Migrate On prem to Azure Sql Managed instance

Question

I am planning to migrate the on-premises SQL server on virtual machines to an Azure SQL managed instance.

I am looking for a migration plan that can help with the above migration, which will list the compatibility and options to move the data without downtime, encrypt the data both in-transit and at rest.

When I checked, Azure’s Database Migration Service (DMS) can help move the databases without downtime, especially for read-heavy workloads.

It will be more helpful if someone with similar requirements has used any of the most cost-effective options and lists any other tools or services that can help with the assessment of the current database - compatibility issues , detection of partially supported or unsupported features that are currently in use by the source SQL Server instance, performance data,etc

Answer 1

@Shreedevi Sendarapatti Ramamoorthy Welcome to Microsoft Q&A thanks for posting your question.

Here are the options that usually come to my mind to recommend, I would recommend you to explore these options, in order to see what option fits better.

 LRS: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/managed-instance/log-replay-service-overview?view=azuresql

 ADS DMS Online: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dms/tutorial-sql-server-managed-instance-online-ads

 Transactional replication, https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/managed-instance/replication-transactional-overview?view=azuresql might be the option.

 Or manage instance link https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/managed-instance/managed-instance-link-feature-overview?view=azuresql

Please let me know if you need more information.

Regards

Geetha 

Answer 2

Hi @Shreedevi Sendarapatti Ramamoorthy,

Thanks for your kindly feedback.

Do you mean you want to minimize the downtime when migrating to Azure SQL? or you can check out this article.

In addition, look at this:

Feel free to share your issue here if you have any confused.

Regards,

Lucy Chen

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Answer 3

Hi @Shreedevi Sendarapatti Ramamoorthy,

Thanks for your information.

1. It is unlikely that you'll have any compatibility or feature parity issues if the source and target SQL Server versions are the same.
2. Before migration, it's a good practice to run an assessment of your SQL Server databases if the versions are different. We recommend the Azure Migrate to discover and assess single databases or at scale from different environments. This extension collects performance data from your source SQL Server instance to provide right-size Azure recommendation that meets your workload's performance needs with minimal cost. You can see this article to learn more. NOTE: Please ensure the logins used to connect the source SQL Server are members of the sysadmin server role or have CONTROLSERVER permission.
3. There are many migration methods to migrate your databases. Please read this article carefully and choose appropriate method, the steps of each method are list detailed in this article.
4. We recommend the DMS first. It provides online and offline migration modes. You can check the limitations between them to choose the better method.
5. Not all SQL Server versions support all compatibility modes. Check your target SQL Server version supports your chosen database compatibility. We recommend the DMA to assess on-premises SQL Server instances and understand the gaps between the source and target versions.

Hope my answer can help you well.

Best regards,

Lucy Chen

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