Edit

Register SQL Server instances for ESUs

Applies to: SQL Server 2014 (12.x) SQL Server 2016 (13.x)

This article explains how to manually register SQL Server instances in the Azure portal to receive Extended Security Updates (ESUs) purchased through volume licensing.

You must manually register SQL Server instances to receive ESUs in the following scenarios:

  • You can't connect your SQL Server instance to Azure Arc directly.
  • Your SQL Server on Azure VM is in a region that doesn't currently support ESUs for Azure VMs.

If those scenarios don't apply to your SQL Server instance and you prefer to take advantage of the flexibility of ESUs enabled by Azure Arc, connect your server to Azure Arc or register your SQL Server on Azure VM with the SQL IaaS Agent extension.

Note

Price structure for Extended Security Updates (ESUs) changed for SQL Server 2016 on Azure VMs. To learn more, see SQL Server 2016 ESUs

Prerequisites

To register your SQL Server instances and receive ESUs, you need the following prerequisites:

  • If you don't already have an Azure subscription, create an account by using one of the following methods:

  • The user registering SQL Server instances resources must have the following permissions:

    • Microsoft.AzureArcData/sqlServerInstances/read
    • Microsoft.AzureArcData/sqlServerInstances/write

    Assign users to the Azure Connected SQL Server Onboarding role to grant these specific permissions, or assign them to built-in roles such as Contributor or Owner that have these permissions. For more information, see Assign Azure roles using the Azure portal.

  • Register the Microsoft.AzureArcData resource provider in your Azure subscription:

    • Sign in to the Azure portal.

    • Navigate to your subscription, and select Resource providers.

    • If the Microsoft.AzureArcData resource provider isn't listed, add it to your subscription by using the Register option.

  • If you use Azure policies that only allow the creation of specific resource types, you need to allow the Microsoft.AzureArcData/sqlServerInstances resource type. If you don't allow this resource type, the SQLServerInstances_Update operation fails with a 'deny' Policy action log entry in the activity log of the subscription.

You can either register a single SQL Server instance, or upload a CSV file to register multiple SQL Server instances in bulk.

Single SQL Server instance

  1. Go to the SQL Server instances pane in the Azure portal.

  2. To register a SQL Server, select Add in the navigation bar:

    Screenshot of the Add button in the navigation bar of the SQL Server instances pane.

  3. Select Register SQL Server instances to add a SQL Server instance.

    Screenshot for adding registered servers when registering a single instance.

  4. Specify Single SQL Server Instance. This value is the default.

  5. Choose the Subscription and Resource group for your registered SQL Server instance.

  6. Enter the required information as detailed in the following table, and then select Next:

    Value Description Additional information
    Instance Name Enter the output of command SELECT @@SERVERNAME. If you have a named instance, replace the backslash (\) with a hyphen (-). For example, MyServer\Instance01 becomes MyServer-Instance01.
    SQL Server Version Select your version from the dropdown list.
    Edition Select the applicable edition from the dropdown list: Datacenter, Developer (free to deploy if purchased ESUs), Enterprise, Standard, Web, Workgroup.
    Cores Enter the number of cores for this instance
    Host Type Select the applicable host type from the dropdown list: Virtual machine (on-premises), Physical Server (on-premises), Azure Virtual Machine, Amazon EC2, Google Compute Engine, Other.

  7. Confirm that you have the rights to receive ESUs by using the checkbox.

Multiple SQL Server instances in bulk

You can register multiple SQL Server instances at once by uploading a .CSV file. After you format your .CSV file correctly, follow these steps to bulk register your SQL Server instances:

  1. Go to the SQL Server instances pane in the Azure portal.

  2. To register a SQL Server instance, select Add in the navigation bar:

    Screenshot of the Add button in the navigation bar for bulk instance registration.

  3. Select Register SQL Server instances to add a SQL Server instance.

    Screenshot of the options for adding connected or registered servers when registering instances in bulk.

  4. Select the option for Multiple SQL Instances.

  5. Select the Browse icon to upload the CSV file containing multiple disconnected SQL Server instances.

  6. Confirm that you have the rights to receive ESUs by using the checkbox provided.

After you add your SQL Server instances, you see them in the portal after a few minutes. Because you added them manually, they always show the description Registered.

Screenshot of two registered SQL Server instances on the Azure Arc portal.

Formatting requirements for CSV file

  • Use commas to separate values.

  • Don't use single or double quotes around values.

  • Values can include letters, numbers, hyphens (-), and underscores (_). Don't use other special characters. If you have a named instance, replace the backslash (\) with a hyphen (-). For example, MyServer\Instance01 becomes MyServer-Instance01.

  • Column names are case-sensitive and must be named as follows:

    • name
    • version
    • edition
    • cores
    • hostType

Example CSV file

The CSV file should look like this:

name,version,edition,cores,hostType
Server1-SQL2014,SQL Server 2014,Enterprise,12,Other Physical Server
Server2-SQL2014,SQL Server 2014,Enterprise,24,Other Physical Server
Server3-SQL2014,SQL Server 2014,Enterprise,12,Azure Virtual Machine
Server4-SQL2014,SQL Server 2014,Standard,8,Azure VMware Solution

Use the Purchase Order Number under Invoice Summary in your Microsoft invoice (as shown in the following screenshot) for the Invoice ID value to link the ESU purchase with the SQL Server instances.

Screenshot of Sample invoice with Purchase Order Number highlighted.

To link an ESU invoice to your SQL Server instances and get access to extended updates, follow these steps. This example includes both Connected and Registered instances.

  1. Go to the SQL Server instances pane in the Azure portal.

  2. Use the checkboxes next to each SQL Server instance you want to link, and then select Link ESU invoice.

    Screenshot of all SQL Server instances on the Azure Arc section.

  3. Enter the ESU invoice number in the Invoice ID section, and then select Link invoice.

    Screenshot of the invoice ID on the Link ESU invoice page.

  4. The servers you linked to the ESU invoice now show a valid ESU expiration date.

    Screenshot of SQL Server instances with a valid ESU expiration value.

Important

When registering an ESU VL product for disconnected SQL Server servers, select only the instances with the Status of Registered.

Download ESUs

After you link your ESU invoice, you can manually download ESUs from the Extended Security Updates pane for your SQL Server instance in the Azure portal.

Frequently asked questions

For a full list of frequently asked questions, see the Extended Security Updates: Frequently asked questions.

Related content

  • Last updated on