As of today, July 14, 2026, SQL Server 2016 has reached end of support.

For the past decade, SQL Server 2016 has helped organizations run mission-critical applications and support the data needs of their business. Whether it was end-to-end encryption with Always Encrypted or performance improvements with In-Memory OLTP, SQL Server 2016 was shaped by evolving data platform needs and what we heard directly from customers like you.

Last year, we shared guidance on how to prepare for this milestone: Protect and modernize SQL Server 2016 workloads with Microsoft. Now, after 10 years of powering innovation, the focus shifts to what comes next.

Beyond end of support: Setting up your data platform for what’s next

For organizations running SQL Server 2016, this transition is an opportunity to improve how your database environment operates. Moving to a modern platform can help reduce operational overhead, avoid recurring upgrade cycles, and simplify database management. It can also support new scenarios such as advanced analytics and AI-driven applications built on operational data.

Organizations are already taking action by moving to Azure SQL or upgrading their SQL Server. The Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) upgraded to SQL Server 2025 to modernize its SQL Server deployment and streamline how operational data flows into Microsoft Fabric, enabling faster analytics and data-driven decision-making across its global operations.

SQL Server plays a key role in powering our systems, enabling us to operate at scale and deliver on our promise to customers everywhere.

—Javier Villegas, IT Director for Database Administration and Business Intelligence Services, MSC

Assessing your options for end-of-support workloads

For organizations that still run on SQL Server 2016, there are three paths that help you stay protected while planning the next phase of your data platform modernization:

1. Move to Azure SQL: Modernize your data platform using Azure SQL, helping you reduce operational overhead and remove the need for ongoing upgrades. (Best to avoid future upgrade cycles.)
2. Upgrade to SQL Server 2025: Move to the latest version of SQL Server with enhanced performance, security, and AI capabilities. (Best for keeping your databases on premises or in hybrid cloud.)
3. Deploy Extended Security Updates (ESU): Get critical security updates for SQL Server 2016 while you’re planning a transition. (Best for short-term protection while planning next steps.)

Each path offers a way to maintain security and compliance while planning long-term business and infrastructure goals. Here’s what each of these options would mean in practice:

Option 1: Move to Azure SQL

Moving to Azure SQL provides a managed approach to updating your SQL Server environment. Azure SQL platform-as-a-service (PaaS) services handle patching and backups, provide high availability, and come with built-in version updates, allowing your team to focus less on infrastructure management and more on delivering value.

For many SQL Server 2016 workloads, Azure SQL PaaS provides a path to reduce ongoing maintenance and automate resiliency, scalability, and security. With strong backward compatibility, applications can be migrated with minimal changes in most scenarios—and where updates are required, GitHub Copilot can help accelerate code changes and modernization efforts.

Azure supports multiple options depending on your migration and modernization goals:

1. Azure SQL Database: A managed database service designed for modern applications. Azure SQL Database Hyperscale enables independent scaling of compute and storage to handle growing data and workloads without changing your application. (Choose this if you don’t need instance-level features and want a simpler, app-focused model that can flexibly scale as your data grows.)
2. Azure SQL Managed Instance: A SQL Server-compatible service that supports your existing workloads with minimal changes, enabling easier migration and reducing the need to manage your infrastructure. (Choose this if you want the closest PaaS experience to SQL Server with minimal application changes.)
3. SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines: A flexible option for running SQL Server in Azure while retaining full control over your SQL environment and operating system, including custom configurations and dependencies. (Choose this if you use software, configurations, or third-party components that require a specific SQL Server version or instance-level control of your SQL Server.)

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Option 2: Upgrade to SQL Server 2025

Upgrading to SQL Server 2025 allows you to stay on a supported platform while bringing modern capabilities directly into your existing on-premises or hybrid environments.

SQL Server 2025 is built to support evolving application and data needs, helping teams modernize while preparing for AI-driven scenarios. It includes new and improved capabilities such as:

• Performance and engine improvements: Optimizations across query processing, indexing, and concurrency help improve performance and stability for high-volume transactional workloads.
• Security and data protection: Built on the existing SQL Server security model with continued investments in encryption, access control, and compliance support for regulated environments.
• Built-in AI: Comes with native support for vector search and semantic workflows, enabling AI-driven applications directly on operational data without requiring separate data pipelines.
• Integration with Microsoft Fabric: Enables mirroring of operational data into analytics environments for near real-time insights, without impacting core transactional workloads.

