SQL Server in Windows Azure Virtual Machines, Best Practices for GA

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Windows Azure Infrastructure Services status become General Availability on 16th April, 2013. You can read more about the concept in this blog entry.

In this post we'll share with you some resources for deploying SQL Server in Windows Azure Virtual Machines.

With GA announcement now you have the option to use pre-installed Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 images with SQL Server 2012 SP1 (Web, Standard and Enterprise Editions) for pay-per-hour model.

In this model, SQL Server license price is included in the price. For more details in this model go to pricing page and select SQL Server. More SQL Server editions and Windows Server 2012 images will be coming soon as well.

You can also use your existing SQL Server licenses in Windows Azure Virtual Machines. Please check Windows Azure Licensing FAQ document for detailed answers to the questions below :

  • How do I license SQL Server in Windows Azure Virtual Machines?
  • When using my license mobility benefit to run SQL Server, how large of a compute instance can I run on Windows Azure with a single SQL Server license?

 

After talking about the pre-installed images, pricing and licensing you’ll most probably need technical documentation as well.

There is an updated technical deck for Windows Azure Infrastructure GA that you can start for all your SQL Server integrations in Windows Azure: SQL Server in Windows Azure Virtual Machines

You can read lots of technical documents on installation, migration, performance, connectivity, security & high availability stuff.

You can also read SQL Server blog post for best practices and scenarios of deploying SQL Server in Windows Azure Virtual Machines.

You can start your 90 days Windows Azure Free Trial and check the features and capabilities of SQL Server in Windows Azure by yourself.