Are SQL Server Managed instanced backwards compatible to a version of SQL Server?

Daniel Park 1 Reputation point
2022-06-03T03:25:14.377+00:00

Is SQL Server managed instance backwards compatible to a particular version of SQL Server, I found this website https://www.sqlnethub.com/services/sql-server-backwards-compatibility-check/ that suggest there is backwards compatibility but I cannot find a Microsoft site that says they are.

An example is that, If I have an application that needs say SQL Server 2012 and I want to put the database on SQL Server MI should I expect it to still function correctly?

Azure SQL Database
SQL Server
SQL Server
A family of Microsoft relational database management and analysis systems for e-commerce, line-of-business, and data warehousing solutions.
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  1. Alberto Morillo 34,461 Reputation points MVP
    2022-06-03T04:08:45.68+00:00

    The most effective and easiest way to make sure that database can be migrated without any issues to Azure Managed Instance is to perform a quick assessment using Azure Data Migration Assistance.

    Here you will find a step-by-step tutorial.

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  2. Erland Sommarskog 116.9K Reputation points MVP
    2022-06-03T21:47:14.21+00:00

    Azure SQL Managed Instance is bleeding edge. That is, migrating from SQL 2012 to Azure MI, is akin to upgrading to SQL 2019 and a little beyond that.

    But you can put the database in compatibility mode 110 to have it as faithful as possible to SQL 2012.

    Now, Microsoft are very conservative, so even if you go with compatibility level 150, it is not that likely that something will break in terms of functionality, but using the migration tool as mentioned by other is a good idea.

    Performance is another thing, since there have been plenyt of changes to the optimizer. A good strategy is to stay on compat level 110 initially, and enable Query Store. After a week or two you flip the switch. If you get a plan regression, you can easily force the old plan a makeshift solution while solve the performance problem in a better way. There is tooling in SSMS to help you with this.

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  3. Olaf Helper 46,041 Reputation points
    2022-06-03T05:17:15.477+00:00

    If I have an application that needs say SQL Server 2012 and I want to put the database on SQL Server MI should I expect it to still function correctly?

    The compatibilty to SQL Server depends on the used application and which features it uses.
    There have been breaking changes and behaviours over the several version of SQL Server; so better ask the software vendor which versions of SQL Server the support for them applications.

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  4. YufeiShao-msft 7,141 Reputation points
    2022-06-03T07:02:29.823+00:00

    Hi @Daniel Park ,

    If I have an application that needs say SQL Server 2012 and I want to put the database on SQL Server MI should I expect it to still function correctly?

    This issue involves migration: Migration overview: SQL Server to Azure SQL Managed Instance, This can use DMA(Data Migration Assistant ), and it can discover the compatibility issues and provide recommendations to help you address those issues.

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