This path is especially relevant for organizations powering large-scale applications or complex data environments where control, performance, and consistency are essential. It allows you to modernize in place, retain your existing infrastructure, and prepare your platform for the next generation of applications without requiring the shift to a new operating model.

Option 3: Deploy Extended Security Updates (ESU)

Some migrations take time, and we understand that not every environment can move immediately. Extended Security Updates (ESU) provide a short-term option to maintain security coverage for SQL Server 2016 after end of support, helping reduce risk while you plan and execute your next step.

Extended Security Updates are available for workloads running in Azure, including SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines and Azure VMware Solution, and for on-premises and multi-cloud environments through Azure Arc. They are offered as a paid program to extend security coverage while modernization work is underway.

This option is best suited for environments with application dependencies, testing requirements, or migration complexity that require additional time. Extended Security Updates are designed as a temporary bridge that helps you maintain your existing operations while you move to a supported platform like Azure SQL or SQL Server 2025.

Take the next step

As you plan this transition, there are clear paths to stay secure and move forward based on your environment and priorities. Whether you choose to modernize on Azure, upgrade to SQL Server 2025, or use Extended Security Updates as a bridge, taking a structured approach will allow you to reduce risk and ensure continuity.

If you need help evaluating your options or getting started, reach out to your Microsoft representative to explore the right path forward for your environment.

Resources

Explore the following resources to help you plan your next steps:

Migrate SQL Server workloads to Azure

• Azure SQL Database: Explore a cloud-native database platform for modern applications.
• Azure SQL Managed Instance: Learn how to migrate SQL Server workloads with minimal changes.
• Azure Database Migration Service: Assess, plan, and migrate SQL Server workloads to Azure.

Upgrade SQL Server to a supported version

• SQL Server 2025: Explore features, performance improvements, and AI capabilities in the latest release.
• Upgrade SQL Server using SQL Server Management Studio: Step-by-step guidance for upgrading SQL Server versions.
• AI capabilities in SQL Server: Learn about vector search, semantic processing, and AI scenarios in SQL Server.

Extended Security Updates (ESU)

• Extended Security Updates overview: Understand ESU coverage, timelines, and how to apply updates.
• SQL Server 2016: Stay Protected While You Modernize: Maintain your existing workloads while you upgrade or modernize.

The post SQL Server 2016 end of support is here: Plan your next steps appeared first on Microsoft SQL Server Blog.

“With our migration to PaaS, we got what we wanted: greater scalability, reliability, security, agility in managing our IT infrastructure—and greater peace of mind—all without the cost and hassle of doing this ourselves,” 

Daniel Engberg, Head of AI, Data, and Platforms at Scandinavian Airlines System  

Migrate to Microsoft Azure

Boost productivity and enable innovation.

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This blog post will guide you through several best practices our customers employed when faced with the SQL Server end-of-support moment. Customers have three choices for handling their out-of-support SQL Server workloads: moving or updating to Azure, upgrading to SQL Server 2022, or getting Extended Security Updates (ESUs) for additional preparation time. 

Migrate and modernize to Azure, a smooth path, a more powerful destination 

Migrating to a cloud platform is an essential step on the journey to modernization, and there are many choices. What makes SQL Server and Microsoft Azure SQL unique is that it’s built on the same engine, no matter where you deploy, which means you can build on your existing SQL experience while gaining the layered security, intelligent threat detection, and data encryption that Azure provides. 

Modernizing to Microsoft Azure SQL Managed Instance offers cost savings, scalability, security, seamless migration, productivity, and always up-to-date features. Some of the recent product highlights include Azure SQL Managed Instance Next-gen General Purpose now in public preview, which supports twice as many Azure VMs configurations, making migration and modernization faster and easier than ever before for a larger number of customer scenarios. Customers can experience the full capabilities of managed SQL Server in the cloud at no cost for the initial 12 months with access to a General Purpose instance capable of accommodating up to 100 databases, along with 720 vCore hours of compute per month (non-accumulative) and 64 GB of storage through Azure SQL Managed Instance Free Tier, now in public preview. 

Modernizing your SQL Server workloads to Azure also presents a chance to utilize cutting-edge innovation like Microsoft Copilot. Microsoft Copilot in Azure has extended its capabilities to Microsoft Azure SQL Database with new skills designed to enhance the management and operation of SQL-based applications.  

