Documentation changes for SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines

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APPLIES TO: SQL Server on Azure VM

When you deploy an Azure virtual machine (VM) with SQL Server installed on it, either manually, or through a built-in image, you can leverage Azure features to improve your experience. This article summarizes the documentation changes associated with new features and improvements in the recent releases of SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines (VMs). To learn more about SQL Server on Azure VMs, see the overview.

November 2021

Changes Details
Eliminate need for HADR Azure Load Balancer or DNN Deploy your SQL Server VMs to multiple subnets to eliminate the dependency on the Azure Load Balancer or distributed network name (DNN) to route traffic to your high availability / disaster recovery (HADR) solution! See the multi-subnet availability group tutorial, or prepare SQL Server VM for FCI article to learn more.
SQL Assessment It's now possible to assess the health of your SQL Server VM in the Azure portal using SQL Assessment to surface recommendations that improve performance, and identify missing best practices configurations. This feature is currently in preview.
   

October 2021

Changes Details
SQL IaaS extension now supports Ubuntu Support has been added to register your SQL Server VM running on Ubuntu Linux with the SQL Server IaaS Extension for limited functionality.
   

September 2021

Changes Details
SQL IaaS extension full mode no longer requires restart Restarting the SQL Server service is no longer necessary when registering your SQL Server VM with the SQL IaaS Agent extension in full mode!
   

July 2021

Changes Details
Repair SQL Server IaaS extension in portal It's now possible to verify the status of your SQL Server IaaS Agent extension directly from the Azure portal, and repair it, if necessary.
   

June 2021

Changes Details
Security enhancements in the Azure portal Once you've enabled Azure Defender for SQL, you can view Security Center recommendations in the SQL virtual machines resource in the Azure portal.
   

May 2021

Changes Details
HADR content refresh We've refreshed and enhanced our high availability and disaster recovery (HADR) content! There's now an Overview of the Windows Server Failover Cluster, as well as a consolidated how-to configure quorum for SQL Server VMs. Additionally, we've enhanced the cluster best practices with more comprehensive setting recommendations adopted to the cloud.
   

April 2021

Changes Details
Migrate high availability to VM Azure Migrate brings support to lift and shift your entire high availability solution to SQL Server on Azure VMs! Bring your availability group or your failover cluster instance to SQL Server VMs using Azure Migrate today!
   

March 2021

Changes Details
Performance best practices refresh We've rewritten, refreshed, and updated the performance best practices documentation, splitting one article into a series that contain: a checklist, VM size guidance, Storage guidance, and collecting baseline instructions.
   

2020

Changes Details
Azure Government support It's now possible to register SQL Server virtual machines with the SQL IaaS Agent extension for virtual machines hosted in the Azure Government cloud.
Azure SQL family SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines is now a part of the Azure SQL family of products. Check out our new look! Nothing has changed in the product, but the documentation aims to make the Azure SQL product decision easier.
Distributed network name (DNN) SQL Server 2019 on Windows Server 2016+ is now previewing support for routing traffic to your failover cluster instance (FCI) by using a distributed network name rather than using Azure Load Balancer. This support simplifies and streamlines connecting to your high-availability (HA) solution in Azure.
FCI with Azure shared disks It's now possible to deploy your failover cluster instance (FCI) by using Azure shared disks.
Reorganized FCI docs The documentation around failover cluster instances with SQL Server on Azure VMs has been rewritten and reorganized for clarity. We've separated some of the configuration content, like the cluster configuration best practices, how to prepare a virtual machine for a SQL Server FCI, and how to configure Azure Load Balancer.
Migrate log to ultra disk Learn how you can migrate your log file to an ultra disk to leverage high performance and low latency.
Create AG using Azure PowerShell It's now possible to simplify the creation of an availability group by using Azure PowerShell as well as the Azure CLI.
Configure ag in portal It is now possible to configure your availability group via the Azure portal. This feature is currently in preview and being deployed so if your desired region is unavailable, check back soon.
Automatic extension registration You can now enable the Automatic registration feature to automatically register all SQL Server VMs already deployed to your subscription with the SQL IaaS Agent extension. This applies to all existing VMs, and will also automatically register all SQL Server VMs added in the future.
DNN for AG You can now configure a distributed network name (DNN) listener) for SQL Server 2019 CU8 and later to replace the traditional VNN listener, negating the need for an Azure Load Balancer.
   

