azure-sql-database

name	azure-sql-database
description	Expert knowledge for Azure SQL Database development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. Use when choosing tiers/pricing, configuring geo-replication/Data Sync, securing with Entra/TDE, or deploying via IaC, and other Azure SQL Database related development tasks. Not for Azure SQL Managed Instance (use azure-sql-managed-instance), SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines (use azure-sql-virtual-machines), Azure Cosmos DB (use azure-cosmos-db), Azure Database for PostgreSQL (use azure-database-postgresql). Use when this capability is needed.
metadata	{"author":"gabrielmoreira"}

Azure SQL Database Skill

This skill provides expert guidance for Azure SQL Database. 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.

How to Use This Skill

IMPORTANT for Agent: Use the Category Index below to locate relevant sections. For categories with line ranges (e.g., L35-L120), use read_file with the specified lines. For categories with file links (e.g., [security.md](security.md)), use read_file on the linked reference file

IMPORTANT for Agent: If metadata.generated_at is more than 3 months old, suggest the user pull the latest version from the repository. If mcp_microsoftdocs tools are not available, suggest the user install it: Installation Guide

This skill requires network access to fetch documentation content:

• Preferred: Use mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch with query string from=learn-agent-skill. Returns Markdown.
• Fallback: Use fetch_webpage with query string from=learn-agent-skill&accept=text/markdown. Returns Markdown.

Category Index

Category	Lines	Description
Troubleshooting	L37-L61	Diagnosing and fixing Azure SQL issues: performance (CPU, memory, deadlocks, blocking), connectivity, scaling, import/export, geo-replication, Data Sync, and transaction log errors.
Best Practices	L62-L79	Best practices for Azure SQL operations: monitoring, security, HA/DR, failover, read replicas, maintenance, space management, elastic pools, Data Sync, and post-migration T-SQL adaptation.
Decision Making	L80-L106	Guidance for choosing Azure SQL tiers, pricing models, DR and automation options, Hyperscale usage, licensing/Reservations, and migration paths between models and features.
Architecture & Design Patterns	L107-L123	Patterns and architectures for geo-replication, DR, availability, sharding/elastic scale-out, connectivity/routing, rolling upgrades, and multitenant SaaS design in Azure SQL.
Limits & Quotas	L124-L135	Limits, quotas, and resource caps for Azure SQL (free offers, DTU/vCore for single DBs and pools), plus maintenance windows and how to request quota increases.
Security	L136-L203	Securing Azure SQL: Entra auth and managed identities, auditing and Defender, Always Encrypted and TDE with CMK, network/firewall controls, data masking/classification, and secure backup/DR.
Configuration	L204-L266	Configuring Azure SQL databases: monitoring, backups, security/immutability, scaling and elastic pools, geo-replication/failover, Data Sync, maintenance windows, and CLI/PowerShell/REST setup.
Integrations & Coding Patterns	L267-L296	Connecting apps and tools to Azure SQL (drivers, EF, Node, Python), plus PowerShell automation for auditing, scaling, replication, geo/failover, sharding, and streaming/Spark integration.
Deployment	L297-L312	Deploying and managing Azure SQL databases: scaling tiers and regions, Hyperscale/elastic pools, feature availability, and IaC/CI-CD with ARM, Bicep, Terraform, and GitHub Actions.

Troubleshooting

Topic	URL
Troubleshoot Azure SQL capacity deployment and scaling errors	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/capacity-errors-troubleshoot?view=azuresql
Resolve common Azure SQL database watcher issues	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database-watcher-faq?view=azuresql
Analyze and prevent deadlocks in Azure SQL Database	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/analyze-prevent-deadlocks?view=azuresql
Fix slow database import and export in Azure SQL	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/database-import-export-hang?view=azuresql
Use RecoveryManager to fix Azure SQL shard maps	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/elastic-database-recovery-manager?view=azuresql
Troubleshoot Azure SQL Database Elastic Scale issues	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/elastic-scale-faq?view=azuresql
Diagnose and fix high CPU in Azure SQL Database	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/high-cpu-diagnose-troubleshoot?view=azuresql
Troubleshoot performance issues in Azure SQL Hyperscale	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/hyperscale-performance-diagnostics?view=azuresql
Diagnose Azure SQL query performance bottlenecks	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/identify-query-performance-issues?view=azuresql
Monitor and troubleshoot In-Memory OLTP storage capacity	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/in-memory-oltp-monitor-space?view=azuresql

