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SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines

By Joey D'Antoni , Louis Davidson , Allan Hirt and 4 more
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  1. Free Chapter
    2. Getting started with SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines
About this book
Deploying SQL Server on Azure virtual machines allows you to work on full versions of SQL Server in the cloud without having to maintain on-premises hardware. The book begins by introducing you to the SQL portfolio in Azure and takes you through SQL Server IaaS scenarios, before explaining the factors that you need to consider while choosing an OS for SQL Server in Azure VMs. As you progress through the book, you'll explore different VM options and deployment choices for IaaS and understand platform availability, migration tools, and best practices in Azure. In later chapters, you'll learn how to configure storage to achieve optimized performance. Finally, you'll get to grips with the concept of Azure Hybrid Benefit and find out how you can use it to maximize the value of your existing on-premises SQL Server. By the end of this book, you'll be proficient in administering SQL Server on Microsoft Azure and leveraging the tools required for its deployment.
Publication date:
June 2020
Publisher
Packt
Pages
200
ISBN
9781800204591

 

2. Getting started with SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines

Virtual machines (VMs) are the core of all infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) deployments. A VM in Azure is similar to a VM premises using a hypervisor. The main difference is that Microsoft maintains the hypervisor and its related infrastructure in Azure. A VM also means that whether you choose to have Microsoft manage selected administration tasks, such as backups, or you perform those tasks yourself, it is still an operating system (Windows Server or a distribution of Linux) and installation of SQL Server that needs to be administered, maintained, patched, made available, and so on.

This chapter will help you understand why you should consider IaaS and covers how to approach choosing the right virtual hardware for a VM with SQL Server in Azure.

 

The benefits of deploying SQL Server using IaaS

Besides IaaS, there is another deployment method for SQL Server: platform-as-a-service (PaaS). Azure SQL Database, or Azure SQL Managed Instance, is PaaS. With PaaS, there is no operating system (OS) or SQL Server instance you need to manage, which includes things such as patching. All of that is done for you. Where that does not work for some is that you may need control over the OS and/or SQL Server choices (version or edition) due to standards, licensing, or other requirements. PaaS provides a more packaged solution that fits the needs of many without needing a dedicated OS and SQL Server instance.

Since IaaS is just a VM with an OS, you can deploy whatever supported combination of OS and SQL Server you desire. One principal difference between IaaS and PaaS is that any automatic administration you would want done by Microsoft is opt-in, whereas PaaS is done for you and you have limited configuration choices. One important reason...

 

Deployment choices for IaaS

This section will cover the different ways in which you can deploy a VM in Azure, along with considerations and best practices that are applicable no matter which method is used, as well as briefly talk about licensing SQL Server in Azure.

Deployment methods

There are three options for deploying a VM in Azure for use with SQL Server:

  • Choose a pre-built template, also known as an image, with SQL Server already installed.
  • Choose a template with the OS but without SQL Server installed, which will be done after the VM is built.
  • Build a custom image using a virtual hard drive and upload it to Azure.

No matter which of the three deployment methods you choose, you can deploy using Cloud Shell (Bash or PowerShell)6, also known as the Azure command-line interface (CLI), Azure portal7, Azure Resource Manager templates8 that are written in JSON, and the Azure PowerShell module9. Builds can be automated and incorporated into DevOps processes...

 

Azure VM hardware options

VMs have a virtualized processor, memory, and storage. Processor and memory factor into the VM type and its choice of size. Storage is influenced by the VM type and size, but has its own parameters. This section will introduce the basics of VM types, sizes, and storage. Performance will be touched upon as this is a crucial element of configuring a VM and will be discussed further in Chapter 5, Performance.

VM types and sizes

This section will contain information about the different types and sizes of IaaS VMs available in Azure.

VM types and series

VMs in Azure come in different types and sizes. Within each major VM type, the size maps to what is known as a series, such as D, E, and G. Each series has different sizes with different specifications. The following table lists the different VM types and their purpose:

Different virtual machinetypes with their preferred usage
Figure 2.8: Different VM types with their recommended usage

VM resources can be reserved and guaranteed...

 

Summary

Choosing a VM type, size, and its associated virtual hardware is no different to planning and deploying a physical server or VM on-premises. You have to account for CPU, memory, networking, and storage. While this chapter covered the basics of deploying an IaaS-based VM for SQL Server in Azure, there are many more considerations, such as availability and security, that must also be considered as part of an overall solution. Subsequent chapters will discuss those topics and more.

 
About the Authors
  • Joey D'Antoni

    Joseph D'Antoni is a Principal Consultant at Denny Cherry and Associates Consulting. He is recognized as a VMWare vExpert and a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and has over 20 years of experience working in both Fortune 500 and smaller firms. He has worked extensively on database platforms and cloud technologies and has specific expertise in performance tuning, infrastructure, and disaster recovery.

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  • Louis Davidson

    Louis Davidson (Chapter 1, Introduction to SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines)

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  • Allan Hirt

    SQLHA, LLC founder, consultant, trainer, author, and business continuity, infrastructure, and virtualization expert Allan Hirt has been working with SQL Server since 1992 when it was still a Sybase product as well as clustering in Windows Server since the late 1990s when it was known as Wolfpack. Currently a dual Microsoft MVP (Data Platform; Cloud and Datacenter Management) as well as a VMware vExpert, Allan works with all sizes of customers no matter if they are on premises or in the public cloud and delivers training and speaks at events over the world.

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  • John Martin

    John is an experienced data platform professional having spent over a decade working with the Microsoft data and cloud platform technologies. In this time John has learned how to get the most out of these platforms as well as the key pitfalls that should be avoided.

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  • Anthony Nocentino

    Anthony Nocentino is the Founder and President of Centino Systems as well as a Pluralsight author and a Microsoft Data Platform MVP, Linux Expert, and Corporate Problem Solver. Anthony designs solutions, deploys the technology, and provides expertise on system performance, architecture, and security. Anthony has a Bachelors and Masters in Computer Science with research publications in high performance/low latency data access algorithms and spatial database systems. You can find him on Twitter @nocentino.

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  • Tim Radney

    Tim is a Data Platform MVP. He has presented at PASS, SQLintersection, Microsoft Ignite, SQL Saturdays, user groups and numerous webinars. In addition, Tim runs the Columbus GA SQL Users Group, is a PASS Regional Mentor and was named a PASS Outstanding Volunteer. He's married with three children and has a passion for electronics. He also farms chickens, crops, and tilapias in his spare time.

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  • Randolph West

    Randolph West, founder of Born SQL, is an independent IT consultant, speaker, Calgary PASS user group leader, Microsoft Data Platform MVP, and lead author of the book SQL Server 2019 Administration Inside Out. Randolph specializes in SQL Server performance tuning, disaster recovery, and migrations from really old versions, with an emphasis on implementing best practices. Randolph has presented at PASS Summit, SQLBits, SQL Saturdays, and user groups. You can also find Randolph acting and directing on screen or the stage, or annoying people on Twitter. Do not trust Randolph around chocolate.

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SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines
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