Extending end-of-support time

If you are ready to move to the cloud but feel challenged to upgrade or modernize before the end of the support timeline, Extended Security Updates are available for free in Azure for SQL Server 2014 and 2012 and Windows Server 2012. Secure your workloads for up to three more years after the end of the support deadline by migrating applications and SQL Server databases to Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines. Free Extended Security Updates are available for Azure Virtual Machines including Microsoft Azure Dedicated Host, Microsoft Azure VMWare Solution, Nutanix Cloud Clusters on Azure, and Microsoft Azure Stack (Microsoft Azure Stack Hub, Microsoft Azure Stack Edge, and Microsoft Azure Stack HCI). Combining Extended Security Updates in Azure with Azure Hybrid Benefit further reduces your costs. With these pricing advantages, AWS is up to five times more expensive than Azure for SQL Server and Windows Server end-of-support workloads. 

In-place upgrade to SQL Server 2022 

Another way to stay protected is to upgrade your SQL Server to SQL Server 2022, the most Azure-enabled release yet. Get more out of your data with enhanced security, industry-leading performance and availability, and business continuity through Azure. 

SQL Server 2022 is the most Azure-enabled release of SQL Server, with continued innovation across performance, security, and availability. Gain deeper insights, predictions, and governance from your data at scale. Take advantage of enhanced performance and scalability with built-in query intelligence. 

Stay protected on-premises or in multi-cloud environments with Azure Arc 

Just as with SQL Server 2012, Extended Security Updates for SQL Server 2014 offers an enhanced cloud experience through Microsoft Azure Arc. First year coverage from Extended Security Updates started on July 10, 2024. With this more customer-centric approach, security updates will be natively available in the Microsoft Azure portal through Azure Arc. This also provides Azure benefits and flexible subscription billing for SQL Server 2014 workloads on-premises or in multi-cloud environments. 

We’re continuing to enhance the capabilities Azure Arc offers to Extended Security Updates. Just recently, physical-core licensing with unlimited virtualization was released for SQL Server 2012 and 2014 ESUs. For customers who need to maximize database performance or require security isolation and better resource management, physical core licensing provides a more cost-effective way to leverage Extended Security Updates via Azure Arc. 

Also, if you enabled ESU subscription in your production environment managed through Azure Arc, you can enable SQL Server ESU subscription in the non-production environment for free, through SQL Server Developer Edition or an Azure dev/test subscription. 

We encourage all our customers running SQL Server 2014, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Server 2012 R2 to start planning for the end of support. We have migration resources, best practices, and more, as well as a rich ecosystem of partners ready to help. To get started, please visit the following pages to learn more. 

Learn More 

• Why migrate Windows Server and SQL Server to Azure: ROI, innovation, and free offers 
• Get the full ROI and TCO reports from IDC: The Business Value of Microsoft Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Managed Instance Workload and The Business Value of Microsoft Azure for SQL Server and Windows Server Workloads 
• Previous announcement on SQL Server 2014 End-of-Support moment: Protect SQL Server 2014 workloads with Azure flexibility – Microsoft SQL Server Blog

The post Modernize Microsoft SQL Server 2014 workloads with Azure appeared first on Microsoft SQL Server Blog.

Existing HA/DR benefits for SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines

SQL Server customers with software assurance have several existing HA/DR Benefits.When running SQL Server on an Azure Virtual Machines using Azure Hybrid Benefit customers are entitled to license one additional passive instance of SQL Server for high availability for free and to license one additional passive instance of SQL Server for disaster recovery for free. This means that you can create an always-on availability group in Azure with one synchronous replica for HA and another asynchronous replica for DR and only pay for the compute costs on the two replicas, provided they are not used for any other purposes.

License your disaster recovery secondary for free with SQL Server Azure Virtual Machines

Starting today, SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machine customers who use pay-as-you-go licenses will also have access to one free passive secondary instance for high availability at no cost for the SQL Server license, and one free passive secondary for disaster recovery at no cost for the SQL Server license, regardless of the region where the instances reside. By paying only the price of compute on your high availability and disaster recovery secondaries, you can save up to 73 percent per virtual machine—the same savings you might get on SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines with Azure Hybrid Benefit.¹ To enable this benefit, go to your SQL Server virtual machine (VM) resource. Select Configure under Settings, and then choose the Disaster Recovery option under SQL Server License. Select the check box to confirm that this SQL Server VM will be used as a passive replica, and then select Apply to save your settings. However, customers will have to continue to pay for compute for these SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines. Please read the SQL Server Enterprise Virtual Machines pricing page to learn more.

