/azure-synapse-analytics

name: azure-synapse-analytics
description: Expert knowledge for Azure Synapse Analytics development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. Use when configuring Synapse workspaces, Spark/SQL pools, Synapse Link, Delta Lake tables, or ELT with PolyBase, and other Azure Synapse Analytics related development tasks. Not for Azure Data Factory (use azure-data-factory), Azure Data Explorer (use azure-data-explorer), Azure HDInsight (use azure-hdinsight), Azure Databricks (use azure-databricks).
compatibility: Requires network access. Uses mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch or fetch_webpage to retrieve documentation.
metadata:
  generated_at: "2026-11-01"
  generator: "docs2skills/1.0.0"

Azure Synapse Analytics Skill

This skill provides expert guidance for Azure Synapse Analytics. Covers troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. It combines local quick-reference content with remote documentation fetching capabilities.

How to Use This Skill

> **IMPORTANT for Agent**: Use the **Category Index** below to locate relevant sections. For categories with line ranges (e.g., `L35-L120`), use `read_file` with the specified lines. For categories with file links (e.g., `[security.md](security.md)`), use `read_file` on the linked reference file

> **IMPORTANT for Agent**: If `metadata.generated_at` is more than 3 months old, suggest the user pull the latest version from the repository. If `mcp_microsoftdocs` tools are not available, suggest the user install it: [Installation Guide](https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/mcp/blob/main/README.md)

This skill requires **network access** to fetch documentation content:

• **Preferred**: Use `mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch` with query string `from=learn-agent-skill`. Returns Markdown.
• **Fallback**: Use `fetch_webpage` with query string `from=learn-agent-skill&accept=text/markdown`. Returns Markdown.

Category Index

| Category | Lines | Description | |----------|-------|-------------| | Troubleshooting | L37-L67 | Diagnosing and fixing Synapse workspace, SQL pool, Spark, Link, and Studio issues, including connectivity, performance, workload classification, tenant moves, and known limitations. | | Best Practices | L68-L130 | Best practices for Synapse performance and design: migrations (Netezza/Oracle/Teradata), Spark tuning, Delta/Hyperspace, dedicated/serverless SQL optimization, indexing, stats, T-SQL patterns, and governance. | | Decision Making | L131-L153 | Guidance for choosing Synapse architectures, cost and capacity planning, Spark runtimes, and migration/upgrade strategies from other warehouses and SQL pools. | | Architecture & Design Patterns | L154-L173 | Architecture and design guidance for Synapse workspaces, SQL/serverless/Spark pools, data warehouse migrations, table/distribution/partition strategies, ELT/PolyBase loading, and workload management. | | Limits & Quotas | L174-L186 | Spark runtime versions/support, SQL pool memory/concurrency limits, capacity quotas, and feature/limit details for Delta Lake, Synapse Link for Cosmos DB, and Synapse Link for SQL. | | Security | L187-L271 | Securing Synapse workspaces and SQL: identity/auth (Entra, MFA, managed identities), RBAC, networking (VNets, private endpoints, firewalls), encryption/TDE, auditing, Defender, and data protection. | | Configuration | L272-L321 | Configuring Synapse workspaces, Spark pools, and SQL pools: environment setup, autoscale, libraries, monitoring/metrics, backups/restore, workload management, auditing, and integrations (Purview, AML). | | Integrations & Coding Patterns | L322-L371 | Integrating Synapse with Spark, SQL, ML, storage, Cosmos DB, and external tools; patterns for data movement, querying files, logging/metrics, and managing compute via APIs and automation. | | Deployment | L372-L379 | Guides for deploying Synapse workspaces and dedicated SQL pools with CI/CD and ARM templates, plus operational readiness checks and configuring SQL pool maintenance windows. |

Troubleshooting

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Recover Synapse workspaces after Entra tenant move | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/synapse-analytics/how-to-recover-workspace-after-tenant-move | | Diagnose and work around Azure Synapse known issues | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/synapse-analytics/known-issues | | Resolve common Azure Synapse Analytics FAQ issues | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/synapse-analytics/overview-faq | | Resolve compatibility issues between SQL Server apps and Synapse | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/synapse-analytics/partner/compatibility-issues | | Diagnose and resolve Livy job errors in Synapse Spark | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/synapse-analytics/spark/apache-spark-handle-livy-error | | Debug Synapse Spark apps with extended history server | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/synapse-analytics/spark/apache-spark-history-server | | Troubleshoot Synapse Spark library installation failures | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/synapse-analytics/spark/apache-spark-troubleshoot-library-errors | | Monitor query activity and resource utilization in Synapse | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/synapse-analytics/sql-data-warehouse/sql-data-warehouse-concept-resource-utilization-query-activity | | Identify queries exceeding workload group timeouts | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/synapse-analytics/sql-data-warehouse/sql-data-warehouse-how-to-find-queries-running-beyond-wlm-elapsed-timeout | | Monitor and adjust workload importance in Synapse | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/synapse-analytics/sql-data-warehouse/sql-data-warehouse-how-to-manage-and-monitor-workload-importance | | Monitor and troubleshoot Gen2 cache