A SQL Server feature that enables T-SQL queries to read from and write to external data sources—including Hadoop, Azure Blob Storage, Azure Data Lake, Amazon S3, and other relational databases—without moving the data.
- Unified data access: PolyBase allows DBAs and analysts to query external data using standard T-SQL syntax, abstracting the complexity of heterogeneous data access behind a unified SQL interface.
- Expanded SQL Server 2022 capabilities: SQL Server 2022 significantly enhanced PolyBase with support for S3-compatible object storage and REST API connectivity, enabling direct queries against data lake content.
- External tables: External tables created with PolyBase appear as regular SQL Server tables to applications and BI tools, requiring no application code changes to access external data sources.
- Data virtualization: PolyBase is a key component of data virtualization strategies, allowing organizations to query data where it resides instead of ingesting duplicate copies into SQL Server.
- Administration: DBAs must configure PolyBase services, external data sources, and external file formats, while monitoring the resource consumption of external queries.
- Related terms: External Tables, Data Virtualization, Azure Blob Storage, Amazon S3, T-SQL.
