An SQL Database can be implemented in Azure in two ways:
- Using Azure SQL Database: This follows the PaaS model, and will be covered in this chapter and the next one
- Using Azure VMs and building SQL on them: This follows the IaaS model, and will be covered in more detail shortly
Azure SQL Database is a relational database as a service, built and hosted on Azure. It minimizes the cost of managing and provisioning databases. Using this model will reduce the responsibility for managing the virtual machines that host SQL Server, the operating system, and even the SQL Server software.
This model eliminates concerns regarding upgrades, backups, and even the high availability of databases, because they are not your responsibility anymore. Moreover, you can add databases as you wish, whenever you want. Taking this into account, you will pay less in credits because in this scenario you will not pay for a VM with SQL installed on it, plus the license credits...