Databricks Unit: the billing measure for processing, charged by the second. The rate per unit varies by workload, pricing tier and VM size, and with classic compute you also pay Azure for the virtual machines themselves.
Also called Databricks unit.
Read more: Microsoft Learn
In the Ultra Transcenders books
Each book explains DBU in context, with comparison tables and the common traps.
Terms in this definition
- Measure
A figure like total revenue, worked out by aggregating fact table data wherever dimensions intersect within a semantic model.
- Workload
Also called an experience: a Fabric toolset aimed at one job role, e.g. Data Factory, Data Engineering, Data Warehouse, Real-Time Intelligence or Power BI. Each keeps its data in OneLake.
- Archive
Offline access tier for blobs, cheapest to store yet dearest to access. Reading a blob means rehydrating it first, which can take as long as 15 hours.
- Classic compute
All-purpose, jobs and pipeline compute running in your own Azure subscription, which you set up and manage yourself. Its counterpart is serverless compute, which Azure Databricks runs for you.
- Virtual machines
Infrastructure-as-a-service compute giving complete control of the operating system, making it a fit for lift-and-shift moves and for software relying on OS-level pieces like COM.