If your SQL Server database workloads are running in an on premises or data centre environment, or if you have made an initial migration to Azure on a ‘lift and shift’ basis using Azure Virtual Machines then this blog post will inform you on the options available to migrate to Azure and fully realise the cost savings, flexibility, scalability and advanced security benefits of cloud computing.
If you have any compatibility concerns regarding migrating to Azure then fear not as Microsoft have a number of options available to cover all scenarios.
1 – Azure Virtual Machines running SQL Server
Using an Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) offering – SQL Server can be installed on Azure VMs, or VMs can be provisioned from Azure Marketplace images containing the Windows Server and SQL versions pre-configured according to your workload requirements. This option provides the same level of operating system and database engine management and control as you would have on your on premises or data centre servers, but hands off the responsibility of the hardware to Microsoft.
Features
- Highest level of compatibility as there is no restriction on the version of SQL that can be used.
- The same control as you would have in your existing on-premises deployment over the operating system and database engine.
- Scalability of adjusting VM compute and storage performance if required.
- High availability built-in with Azure VMs with local or geographic replication of data across Azure Regions and/or Availability Zones.
- Additional high availability provided by the traditional SQL features of Always On availability groups and Always On failover cluster instances.
- Registering the VM with the SQL IaaS agent extension provides Azure portal management capabilities including automated backups, automated patching and Azure Key Vault integration.
2 – Azure SQL Managed Instances
The first Azure SQL Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) offering provides broad compatibility with the latest full SQL Server database engine coupled with an Azure managed platform. The service runs on a dedicated VM however this is not accessible and is fully managed for you. The service provides the flexibility, scalability and high availability of cloud computing whilst removing the requirement to maintain the operating system, SQL installation and storage to save you time.
Features
- Provides all of the features of the most recent version of SQL Server including SQL Server Agent and Database Mail.
- Managed automated backups.
- Built-in instance and database monitoring and metrics.
- Automatic software patching.
- vCore-based purchasing model allowing you to scale compute, memory and storage requirements based on your needs.
3 – Azure SQL Databases
The second Azure PaaS offering is a fully Azure managed service used to support modern cloud applications. Think of this as a cloud database not a complete SQL server instance.
Features
- Always running on the latest stable version of the SQL Server database engine.
- Upgrading, patching, backups and monitoring completed without user involvement.
- 99.99% availability.
- Two different purchasing models, vCore & DTU-based providing dynamic scalability up and down.
- Autoscaling where the service scales automatically based on set criteria.
- Automatic performance monitoring and tuning.
- Deploy single databases or elastic pools which are collection of single databases that share resources.
- Elastic job agent for running database tasks.
- Extensive monitoring and altering capabilities.
The key here is to choose the most appropriate option for your migration. You need to understand the specific differences of each offering and how they relate to your current requirements, and this is where we can help.
Here at risual we have a dedicated Data & AI team with a vast breadth of knowledge of SQL Server and Azure. We have already migrated a range of different SQL workloads into Azure for a variety of organisations, from Police Forces to Government departments, providing a tailored solution for each.
If you are looking to realise the cost savings, flexibility, scalability, high availability and advanced security benefits of moving your SQL workloads to the cloud drop us a line at enquiries@risual.com and let us show you how we can help.