License geo-redundant Disaster Recovery for SQL Managed Instance for free (preview)

As for customers running their Azure workloads on Azure SQL Managed Instance, customers already have built-in secondary instances in their primary region that can be used for reading scale out, reporting, or scaling their business. Now all Azure SQL Managed Instance customers have the benefit of licensing a geo-redundant secondary for free to help guard against the possibility of failure in one region, now in preview. By paying only the price of compute on your disaster recovery secondary, you can save up to 55 percent—the same savings you might get on Azure SQL Managed Instance with Azure Hybrid Benefit.¹ Geo-redundancy helps protect against outages that affect backup storage in the primary region. It also allows you to restore your instance to a different region in a disaster. When you designate secondary instances properly, licenses are freed up for other business uses. From a pricing standpoint, the total cost of ownership for Azure SQL Managed Instance is now lower because you no longer have to license your geo-redundant secondary.

Learn more about license-free high availability, and geo-redundant disaster recovery:

• Get started with high-availability disaster recovery for SQL Server on Azure Vm business continuity.
• Read more about high availability for SQL Managed Instance.
• Migrate failover cluster instances using SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines.
• Read about existing high availability and disaster recovery benefits for SQL Server on Microsoft SQL Server Blog.

¹ Azure Hybrid Benefit – Hybrid Cost Calculator | Microsoft Azure

The post New SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines and Azure SQL Managed Instance DR benefits appeared first on Microsoft SQL Server Blog.

This year, PASS is taking full advantage of the virtual platform and partnering with Microsoft to make your PASS Virtual Summit experience second to none. Learn directly from our engineering team, who will be sharing the latest insights and advances on the data platform, providing in depth training across key tools and topics, and engaging live for one to one support to help you solve your challenges in real time.

If you haven’t already heard, Rohan Kumar, Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Azure Data, will be back this year for the Day 1 keynote. Rohan will showcase the latest innovation across the Microsoft Data Platform, including exclusive announcements at PASS Virtual Summit. Additionally, in the Day 2 keynote, Technical Fellow, Hanuma Kodavalla will discuss SQL eco-system transformation and innovation at scale.

After the keynotes, ground your learning with in-depth training in one of the over thirty sessions Microsoft will be delivering. Hear the latest from the teams who develop the tools you use every day, and ask or upvote questions through the Interactive Platform. After your sessions, don’t forget to visit the virtual exhibit hall where you can connect with our team across SQL Server, Azure SQL, Azure Synapse Analytics, Power BI, and more.

The Microsoft Azure Data Clinic will be back again this year, providing you with one to one access to the engineers behind the products you love. This year we are taking full advantage of the virtual platform, to allow you to pre-book, scheduling your clinic appointment around those must-attend networking activities, and ensuring that you are connected to the right expert for your challenge.

Register for PASS Virtual Summit today for an incredible week of training, and 12 months on-demand access to world class learning.

The post Microsoft Azure at PASS Virtual Summit 2020 appeared first on Microsoft SQL Server Blog.

Azure SQL deployment options differ primarily in their cost and the amount of control they give you over the underlying platform. You can use the option that best meets the requirements for each application you migrate to the cloud without increasing complexity. By providing a single, unified management experience, Azure SQL eliminates the complexity of managing diverse collections of SQL Server-based applications at scale.

Azure SQL Database

Azure SQL Database is a general-purpose relational database, provided as a managed service. Categorized as a platform as a service (PaaS), Azure SQL Databases are built on standardized hardware and software that is owned, hosted, and maintained by Microsoft. When using Azure SQL Database, you pay-as-you-go, with the option to scale up or out with no service interruption.

Within Azure SQL Database, you have the option to deploy a managed instance. Azure SQL Database Managed Instance is a collection of system and user databases with a shared set of resources. In addition to all the PaaS benefits of Azure SQL Database, this option provides a native virtual network (VNet) and near 100 percent compatibility with on-premises SQL Server. Azure SQL Database Managed Instance provides you with full SQL Server access and feature compatibility for migrating SQL Servers to Azure.

Recommendation: Choose Azure SQL Database for your modern cloud applications, or when you have time constraints in development and marketing.

SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines

SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines give you full administrative control over the SQL Server instance and underlying OS for migration to Azure. As an infrastructure as a service (IaaS) solution, SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines run on standardized hardware that is owned, hosted, and maintained by Microsoft. You can either pay-as-you-go for a SQL Server license already included in a SQL Server image or use existing SQL Server and Windows Server licenses.