2019

Changes Details
Free DR replica in Azure You can host a free passive instance for disaster recovery in Azure for your on-premises SQL Server instance if you have Software Assurance.
Bulk SQL IaaS extension registration You can now bulk register SQL Server virtual machines with the SQL IaaS Agent extension.
Performance-optimized storage configuration You can now fully customize your storage configuration when creating a new SQL Server VM.
Premium file share for FCI You can now create a failover cluster instance by using a Premium file share instead of the original method of Storage Spaces Direct.
Azure Dedicated Host You can run your SQL Server VM on Azure Dedicated Host.
SQL Server VM migration to a different region Use Azure Site Recovery to migrate your SQL Server VM from one region to another.
New SQL IaaS installation modes It's now possible to install the SQL Server IaaS extension in lightweight mode to avoid restarting the SQL Server service.
SQL Server edition modification You can now change the edition property for your SQL Server VM.
Changes to the SQL IaaS Agent extension You can register your SQL Server VM with the SQL IaaS Agent extension by using the new SQL IaaS modes. This capability includes Windows Server 2008 images.
Bring-your-own-license images using Azure Hybrid Benefit Bring-your-own-license images deployed from Azure Marketplace can now switch their license type to pay-as-you-go.
New SQL Server VM management in the Azure portal There's now a way to manage your SQL Server VM in the Azure portal. For more information, see Manage SQL Server VMs in the Azure portal.
Extended support for SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 Extend support for SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2 by migrating as is to an Azure VM.
Custom image supportability You can now install the SQL Server IaaS extension to custom OS and SQL Server images, which offers the limited functionality of flexible licensing. When you're registering your custom image with the SQL IaaS Agent extension, specify the license type as "AHUB." Otherwise, the registration will fail.
Named instance supportability You can now use the SQL Server IaaS extension with a named instance, if the default instance has been uninstalled properly.
Portal enhancement The Azure portal experience for deploying a SQL Server VM has been revamped to improve usability. For more information, see the brief quickstart and more thorough how-to guide to deploy a SQL Server VM.
Portal improvement It's now possible to change the licensing model for a SQL Server VM from pay-as-you-go to bring-your-own-license by using the Azure portal.
Simplification of availability group deployment to a SQL Server VM through the Azure CLI It's now easier than ever to deploy an availability group to a SQL Server VM in Azure. You can use the Azure CLI to create the Windows failover cluster, internal load balancer, and availability group listeners, all from the command line. For more information, see Use the Azure CLI to configure an Always On availability group for SQL Server on an Azure VM.
   

2018

Changes Details
New resource provider for a SQL Server cluster A new resource provider (Microsoft.SqlVirtualMachine/SqlVirtualMachineGroups) defines the metadata of the Windows failover cluster. Joining a SQL Server VM to SqlVirtualMachineGroups bootstraps the Windows Server Failover Cluster (WSFC) service and joins the VM to the cluster.
Automated setup of an availability group deployment with Azure quickstart templates It's now possible to create the Windows failover cluster, join SQL Server VMs to it, create the listener, and configure the internal load balancer by using two Azure quickstart templates. For more information, see Use Azure quickstart templates to configure an Always On availability group for SQL Server on an Azure VM.
Automatic registration to the SQL IaaS Agent extension SQL Server VMs deployed after this month are automatically registered with the new SQL IaaS Agent extension. SQL Server VMs deployed before this month still need to be manually registered. For more information, see Register a SQL Server virtual machine in Azure with the SQL IaaS Agent extension.
New SQL IaaS Agent extension A new resource provider (Microsoft.SqlVirtualMachine) provides better management of your SQL Server VMs. For more information on registering your VMs, see Register a SQL Server virtual machine in Azure with the SQL IaaS Agent extension.
Switch licensing model You can now switch between the pay-per-usage and bring-your-own-license models for your SQL Server VM by using the Azure CLI or PowerShell. For more information, see How to change the licensing model for a SQL Server virtual machine in Azure.
   

Additional resources

Windows VMs:

Linux VMs: