We are happy to announce new features that round out instance pools feature set to provide the full functionality required for a wide range of use cases.
When migrating small SQL Server instances to Azure it is often the case that a single SQL Managed Instance turns out to be overkill in terms of size and, consequently, cost. The oversizing problem can happen whenever very small instances are required, for example when an ISV company builds a multi-tenant app requiring a small SQL MI instance for each customer. In such cases the smallest size (4-vCores) for a single SQL MI can still turn out to be too large and too expensive for the given use case. This is where SQL MI pools ("instance pools") deliver great value.
Instance pools provide the unique capability to provision small, cost-effective 2-vCores instances within a pre-provisioned instance pool. This way, small instances can cost 50% less compared to non-pooled instances. As an additional advantage, pooled instances provision very fast (under 5 minutes) which recommends them for many scenarios that involve rapid capacity scaling.
Today we are announcing the following new features:
The following table provides an overview of instance pool core features. A detailed description of features and limitations is described in What is an Azure SQL Managed Instance pool (preview).
Here are some simple use examples for the latest features. When performing operations on instance pools or pooled instances it is recommended that one establishes a prior understanding of:
You can also refer to SQL Managed Instance pools how-to guide for more code examples.
*Available in 2nd half of February
Instance pools have now a new create experience in Azure Portal:
*Available in 2nd half of February
Within Create Azure SQL Managed Instance experience in Azure Portal, it is now possible to select a pool to which the instance will belong:
The following PowerShell code provides examples of updating an instance pool. Please note that license type, hardware type and fixed maintenance window option apply to all instances within the pool, as these properties have instance pool scope and cannot be set separately on a per-instance basis.
# obtain instance pool object
$instancePool = Get-AzSqlInstancePool -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroupName -Name $instancePoolName
# change license type
$instancePool | Set-AzSqlInstancePool -LicenseType 'BasePrice'
# change vCore size
$instancePool | Set-AzSqlInstancePool -VCores 16
# change hardware type
$instancePool | Set-AzSqlInstancePool -ComputeGeneration 'Gen8'
When moving an instance into an instance pool, the following points must be observed and managed by the user:
To move an instance into an instance pool one should update the instance by using Set-AzSqlInstance command while specifying the InstancePoolName parameter. In case other parameters need to be changed so they match pool’s parameters, this can be achieved within the same command.
# move instance into an instance pool
$instance01 | Set-AzSqlInstance -InstancePoolName $instancePoolName
When moving an instance out of an instance pool, the instance will retain all its properties except in two special cases:
In PowerShell this is achieved using Set-AzSqlInstance command and providing empty value for -InstancePoolName parameter. The same command is used if other instance parameters need to be changed within the same update event.
# move instance out of an instance pool
$instance01 | Set-AzSqlInstance -InstancePoolName “”
Instance pools (currently in Public Preview) provide a great way to cost-optimize you SQL Server workloads in Azure that require small SQL server instances. The complete feature set now allows many use scenarios that can take advantage of having small 2-vCore instances within instance pools, such as migrating small SQL Server instances from on-premises or Virtual Machines, using small cost-effective instances for Dev/Test environments, or leveraging small SQL MIs within multitenant applications.
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