Hybrid Benefit for SQL Server
Tuesday 20th March 2018
Microsoft has launched Hybrid Benefit for SQL Server.
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Now is the time to move to Azure and reap the rewards of cloud technology, including the ability to scale up or down quickly, pay only for what you use, and save on compute power.
Whether you are deploying new virtual machines, moving a few workloads, or migrating your datacentres as part of your hybrid cloud strategy, the Azure Hybrid Benefit provides big savings as you move to the cloud. The Microsoft Azure Benefit for SQL Server allows you to use your existing SQL Server licenses with active Software Assurance toward Azure SQL Server running in Azure and pay only for the underlying compute and storage
Azure SQL Database Managed Instances
If you have SQL Server Enterprise Edition with Software Assurance then you can move to Azure SQL Database Managed Instances at a cost-effective rate. Azure Hybrid Benefit for SQL Server provides you with four cores in the cloud for every one core you own on premises when selecting the Managed Instance General Purpose SKU. The Managed Instance General Purpose SKU best meets the requirements for virtualised workloads, making the move to Managed Instance highly cost-effective. Azure SQL Database Managed Instance is an expansion of the existing SQL Database service, providing a third deployment option alongside single databases and elastic pools. SQL Database Managed Instance provides high compatibility with the on-premises SQL Server programming model and out-of-box support for the large majority of SQL Server features and accompanying tools and services.
You can sign up for SQL Database Managed Instance through Azure Marketplace.
SQL Server Enterprise Virtual Machines
Paying the SQL Server license per usage means that the per-minute cost of running an Azure VM includes the cost of the SQL Server license. If you have existing on-premises SQL Server licenses with active Software Assurance you can reassign those licenses to Azure, removing ‘per usage’ metre. Hybrid Benefit for SQL Server allows concurrent use of existing SQL Server licenses with Software Assurance both on-premises AND in Azure for a period of 180 days saving you money during the migration period.
To create a SQL Server 2016 Azure VM with one of these bring-your-own-license images, see the VMs prefixed with "{BYOL}":
SQL Server 2016 Enterprise Azure VM
SQL Server 2016 Standard Azure VM
Speak to a Bytes Account Manager for further information email [email protected]
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