Marco Obinu

Even if the Azure SQL portfolio is full of PaaS services that can support almost any SQL workload, Azure SQL VMs are still relevant for many customers. Suppose you're working in a hybrid BCDR scenario or have to deal with an application that needs complete control over SQL Server or the operating system, or you need extreme performance. In that case, an Azure SQL VM might be the right choice for you. Unfortunately, it's also one of the more complex ways to obtain a SQL Server instance in Azure. A less-than-optimal configuration can compromise the performance or the availability of the instance, with a potential impact on licensing costs. Of course, you can click on a SQL Server image from Azure Marketplace. Still, these pre-built instances are meant to be used in a large variety of scenarios and consequently use generic settings which aren't optimized from a performance point of view. This session will cover all the topics you should know while deploying a suitable virtual machine to host a SQL Server instance that won't drain your wallet. We'll briefly explore the key aspects you want to address while sizing a virtual machine and what IaaS features you can leverage to avoid sizing it for the peaks. Then, let's quickly go through all the operating system and SQL Server settings that Microsoft suggests configuring to improve the performance and availability of your solution.