Migrating SQL Server Databases to Azure | Azure Service Recommendation

Azure Service Recommendation

Question

You have 100 servers that run Windows Server 2012 R2 and host Microsoft SQL Server 2012 R2 instances. The instances host databases that have the following characteristics:

-> The largest database is currently 3 TB. None of the databases will ever exceed 4 TB.

-> Stored procedures are implemented by using CLR.

You plan to move all the data from SQL Server to Azure.

You need to recommend an Azure service to host the databases. The solution must meet the following requirements:

-> Whenever possible, minimize management overhead for the migrated databases.

-> Minimize the number of database changes required to facilitate the migration.

-> Ensure that users can authenticate by using their Active Directory credentials.

What should you include in the recommendation?

Answers

Explanations

Click on the arrows to vote for the correct answer

A. B. C. D.

B

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/sql-database/sql-database-managed-instance

Based on the given requirements, the recommended Azure service to host the databases would be Azure SQL Database Managed Instance (Option B).

Azure SQL Database Managed Instance is a fully managed Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering that enables customers to migrate their SQL Server workloads to the cloud with minimal application and database changes. Managed Instance provides a fully managed SQL Server instance in the cloud that supports most of the features available in SQL Server on-premises, including CLR integration, which is used by the stored procedures in the current SQL Server 2012 R2 instances.

Here's why Azure SQL Database Managed Instance meets the given requirements:

  1. Minimize management overhead: Azure SQL Database Managed Instance is a fully managed PaaS offering, which means that Microsoft manages the infrastructure, including operating system patches, backups, and high availability. This minimizes management overhead for the migrated databases.

  2. Minimize the number of database changes: Azure SQL Database Managed Instance supports most of the features available in SQL Server on-premises, including CLR integration, which means that minimal application and database changes are required to migrate the databases to Azure.

  3. Ensure that users can authenticate by using their Active Directory credentials: Azure SQL Database Managed Instance supports Azure Active Directory authentication, which enables users to authenticate using their Active Directory credentials.

  4. Support for large databases: Azure SQL Database Managed Instance supports databases up to 8 TB in size, which means that the largest database of 3 TB can be easily migrated to Azure.

Azure SQL Database single databases (Option A) is another Azure service that can be used to host the databases. However, it may not be the best choice for large databases and may require more management overhead compared to Managed Instance.

Azure SQL Database elastic pools (Option C) can be used to manage and scale multiple databases in a pool. However, it may not be the best choice for large databases and may require more management overhead compared to Managed Instance.

SQL Server 2016 on Azure virtual machines (Option D) provides the flexibility to run SQL Server on a virtual machine in Azure. However, this option requires more management overhead compared to Azure SQL Database Managed Instance as the customer is responsible for managing the virtual machine, operating system patches, and backups. Additionally, the customer needs to configure high availability and disaster recovery, which is provided out-of-the-box with Azure SQL Database Managed Instance.