Recommendation: Use SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines when you’re migrating applications that require OS-level access or you’re moving applications that require a fast migration and minimal changes. SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines is also ideal for rapid development and test scenarios when you don’t want to invest in on-premises non-production SQL Server hardware.

Final advice for choosing an Azure SQL deployment option

Still not sure which Azure SQL deployment option is right for you? Start with Azure SQL Database Managed Instance. Its built-in intelligence learns your application’s patterns and adapts to maximize performance, reliability, and data protection.

However, you may also benefit from using SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines if you have one of the following scenarios:

• You need control over your database and operating system and have dependencies on SQL Server Reporting Services.
• You have independent software vendor (ISV) applications certified on particular SQL Server release years.

The beauty of Azure SQL deployment options is that you can mix and match depending on your application and migration requirements. The deployment options have a consistent code base across the board, based on the SQL engine that’s been perfected over the last 25 years. And Azure SQL is evergreen, meaning patches, updates, and new features are automatically provided. Whether you’re doing a lift-and-shift migration, modernizing existing applications, or building modern cloud services, Azure SQL can help you meet your goals.

Want to learn more about moving SQL Server to the cloud? Download Future-Proof Your Data Infrastructure with Azure: A Business Case for Database Administrators or dig deeper into the various deployment options in Azure SQL.

The post Tips to select the best Azure SQL deployment option appeared first on Microsoft SQL Server Blog.

The benefits of SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines

SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines is optimized for lift-and-shift cloud migrations, so you don’t have to rearchitect your application to move it to the cloud. You save time and money because you don’t have to change the presentation, application, or data layers of your existing solution. Nor do you have to procure and manage any on-premises hardware. Instead, you can focus your time and effort on migrating your applications to Azure and making any necessary performance optimizations in the new environment.

In addition to facilitating a smooth cloud migration, SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines gives you the benefit of complete control over the SQL Server instance and underlying operating system. This option uses full versions of SQL Server, and you have full administrative rights to the SQL Server engine. This gives you a lot of flexibility to build a highly customized system. You can, for example, choose when to start maintenance, change the recovery model to simple or bulk-logged, and pause or start the service at your discretion.

One thing to keep in mind is that you also have to maintain the virtual machine. While features like automated patching and automated backups reduce your operations overhead, you’ll want to make sure you have the internal resources to manage your virtual machines.

When you pay as you go, SQL Server virtual machines also simplify your licensing costs.

When to use SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines

When deciding whether to use SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines, ask yourself the following questions:

• Do your existing or new applications require large databases?
• Do your existing or new applications require access to all features in SQL Server or Windows/Linux?
• Do you want to avoid the time and expense of acquiring new on-premises hardware?
• Do you want to migrate existing on-premises applications and databases to Azure as-is?

If you answered yes to one or more of the above questions, then SQL Server Virtual Machines are a good fit for your use case. However, don’t discount SQL Server virtual machines if none of these scenarios fit. You can create a SQL Server virtual machine with the right version, edition, and operating system. All recent versions and editions of SQL Server are available, and you have the option of running SQL Server on either Windows or Linux. Virtual machines are therefore a good option for a variety of SQL Server workloads.

With SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines, there’s no need to make significant changes to your apps. You can migrate easily and quickly, so you can start leveraging the cloud’s flexibility, scale, and performance.

To learn more about moving your databases to the cloud, download Future-Proof Your Data Infrastructure with Azure: A Business Case for Database Administrators.

The post When to use SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines appeared first on Microsoft SQL Server Blog.

If you have a SQL Server failover cluster instance (FCI) or use hypervisor-based high availability, or other clustering technology on-premises for high availability, you’ll probably need the same in Azure. If you need to migrate to Azure/Azure Stack at end of support, and you require high availability for SQL Server 2008/2008 R2, there’s only one solution recommended by Microsoft: SIOS DataKeeper. SIOS DataKeeper enables clustering in the cloud, including the creation of a SQL Server 2008/2008 R2 failover cluster instance, allowing you to achieve your high availability goals.

