General FAQ
Can I exclude any SQL Server instances when I onboard with Azure Policy with Azure Arc-enabled SQL Server?
Yes, you can use the excludedInstances setting in the Azure Policy to indicate the SQL Server instances that you do not want to include in the onboarding process.
For example, if you have any standby instances, you may not want to view them in the portal. When you use Azure Policy to onboard, you can exclude such instances based using pattern matching of the instance names.
- Create a copy of the definition that we provide in Azure to create a custom definition.
- Set the value for excluded instances in the custom definition.
- Target the subscription and resource group.
Is the data from my instance of SQL Server sent to Azure?
No. Microsoft only captures metadata and information about your SQL Server to help troubleshoot and inventory. The data sent does not include user data or about your utilization of SQL Server.
Billing
Does pay-as-you-go billing stop charging when connectivity between the SQL Server resource and Azure is temporarily interrupted?
No, Intermittent internet connectivity does not stop the pay-as-you-go billing. The usage will be reported and accounted for by the billing logic when the connectivity is restored.
Do I get charged if my virtual machine is stopped?
No. When the VM is stopped, the usage data is not collected. Therefore, you will not be charged for the time the VM was stopped.
Do I get charged if my SQL Server instance is stopped?
No. The usage data collection requires an active SQL Server instance. Therefore, you will not be charged for the time the SQL Server instance was stopped.
Do I get charged if my SQL Server instance was running for less than an hour?
The billing granularity is one hour. If your instance was active for less than an hour, you will be billed for the full hour.
Is there a minimum number of cores with pay-as-you-go billing?
Pay-as-you-go billing does not change the licensing terms of SQL Server. Therefore, it is subject to the four-core limit as defined in the SQL Server licensing terms.
If the affinity mask is specified for my SQL Server to use a subset of virtual cores, will it reduce the pay-as-you-go-charges?
No. When you run your SQL Server instance on a virtual or physical machine, you are required to license the full set of cores that the machine can access. Therefore, your pay-as-you-go charges will be based on the full core count even if you use the affinity mask to limit your SQL Server's usage of these cores. See SQL Server licensing guide for details.
Can I switch from pay-as-you-go to license and vice versa?
Yes, you can change your selection. To change, run Setup again, and choose the Maintenance tab, then select Edition Upgrade. The mode is now changed to Enterprise license. To revert back to pay-as-you-go, you can use the same steps and change the setting.