Microsoft SQL Server to the cloud

SQL to the cloud

Microsoft has several solutions for offering SQL Server databases in the cloud. But how do you know if it’s a good choice to migrate from an on-premises environment to the cloud? Is the cloud secure? What is the best cloud solution from Microsoft in your situation?

IBM was already active with virtualization in the 1980s, but it was in 2001 that virtualization was widely implemented with VMWare ESX. Virtualization is based on the idea that hardware is used as much as possible and that hardware is scalable. Large ICT companies such as Sun Microsystems and Compaq Computers came up with solutions where the limits of the hardware were no longer determined by technical limits but by economic ones. In 2011, Microsoft announced that it would spend 90% of its total research & development budget on cloud strategy. Microsoft Azure was already active in the market but quickly grew larger to compete with Google and Amazon.

Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Azure offers three SQL services that can be hosted from the Netherlands (EU West) if desired.

• SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines [IAAS]
• Azure SQL Managed Instance [IAAS/PAAS hybride]
• Azure SQL Database [PAAS]

SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines [IAAS]

It is possible to bring your own license or to include the license in the monthly costs. Customers with a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement have the option to take their current license with them.

With this form one rents a virtual machine with an OS and, if desired, a SQL Server image is provided by Microsoft.

 

Benefits:

• No hardware purchase required
• Lots of control over the configuration and layout

 

Cons:

• Backups are not automatic

Payment option	Recommended for:
Pay according to use	Users who prefer the low cost and flexibility of Azure Virtual Machines.
	Applications with short-term, peaky, or unpredictable workloads that cannot be interrupted.
	Applications that are first developed or tested in Azure Virtual Machines.
Azure Virtual Machine Reserved Instances	Applications with immutable use.
	Customers who like a predictable budget.
	Customers who can commit to use a virtual machine (VM) for a period of one or three years to reduce the cost of computing.
Spot (buy unused computing power)	Customers who want to significantly reduce their costs.
	Interruptible applications. You can receive a notification 30 seconds before an application is uninstalled.
	Workloads that don’t need to be completed within a specific time frame or SLA.
Monthly costs consist of:
– fixed costs: CPU, memory, storage & license
– variable costs: data from Azure to endpoints according to scale per GB + Storage transactions
Choice of Standard, Web and Enterprise edition

Azure SQL Managed Instance [IAAS/PAAS hybride]

With this form, you can easily create an instance in the Azure Portal. Because SQL Server itself regulates the OS layer, it is not possible to log in with RDP on a Windows or Linux machine, but a SQL Server Management Studio can be made with database tool such as Azure Data Studio. It is possible to bring your own license or to include the license in the monthly costs. Customers with a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement have the option to take their current license with them.

Benefits:

• A frictionless migration is possible while the instance is managed by Azure
• Database transcending features are present
• Always up to date
• Automated backup from Azure available
• SQL Agent present
• DB Mail present
• CLR modules
• Linked Servers
• Cross database queries
• Global Temp tables
• Change Data Capture
• Transactional Replication
• Azure AD

 

Cons:

• In-memory OLTP not supported

Payment option	Recommended for:
Pay based on vCore purchasing model	Customers who want flexibility, control and transparency
	Independent scaling of compute, storage and I/O resources

Azure SQL Database [PAAS]

A PAAS environment generally offers you less maintenance and less costs, as it relieves you of worries by facilitating in the hardware, OS and SQL Server instance, but this is not always the best solution for an environment. The license costs are included in the price.

Advantages :

• Cost savings: you no longer have to invest in expensive onsite hardware, you will receive a monthly invoice that is lower than if you had purchased the hardware yourself.
• Unburdening: you no longer have to worry about the depreciation of hardware. In addition, in many cases you can use your on-premises license for the cloud.
• Scalable and fast performance. If you purchase too much or too little, it is easy to adjust. The hardware has been selected and configured specifically for the purpose
• Continuity and disaster recovery. Microsoft offers uptime protection of 99.99% and above and offers backup solutions.
• Excellent security: firewall, routings and encryption.

 

Cons:

• Database must be under 150GB unless database sharding is supported from the application
• Specific T-SQL statement that transcends databases are not supported

 

If the interest is then aroused to migrate to the cloud, it is necessary to make a choice, make a cost estimate and in some cases an assessment whether the cloud solution can use all the features of the on-premises environment. Migrations can then be planned and migrated to the cloud using SQL tooling.

 

Licenses

All Azure solutions offer the use of an included SQL Server license and include this in the price. When you use software assurance, you are eligible to use the Azure Hybrid Benefit. Allows you to take a previously purchased on-premises license to the cloud to save costs.

Payment option	Recommended for:
Pay-as-you-go based on Database Transaction Units (DTUs)	Customers who want simple, pre-configured resource options
Elastic Database Transaction Units (EDTUs)	One pool of resources for one or more databases
	Ideal for databases with widely varying workloads
Pay based on vCore purchasing model	Customers who want flexibility, control and transparency
	Independent scaling of compute, storage and I/O resources

Costs include license and is most similar to Enterprise Edition.

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