Best Practices

Topic	URL
Analyze Azure SQL monitoring data with KQL and T-SQL	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database-watcher-analyze?view=azuresql
Apply auditing best practices in production Azure SQL	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/auditing-best-practices?view=azuresql
Run disaster recovery drills for Azure SQL workloads	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/disaster-recovery-drills?view=azuresql
Optimize resource management in dense Azure SQL elastic pools	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/elastic-pool-resource-management?view=azuresql
Configure and operate Azure SQL failover groups with best practices	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/failover-group-sql-db?view=azuresql
Manage and reclaim Azure SQL Database file space	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/file-space-manage?view=azuresql-db
Apply HA and DR configuration checklist for Azure SQL	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/high-availability-disaster-recovery-checklist?view=azuresql
Operate Azure SQL databases effectively after migration	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/manage-data-after-migrating-to-database?view=azuresql
Plan for Azure SQL planned maintenance events	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/planned-maintenance?view=azuresql
Configure and use read scale-out replicas in Azure SQL

Decision Making

Topic	URL
Decide when to use Azure Hybrid Benefit for Azure SQL	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/azure-hybrid-benefit?view=azuresql
Use Azure SQL decision tree to choose service	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/azure-sql-decision-tree?view=azuresql
Understand Copilot in Azure SQL capabilities and usage	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/copilot/copilot-azure-sql-faq?view=azuresql
Plan deployment of Always Encrypted secure enclaves	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/always-encrypted-enclaves-plan?view=azuresql
Plan and manage Azure SQL Database costs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/cost-management?view=azuresql
Choose Azure SQL disaster recovery options for regional outages	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/disaster-recovery-guidance?view=azuresql
Choose migration path from elastic query shard map manager	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/elastic-query-horizontal-partitioning-migration?view=azuresql
Compare Azure SQL Database vs Managed Instance features	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/features-comparison?view=azuresql
Plan and use Hyperscale elastic pools for Azure SQL	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/hyperscale-elastic-pool-overview?view=azuresql
Choose job automation options for Azure SQL and Synapse	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/job-automation-overview?view=azuresql

Architecture & Design Patterns

Topic	URL
Design and use active geo-replication for Azure SQL databases	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/active-geo-replication-overview?view=azuresql
Use automatic geo-redundant backups and restore in Azure SQL	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/automated-backups-overview?view=azuresql
Understand Azure SQL connectivity architecture and routing	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/connectivity-architecture?view=azuresql
Understand Azure SQL connectivity architecture and connection policies	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/connectivity-architecture?view=azuresql
Choose geo-replication patterns for global Azure SQL apps	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/designing-cloud-solutions-for-disaster-recovery?view=azuresql
Disaster recovery patterns for Azure SQL elastic pools	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/disaster-recovery-strategies-for-applications-with-elastic-pool?view=azuresql
Design elastic scale-out architectures with Azure SQL	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/elastic-scale-introduction?view=azuresql
Move and rebalance data between sharded Azure SQL databases	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/elastic-scale-overview-split-and-merge?view=azuresql
Configure geo-distributed Azure SQL applications with failover	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/geo-distributed-application-configure-tutorial?view=azuresql

Limits & Quotas

Topic	URL
Understand Azure SQL Database free offer limits	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/free-offer-faq?view=azuresql
Understand Azure SQL Database free tier limits	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/free-offer?view=azuresql
Use Azure free account to deploy free Azure SQL database	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/free-sql-db-free-account-how-to-deploy?view=azuresql
Understand Azure SQL Database maintenance window behavior	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/maintenance-window-faq?view=azuresql
Elastic pool DTU resource limits for Azure SQL	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/resource-limits-dtu-elastic-pools?view=azuresql
Single database DTU resource limits for Azure SQL	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/resource-limits-dtu-single-databases?view=azuresql
Review vCore resource limits for Azure SQL elastic pools	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/resource-limits-vcore-elastic-pools?view=azuresql
Review vCore resource limits for single Azure SQL databases	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/resource-limits-vcore-single-databases?view=azuresql

