sources and destinations.
✅ Step-by-Step
1. Go to Synapse Studio > Integrate > + > Copy Data Tool
2. Choose your source linked service (e.g., Azure Blob)
3. Choose your dataset (e.g., CSV file)
4. Choose the destination (e.g., Synapse SQL Table)
5. Map columns and set copy behavior
6. Trigger immediately or schedule🧩 How They Work Together
Linked Services define where to get or store the data. Datasets define what data is being moved. The Copy Data Tool defines how the data is moved.
📌 Best Practices
- Use parameterized linked services for reuse across pipelines
- Validate datasets for schema consistency
- Use copy activity logging for troubleshooting
🎯 Common Use Cases
- Ingesting data from on-premises to cloud
- Loading staging tables from flat files
- Copying reference data between sources
📺 Watch the Full Video Tutorial
📚 Credit: Content created with the help of ChatGPT and Gemini.
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