How to Retrieve Memory (RAM) for SQL Database Editions

Question

I'm working with Azure SQL Databases, and I have a Java enum that represents the various database editions (generated by the CLI command az sql db list-editions -l germanywestcentral -o table).

I need to programmatically obtain the memory (RAM) associated with each of these editions using the Azure CLI or the Java SDK. Alternatively, is there a correlation between the number of vCores and the amount of memory?

Is there a way to retrieve the memory (RAM) information for each Azure SQL Database edition using the Azure CLI?

If not directly available, how can I calculate the memory based on the service tier, hardware generation, and capacity?

Answer 1

Hi bonda29,

Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

Using Azure CLI

Unfortunately, the Azure CLI does not directly expose the memory (RAM) details for SQL Database editions through commands like az sql db list-editions. However, you can calculate the RAM based on the number of vCores and the hardware generation.

Memory Calculation Based on vCores and Hardware Generation:

Azure SQL Database editions typically provide a certain amount of memory per vCore, depending on the hardware generation and service tier (e.g., General Purpose, Business Critical). Below is a general guideline:

• General Purpose (Gen5): Typically provides 5.1 GB of RAM per vCore.
• Business Critical (Gen5): Typically provides 5.1 GB of RAM per vCore.
• Hyperscale (Gen5): Typically provides 5.1 GB of RAM per vCore.

For example, a db with 4 vCores in the General Purpose tier would have approximately 20.4 GB of RAM. You can use this info to manually correlate the no of vCores with the memory for each db edition.

Using Java SDK to Retrieve vCore Information

You can use the Azure SDK for Java to retrieve information about your SQL database service tier and compute resources, including the number of vCores, from which you can derive the memory.

SqlDatabase database = azure.sqlServers().databases().getByResourceGroup(resourceGroupName, sqlServerName, databaseName);
SqlDatabaseSku sku = database.sku();
int vCores = sku.capacity(); // This gives you the number of vCores
// You can then use the known memory per vCore for the hardware generation to calculate RAM
double memoryPerVCore = 5.1; // Assuming Gen5 hardware generation
double totalMemory = vCores * memoryPerVCore; // Total memory in GB

You can also retrieve the hardware generation of the database programmatically using the Sku object in the Java SDK to ensure you're calculating the memory based on the correct hardware type.

Please 'Upvote'(Thumbs-up) and 'Accept' as an answer if the reply was helpful. This will benefit other community members who face the same issue.