In order to mitigate the risk of downtime and qualify for Azure’s 99.95% or 99.99% SLA, you have to leverage SIOS DataKeeper. SIOS DataKeeper overcomes the lack of shared storage in Azure and allows you to build a SQL Server failover cluster instance in Azure that leverages the locally attached storage on each instance. SIOS DataKeeper not only supports SQL Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008 R2 as documented in this guide, it also supports any version of Windows Server, from 2008 R2 through Windows Server 2019 and any version of SQL Server from SQL Server 2008 through SQL Server 2019.

Get started today by:

• Deploying a pre-configured SQL Server 2008 R2 image from the Azure Marketplace or self-installing on an Azure Virtual Machine
• Learning how to use SIOS DataKeeper for high availability for your SQL Server 2008/R2 images in Azure
• Watching our on-demand webcast

The post Introducing SIOS high availability for SQL Server 2008/R2 in Azure appeared first on Microsoft SQL Server Blog.

With SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 approaching end of support, many customers are moving to Azure. They see this milestone as an opportunity to reimagine and transform their infrastructure with the power of cloud computing. Azure’s offer of free extended security updates for three years provides a new lease on life to these servers while giving organizations time to upgrade.

Of the available migration options, if you choose to lift and shift your on-premises SQL Server to an Azure virtual machine as-is, you will still need to manage backups. Although you moved your SQL Server to Azure, you don’t have to move your legacy backup application that’s likely infrastructure-heavy and difficult to scale in the cloud. Instead, Azure Backup is an enterprise-scale, zero-infrastructure solution that protects SQL Server on Virtual Machines (VM) in Azure without the need to deploy and manage any backup infrastructure. This offering is already generally available for more recent SQL Server versions, and today we’re excited to announce Azure Backup support for SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 end of support in preview.

Built-into Azure, the solution is designed to automatically scale protection to thousands of databases with terabytes of data, so you get the peace of mind that your continuously growing environment stays protected. With self-service backups and restores, SQL Server admin is empowered to do operational recoveries to a point-in-time in one click, getting freedom from long drawn out restore procedures. While centrally managed backup policies and long-term retention help organizations stay compliant, features like encryption at rest and geo-redundancy ensure the safety and security of data at all costs.

Get started

Watch this short video to learn how simple it is to protect your SQL databases in Azure:

This preview support is for SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 running on Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 and is free of cost. Learn more about the SQL Server 2008 end of support feature considerations.

Additional resources

• Check out the Azure Backup for SQL Server in Azure Virtual Machines general availability announcement on the Azure blog.
• Want more details about this feature? Review the Azure Backup for SQL Server documentation.
• Get the Azure Backup pricing details for this feature.
• If you are new to Azure Backup, sign up for a free Azure trial subscription.

The post Announcing native backup for SQL Server 2008 end of support in Azure appeared first on Microsoft SQL Server Blog.

Our customers have asked for this and we’ve been listening – advanced data security is now available for SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines! Using just a few simple steps, you can now protect your SQL Server installations on Azure VMs with Microsoft’s advanced data security capabilities.

Advanced data security for SQL Server on Azure VM currently includes functionality for surfacing and mitigating potential database vulnerabilities and detecting anomalous activities that could indicate a threat to your server. To get started today, read the Advanced data security for SQL Server on VM setup instructions.

Why you should enable advanced data security for SQL Server on Azure VM

While in public preview, advanced data security for SQL Server on Azure VM is free and includes: 

1. Vulnerability assessment – A database scanning service that can discover, track, and help you remediate potential database vulnerabilities. Detected vulnerabilities across all connected SQL Servers will appear in one unified dashboard!
2. Advanced threat protection – A detection service that continuously monitors your database for suspicious activities and provides action-oriented security alerts on anomalous database access patterns. All alerts will appear in your centralized go-to location for security management in the Azure portal – the Azure Security Center threats dashboard.

For full details regarding threat detectors in Public Preview, read the Advanced data security for SQL Server on VM documentation.

These advanced security features have evolved and benefited from continuous improvement over the past couple of years, and have already been running on more than 1 million databases in the corresponding Azure SQL Database service – Advanced data security for Azure SQL databases.

How does it work?

Using the Azure Log Analytics agent, you connect your SQL Server’s hosting machine to a Log Analytics workspace. The agent collects audit logs for login events (omitting any sensitive data like queries or user’s data) and uploads them from the machine to the workspace, where our security analytics capabilities go into action. In addition, the agent also collects results from the vulnerability assessment scans and sends those to the workspace as well.

Logs and assessment results will appear in the workspace and are entirely under your control and can be queried for more insights. You can also identify the logs that triggered Advanced Threat Protection alerts for further investigation. Finally, the workspace contains a built-in dashboard for intuitive analysis of the vulnerability assessment results.

