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What is Azure Database Migration Service?

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Azure Database Migration Service is a fully managed service designed to enable seamless migrations from multiple database sources to Azure data platforms with minimal downtime (online migrations).

Migrate databases with Azure SQL Migration extension for Azure Data Studio

The Azure SQL Migration extension for Azure Data Studio brings together a simplified assessment, recommendation, and migration experience that delivers the following capabilities:

  • A responsive user interface that provides you with an end-to-end migration experience that starts with a migration readiness assessment, SKU recommendation (based on performance data), and finalizes with the actual migration to Azure SQL.
  • An enhanced assessment mechanism that can evaluate SQL Server instances, identifying databases that are ready for migration to the different Azure SQL targets.
  • A SKU recommendation engine (Preview) that collects performance data from the source SQL Server instance on-premises, generating right-sized SKU recommendations based on your Azure SQL target.
  • A reliable Azure service powered by Azure Database Migration Service that orchestrates data movement activities to deliver a seamless migration experience.
  • The ability to run online (for migrations requiring minimal downtime) or offline (for migrations where downtime persists through the migration) migration modes to suit your business requirements.
  • The flexibility to create and configure a self-hosted integration runtime to provide your own compute for accessing the source SQL Server and backups in your on-premises environment.

Check the following step-by-step tutorials for more information about each specific migration scenario by Azure SQL target:

Migration scenario Migration mode
SQL Server to Azure SQL Managed Instance Online / Offline
SQL Server to SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machine Online / Offline
SQL Server to Azure SQL Database (Preview) Offline

To learn more, see Migrate databases with Azure SQL Migration extension for Azure Data Studio.

Migrate databases to Azure with familiar tools

Azure Database Migration Service integrates some of the functionality of our existing tools and services. It provides customers with a comprehensive, highly available solution. The service uses the Data Migration Assistant to generate assessment reports that provide recommendations to guide you through the required changes before a migration. It's up to you to perform any remediation required. Azure Database Migration Service performs all the required steps when ready to begin the migration process. Knowing that the process takes advantage of Microsoft's best practices, you can fire and forget your migration projects with peace of mind.

Note

Using Azure Database Migration Service to perform an online migration requires creating an instance based on the Premium pricing tier.

Regional availability

For up-to-date info about the regional availability of Azure Database Migration Service, see Products available by region.

Pricing

For up-to-date info about Azure Database Migration Service pricing, see Azure Database Migration Service pricing.

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