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What's new with SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines?

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Applies to: SQL Server on Azure VM

When you deploy an Azure virtual machine (VM) with SQL Server installed on it, either manually, or through a built-in image, you can use Azure features to improve your experience. This article summarizes the documentation changes associated with new features and improvements in the recent releases of SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines (VMs). To learn more about SQL Server on Azure VMs, see the overview.

For updates made in previous years, see the What's new archive.

September 2023

Changes Details
SQL VM health notifications The Overview page of the SQL virtual machines resource in the Azure portal now displays information about the health of the SQL IaaS Agent extension, as well as error conditions when the state is unhealthy or failed. Review Troubleshoot the extension to learn more.
Microsoft Entra ID rebrand Azure Active Directory has been rebranded to Microsoft Entra ID.

August 2023

Changes Details
Azure Update Manager preview It's now possible to automatically patch multiple SQL Server VMs at scale with the Azure Update Manager integrated in to the SQL virtual machines resource in the Azure portal, including Cumulative Updates, which isn't currently possible with the existing Automated Patching feature. Using Azure Update Manager for your SQL Server on Azure VMs is currently in preview. To learn more, review Azure Update Manager for SQL Server on Azure VMs.
Configure AG from Azure portal GA The experience to deploy an Always On availability group to multiple subnets by using the Azure portal is now generally available. To learn more, review Configure availability group through the Azure portal.

July 2023

Note

SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2 are out of extended support and no longer available from the Azure Marketplace.

May 2023

Changes Details
Azure SQL bindings for Azure Functions GA Azure Functions supports input bindings, and output bindings for the Azure SQL and SQL Server products. This feature is now generally available. Review Azure SQL bindings for Azure Functions to learn more.
Azure SQL triggers for Azure Functions preview Azure Functions supports function triggers for the Azure SQL and SQL Server products. This feature is currently in preview. Review Azure SQL triggers for Azure Functions to learn more.

April 2023

Changes Details
Auto upgrade SQL IaaS Agent extension It's now possible to enable auto upgrade for your SQL IaaS Agent extension to ensure you're automatically receiving the latest updates to the extension every month. Review SQL IaaS Agent Settings to learn more.
Azure AD authentication GA Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) authentication is now generally available. Review Configure Azure AD to learn more.
Migrate AG to multi-subnet Learn how to migrate your single-subnet Always On availability group to multiple subnets to remove the reliance on an Azure Load Balancer or Distributed Network Name (DNN) to route traffic to your listener. See Migrate availability group to a multi-subnet environment to learn more.

March 2023

Changes Details
Removed extension management modes The architecture for the SQL IaaS Agent extension has been updated to remove management modes. All newly deployed SQL Server VMs are registered with the extension by using the same default configuration and least privileged security model. To learn more, review Management modes.

February 2023

Changes Details
Enable Azure AD for SQL Server We've published a guide to help you enable Azure AD authentication for your SQL Server VM. Review Configure Azure AD to learn more.

January 2023

Changes Details
Extend your multi-subnet AG to multiple regions Extend an existing multi-subnet availability group, either on Azure virtual machines, or on-premises, to another region in Azure. To learn more, review Multi-subnet availability group in multiple regions.

2022

Changes Details
Troubleshoot SQL IaaS Agent extension We've added an article to help you troubleshoot and address some known issues with the SQL Server IaaS agent extension. To learn more, read Troubleshoot known issues.
Configure AG from Azure portal There is a new experience to deploy an Always On availability group to multiple subnets by using the Azure portal. The new availability group deployment method replaces the previous deployment through the SQL virtual machines resource. This feature is currently in preview. To learn more, review Configure availability group through the Azure portal.
Azure AD authentication It's now possible to configure Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) authentication to your SQL Server 2022 on Azure VM by using the Azure portal. This feature is currently in preview. To get started, review Azure AD with SQL Server VMs.
Least privilege permission model for SQL IaaS Agent extension There is a new permissions model available for the SQL Server IaaS Agent extension that grants the least privileged permission for each feature used by the extension. To learn more, review SQL IaaS Agent extension permissions.
Confidential VMs SQL Server on Azure VMs has added support to deploy to SQL Server on Azure confidential VMs. To get started, review the Quickstart: Deploy SQL Server to an Azure confidential VM.
Azure CLI for SQL best practices assessment It's now possible to configure the SQL best practices assessment feature using the Azure CLI.
Configure tempdb from Azure portal It's now possible to configure your tempdb settings, such as the number of files, initial size, and autogrowth ratio for an existing SQL Server instance by using the Azure portal. See manage SQL Server VM from portal to learn more.
SDK-style SQL projects Use Microsoft.Build.Sql for SDK-style SQL projects in the SQL Database Projects extension in Azure Data Studio or VS Code. This feature is currently in preview. To learn more, see SDK-style SQL projects.
Ebdsv5-series The new Ebdsv5-series provides the highest I/O throughput-to-vCore ratio in Azure along with a memory-to-vCore ratio of 8. This series offers the best price-performance for SQL Server workloads on Azure VMs. Consider this series first for most SQL Server workloads. To learn more, see the updates in VM sizes.
Security best practices The SQL Server VM security best practices have been rewritten and refreshed!
Migrate with distributed AG It's now possible to migrate your database(s) from a standalone instance of SQL Server or an entire availability group over to SQL Server on Azure VMs using a distributed availability group! See the prerequisites to get started.

Contribute to content

To contribute to the Azure SQL documentation, see the Docs contributor guide.

Additional resources

Windows VMs:

Linux VMs: