Expert knowledge for SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. Use when choosing SQL on Azure VM, Always On AG/FCI, IaaS Agent, Key Vault/MI backups, or Blob Storage backup/restore, and other SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines related development tasks. Not for Azure SQL Database (use azure-sql-database), Azure SQL Managed Instance (use azure-sql-managed-instance), Azure Virtual Machines (use azure-virtual-machines), Azure Data Science Virtual Machines (use azure-data-science-vm).
This skill provides expert guidance for SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines. Covers troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. It combines local quick-reference content with remote documentation fetching capabilities.
IMPORTANT for Agent: Use the Category Index below to locate relevant sections. For categories with line ranges (e.g.,
L35-L120), useread_filewith the specified lines. For categories with file links (e.g.,[security.md](security.md)), useread_fileon the linked reference file
IMPORTANT for Agent: If
metadata.generated_atis more than 3 months old, suggest the user pull the latest version from the repository. Ifmcp_microsoftdocstools are not available, suggest the user install it:
This skill requires network access to fetch documentation content:
mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch with query string from=learn-agent-skill. Returns Markdown.fetch_webpage with query string from=learn-agent-skill&accept=text/markdown. Returns Markdown.| Category | Lines | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Troubleshooting | L37-L52 | Diagnosing and fixing Azure SQL and SQL Server on Azure VM issues: connectivity, capacity, performance (I/O, memory, import/export), transaction logs, geo-replication, and IaaS Agent extension errors. |
| Best Practices | L53-L66 | Performance, HA/DR, and maintenance best practices for SQL Server on Azure VMs: VM sizing, storage/tempdb tuning, baselines, backups, FCI/DNN, and cluster configuration. |
| Decision Making | L67-L79 | Guidance for choosing SQL on Azure VM vs other Azure SQL options, migration from Db2/Oracle/SQL 2014, HADR/BCDR design, licensing (Hybrid Benefit), and cost/pricing decisions. |
| Architecture & Design Patterns | L80-L88 | High-level designs and patterns for SQL Server on Azure VMs: connectivity, Always On availability groups, failover cluster instances, and Windows Server Failover Clustering setup. |
| Limits & Quotas | L89-L95 | Info on Azure SQL capacity limits, DTU benchmark behavior, regional feature availability, and how to request quota increases for databases and managed instances |
| Security | L96-L106 | Securing SQL Server on Azure VMs: policies, TLS cert rotation, Key Vault and EKM, Entra auth, managed identities, hardening guidance, and confidential VM deployment. |
| Configuration | L107-L147 | Configuring SQL Server on Azure VMs: HA/DR (AGs, FCIs, listeners, load balancers), storage and SAN, clustering, backups, editions/versions, monitoring, and SQL IaaS Agent setup. |
| Integrations & Coding Patterns | L148-L153 | Backing up and restoring SQL Server on Azure VMs directly to Azure Blob Storage, including configurations that use managed identities instead of stored credentials. |
| Deployment | L154-L170 | Deploying and configuring SQL Server Always On availability groups and FCI on Azure VMs, including single/multi-subnet, cross-region, prerequisites, and migration of VMs and disks. |
| Topic | URL |
|---|---|
| Understand connectivity architecture for Azure SQL Database | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/connectivity-architecture?view=azuresql |
| Apply SQL Server application patterns on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/application-patterns-development-strategies?view=azuresql |
| Design Always On availability groups for SQL Server on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/availability-group-overview?view=azuresql |
| Understand failover cluster instances for SQL Server on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/failover-cluster-instance-overview?view=azuresql |
| Use Windows Server Failover Clustering with SQL Server on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/hadr-windows-server-failover-cluster-overview?view=azuresql |
| Topic | URL |
|---|---|
| Understand DTU benchmark characteristics for Azure SQL | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/dtu-benchmark?view=azuresql |
| Request quota increases for Azure SQL resources | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/quota-increase-request?view=azuresql |
| Check regional feature availability for Azure SQL Managed Instance | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/managed-instance/region-availability?view=azuresql |
| Topic | URL |
|---|---|
| Back up SQL Server on Azure VMs to Azure Blob Storage | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/azure-storage-sql-server-backup-restore-use?view=azuresql |
| Back up and restore SQL VMs to Blob using managed identities | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/backup-restore-to-url-using-managed-identities?view=azuresql |