Reducing Minimum vCores in Azure SQL Database General Purpose - Serverless: Gen5

Question

An Azure SQL database is currently in use with a significant cost, and the goal is to downgrade the minimum number of vCores in the General Purpose - Serverless: Gen5 plan. Is it possible to reduce the minimum vCores from 5 to 0.5 or 1?

If changing the minimum vCores is not feasible, what steps are necessary to transfer the existing database to a new database with the desired minimum vCore setting?

Appreciation for any assistance provided.

Answer 1

Hi Mahmoodi, Somayeh (Admin),

Thank you for reaching out to us. I see there are two parts in your question.

1. Is it possible to reduce the minimum vCores from 5 to 0.5 or 1?
   Yes, it is possible to configure Azure SQL Database in the General Purpose - Serverless: Gen5 tier with a minimum vCore setting as low as 0.5, depending on the selected compute size. You can find the full list of supported configurations in the following link Microsoft Learn | Single DB vCore resource limits .
2. If changing the minimum vCores is not feasible, what steps are necessary to transfer the existing database to a new database with the desired minimum vCore setting?

If your current database is configured with a higher minimum vCore and the Azure Portal doesn't allow reducing it directly (due to SKU constraints or other limitations), you can:

1. Export the database to a BACPAC file.
2. Create a new database in the desired serverless tier (e.g., GP_S_Gen5_1).
3. Import the BACPAC into the new database.

This approach ensures you can start fresh with the desired minimum vCore setting.

Answer 2

Hi,

The minimum vCores needs to be at least 1/8 the maximum vCores. For example, if you want to be able to set minimum vCores to 0.5, then your maximum vCores can be at most 4. For vCore minimum of 1, then vCore maximum can be no greater than 8.

You may change minimum/maximum settings by navigating to your SQL Database in portal and then on left click on Settings -- Compute + storage blade. On right, slide min/max setting as needed and then click Apply.

Example 1 - 0.5 Min vCores - Set Max vCores to 4, slide Min vCores left until it shows 0.5

Example 2 - 1 Min vCores - Set Max vCores to 8, slide Min vCores left until it shows 1

Please click Accept Answer and upvote if the above was helpful.

Thanks.

-TP

Answer 3

Hello Mahmoodi !

Thank you for posting on Microsoft Learn Q&A.

You can lower the minimum vCores on a General Purpose Serverless (Gen5) database to 0.5 or 1, provided you also pick a matching max vCores SKU. In serverless, the min vCores you can choose depends on the max vCores (the SKU like GP_S_Gen5_1, GP_S_Gen5_2, …). For example:

• GP_S_Gen5_1 to 0.5–1 vCores
• GP_S_Gen5_2 to 0.5–2 vCores
• GP_S_Gen5_4 to 0.5–4 vCores
• GP_S_Gen5_6 to 0.75–6 vCores
• GP_S_Gen5_8 to 1–8 vCores

So if you’re currently on something like GP_S_Gen5_40which has a min of 5drop your SKU to, say, GP_S_Gen5_2 to allow a 0.5 minimum, or GP_S_Gen5_8 for a 1.0 minimum.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/resource-limits-vcore-single-databases?view=azuresql

You don’t have to recreate the database. Just scale the existing DB:

1. Azure Portal then go your SQL Database then Compute + storage.
2. Select Serverless, choose a Max vCores SKU, and then set Min vCores.
3. Set Auto-pause delay (15 minutes up to 7 days, or disable auto-pause).

Click Apply.

This is an online management operation; Azure may briefly restart compute, but you avoid any data migration.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/single-database-scale?view=azuresql

Things to check before downgrading :

• Max data size allowed by the target SKU
• Performance headroom :memory/IO scale with the vCore range, lowering min (and max) reduces always-available cache/IO. If you see warm-up lag after idle, consider a slightly higher min or disabling auto-pause. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/serverless-tier-overview?view=azuresql

If you don't want to move to a fresh DB, it’s usually unnecessary, but options include:

• Copy in-place: CREATE DATABASE NewDb AS COPY OF ExistingDb, then scale NewDb to the desired serverless SKU/min and swap connections
• BACPAC export/import

Scaling the existing DB is the recommended path for this scenario. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/single-database-scale?view=azuresql*