For a complete set of instructions, review the documentation for Advanced data security for SQL Server on VM.

We want to hear from you!

We greatly appreciate your feedback and want to hear from you. Please contact us directly through SQL Security Feedback sqlsecurityfd@microsoft.com.

The post Advanced data security for SQL Server is coming to Azure Virtual Machines appeared first on Microsoft SQL Server Blog.

For the first two implementation types, backups are automatically managed by Azure internally. However, a significant number of customers choose to lift and shift SQL Server from on-premises physical or virtual environments to Azure VM to reduce friction and lower migration costs or risks. Should you choose to do so, you’ll still need to own and manage the backups for the SQL Server VM. Although you moved your SQL Server infrastructure from on-premises to Azure, the good news is that you don’t have to move your backup infrastructure to cloud, thanks to Azure Backup!

Azure Backup fulfills the cloud promise of a cost-effective, elastic-scale, zero-infrastructure solution that eliminates the need to deploy or manage backup infrastructure, agents, or storage accounts. While it offers long term retention and central management capabilities to help IT admins govern and meet their compliance requirements, it lets SQL Admin continue to exercise the power of self-service backup and restore for operational recoveries. It uses the native SQL APIs to leverage the inherent backup capabilities to yield high fidelity backups and restores for standalone SQL Server and SQL AlwaysOn configurations in the Azure VMs.

The solution empowers enterprises to protect their SQL databases by providing a simple and consistent user experience and by giving the capability of management at scale. The following is a list of its key value propositions:  

Simple:

• Get started in no time since there is no need to deploy any backup servers and agents and schedule backups to meet your recovery point objective (RPO) needs as low as 15 minutes, in a matter of a few clicks.
• Complete self-service restores to a point in time up to a second in one click, without having to manually apply a chain of logs over differential and full backups. No more long drawn out and error-prone manual restore procedures!
• Be assured of optimized storage with built-in backup storage lifecycle management that prunes the recovery points as per your RPO and retention policy.

Scalable:

• Get freedom from provisioning or managing storage, as the solution automatically takes care of it internally.
• Create centrally managed backup policies with support for long-term retention spanning years.
• Scale protection to newly added databases automatically via the auto-protection capability, thus managing a dynamic environment efficiently.
• Monitor backups across servers from a single pane of glass and receive consolidated alerts and emails based on events that matter.

The built-in security features of Azure Backup safeguard the backups against malicious attacks, corruptions, and deletions. You can back up encrypted databases, and secure backups with built-in encryption at rest while controlling backup & restore operations with Role-Based Access Control. With geo-redundant storage, you never lose your backup data, even if the entire primary region comes down, your backups are safely stored in the secondary region.

And all of these capabilities come at a reduced total cost of ownership due to elimination of all the backup infrastructure and no overhead of managing at scale because of streamlined operations.

Get Started:

Customer feedback:

It’s been a few months since we announced the pubic preview, and most of our customers see a lot of value in the solution and particularly insist on how simple and fast their backup and restore operations have become:

“Our experience with Azure SQL Server Backup has been fantastic. It’s a solution you can put in place in a couple of minutes and not have to worry about it. To restore DBs, we don’t have to deal with rolling logs and only have to choose a date and time. It gives us great peace of mind to know the data is safely stored in the Recovery Services Vaults with our other protected items.”

– Steven Hayes, Principal Architect, Acuity Brands Lighting, Inc

“We have been using Azure Backup for SQL Server for the past few months and have found it simple to use and easy to set up. The backup and restore operations are performant and reliable as well as easy to monitor. We plan to continue using it in the future.”

– Celica E. Candido, Cloud Operations Analyst, Willis Towers Watson

Additional Resources:

• Check out the Azure backup for SQL VM GA announcement on the Azure blog channel.
• See different SQL backup options from Microsoft and choose the right solution based on your requirements.
• Want more details about this feature? Check out the Azure Backup for SQL Server documentation.
• Get the pricing details for this feature.
• Need help? Reach out to the Azure Backup forum for support or browse the Azure Backup documentation.
• Tell us how we can improve Azure Backup by contributing new ideas and voting up existing ones.
• If you are new to Azure Backup, sign up for a free Azure trial subscription.

The post Enterprise-scale Backup for SQL Server Databases appeared first on Microsoft SQL Server Blog.