Security

Topic	URL
Connect .NET to Azure SQL with Entra MFA	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/active-directory-interactive-connect-azure-sql-db?view=azuresql
Configure security for Azure SQL disaster recovery replicas	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/active-geo-replication-security-configure?view=azuresql
Configure Azure Attestation for Always Encrypted enclaves	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/always-encrypted-enclaves-configure-attestation?view=azuresql
Enable Always Encrypted with secure enclaves in Azure SQL	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/always-encrypted-enclaves-enable?view=azuresql
Configure Always Encrypted with Intel SGX enclaves in Azure SQL	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/always-encrypted-enclaves-getting-started-sgx?view=azuresql
Configure Always Encrypted with VBS enclaves in Azure SQL	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/always-encrypted-enclaves-getting-started-vbs?view=azuresql
Get started with Always Encrypted secure enclaves in Azure SQL	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/always-encrypted-enclaves-getting-started?view=azuresql
Register Entra applications for Azure SQL access	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/application-authentication-get-client-id-keys?view=azuresql
Configure Azure SQL auditing to storage behind VNet	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/audit-write-storage-account-behind-vnet-firewall?view=azuresql

Configuration

Topic	URL
Configure Azure Monitor alerts for database watcher data	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database-watcher-alerts?view=azuresql
Understand database watcher datasets and collected metrics	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database-watcher-data?view=azuresql
Create and configure database watcher for Azure SQL monitoring	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database-watcher-manage?view=azuresql
Create a database watcher with Entra auth and private connectivity	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database-watcher-quickstart?view=azuresql
Configure active geo-replication and failover for Azure SQL	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/active-geo-replication-configure-portal?view=azuresql
Configure ADO.NET direct routing ports for Azure SQL	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/adonet-v12-develop-direct-route-ports?view=azuresql
Configure advance maintenance notifications for Azure SQL	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/advance-notifications?view=azuresql
Define and deploy Azure SQL resources with ARM templates	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/arm-templates-content-guide?view=azuresql
Interpret Azure SQL Database audit log format	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/audit-log-format?view=azuresql
Change automated backup retention and redundancy in Azure SQL	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/automated-backups-change-settings?view=azuresql

Integrations & Coding Patterns

Topic	URL
Manage Azure SQL auditing using APIs and automation	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/auditing-manage-using-api?view=azuresql
Use Entity Framework Core with Azure SQL Database	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/azure-sql-dotnet-entity-framework-core-quickstart?view=azuresql
Connect and query Azure SQL using .NET SqlClient	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/azure-sql-dotnet-quickstart?view=azuresql
Query Azure SQL from Node.js using mssql package	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/azure-sql-javascript-mssql-quickstart?view=azuresql
Connect to Azure SQL using Python mssql-python driver	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/azure-sql-python-quickstart?view=azuresql
Connect and query Azure SQL using Python	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/connect-query-python?view=azuresql
Manage Azure SQL DNS aliases with PowerShell and CLI	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/dns-alias-powershell-create?view=azuresql
Manage shard maps with Elastic Database client library	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/elastic-scale-shard-map-management?view=azuresql
Integrate Elastic Database tools with Entity Framework	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/elastic-scale-use-entity-framework-applications-visual-studio?view=azuresql

Deployment

Topic	URL
Deploy Azure SQL database changes with GitHub Actions	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/connect-github-actions-sql-db?view=azuresql
Convert Azure SQL Database to Hyperscale tier	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/convert-to-hyperscale?view=azuresql
Create transactionally consistent copies of Azure SQL databases	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/database-copy?view=azuresql
Create zone-redundant Azure SQL Hyperscale databases	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/hyperscale-create-zone-redundant-database?view=azuresql
Manage Hyperscale elastic pools with CLI and PowerShell	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/hyperscale-elastic-pool-command-line?view=azuresql
Set up Azure SQL dev environment using dev containers	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/local-dev-experience-dev-containers-quickstart?view=azuresql
Move Azure SQL databases and pools across regions	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/move-resources-across-regions?view=azuresql
Check Azure SQL Database feature availability by region	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/region-availability?view=azuresql
Scale Azure SQL Database and Managed Instance resources	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/scale-resources?view=azuresql
Deploy Azure SQL single database with ARM template

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