Classification On-Premises* IaaS PaaS

Latest version SQL Server 2019 SQL Server 2019  Azure SQL
Data Storage
524 PB 64 TB 4 TB
limitations
Max in-memory Operating System
32 GB
OLTP storage Maximum
Columnstore Index
Yes Yes Yes
supports
Always on
Yes Yes No
Availability Group
Log Shipping Yes Yes No
Database Mirroring Yes  Yes No
Backup
Yes  Yes
Compression
Backup Encryption Yes  Yes
Online indexing Yes  Yes Yes
Stretch Database Yes  Yes
Row-level security Yes Yes yes
Dynamic Data
Yes Yes Yes
masking
Change Data
Yes Yes No
Capture
Security Yes  Yes
Temporal Tables Yes  Yes Yes
Service Broker Yes  Yes No
Transact
Yes  Yes
SQL(Endpoints)
Master Data Yes (Part of a single Yes(Part of a single
No
Services license) license)
Yes (Part of a single Yes(Part of a single No(Separate PaaS
Analysis Services
license) license) available)
Yes (Part of a single Yes(Part of a single
Reporting Services No
license) license)
Yes (Part of a single Yes(Part of a single
Integration Services No
license) license)
Spatial Indexes Yes Yes Yes
Graph support Yes Yes Yes(Preview)
Always Encrypted Yes Yes Yes
Transactions Yes  Yes Yes

SQL Server Auditing Yes  Yes No

Yes (Primary
Table Partitioning Yes  Yes
Filegroup only)
XML Indexes Yes  Yes Yes
Transparent Data
Yes  Yes Yes
Encryption
Stored Procedure Yes  Yes Yes
SQL Server Agent Yes  Yes No  (Elastic Jobs)
Sequence Numbers Yes  Yes Yes

RESTORE statements Yes  Yes No

Resource Governor Yes  Yes No

R Services Yes  Yes No
Policy-Based
Yes  Yes No
Management
Polybase Yes  Yes No
Point in time
Yes  Yes Yes
database restore
Log Shipping Yes  Yes No
Linked Servers Yes  Yes No (Elastic Query)
JSON data support Yes  Yes Yes
Graph Processing Yes  Yes Yes
FileStream Yes  Yes No
Extended Events Yes  Yes Some
DMVs Yes  Yes Some
 DDL Triggers Yes  Yes Database Only
DDL Statements Yes  Yes Yes (Most)
DBCC Statements Yes  Yes Yes (Most)

Database Snapshots Yes  Yes No

Data Quality
Yes  Yes No
Services (DQS)
Database Mirroring Yes  Yes No
Database Mail Yes  Yes No
Data compression Yes  Yes Yes
Cursors Yes  Yes Yes
Contained users Yes  Yes Yes

Contained Database Yes  Yes Yes

Common Language
Yes  Yes No
Runtime(CLR)

ColumnStore
Yes  Yes Yes
Indexes
Collation
Yes  Yes Yes
Statements
Change Tracking Yes  Yes Yes
Change Data
Yes  Yes No
Capture
Backup Command Yes  Yes No
Attach a database Yes  Yes No
Application Roles Yes  Yes Yes
 Azure SQL Database
Supports most on-premises database-level capabilities. The most commonly
used SQL Server features are available.
99.995% availability guaranteed.
Built-in backups, patching, recovery.
Latest stable Database Engine version.
Ability to assign necessary resources (CPU/storage) to individual databases.
Built-in advanced intelligence and security.

Online change of resources (CPU/storage).

Migration from SQL Server might be challenging.

Some SQL Server features are not available.
No guaranteed exact maintenance time (but nearly transparent).
Compatibility with the SQL Server version can be achieved only using database
compatibility levels.
Private IP address support with Azure Private Link.

Databases of up to 100 TB.

On-premises application can access data in Azure SQL Database.

Ranges from $5 per month to $19k per month per database

DBA role is minimum
Is configured separately for each and every database
Patching SQL Server Azure Managed
 Azure SQL Managed Instance

Supports almost all on-premises instance-level and database-level capabilities. High compatibility with SQL Server.

99.99% availability guaranteed.

Built-in backups, patching, recovery.
Latest stable Database Engine version.
Easy migration from SQL Server.
Private IP address within Azure Virtual Network.

Built-in advanced intelligence and security.

Online change of resources (CPU/storage).

There is still some minimal number of SQL Server features that are not available.
No guaranteed exact maintenance time (but nearly transparent).
Compatibility with the SQL Server version can be achieved only using database compatibility levels.

Up to 8 TB.

Native virtual network implementation and connectivity to your on-premises environment using Azure Express Route or VPN G

Ranges from $800 to $43k per month per instance

DBA is required for managing the SQL Server
Is configured per instance level
Patching SQL Server Azure Managed
 SQL Server on Azure VM
You have full control over the SQL Server engine. Supports all on-premises
capabilities.
Up to 99.99% availability.
Full parity with the matching version of on-premises SQL Server.
Fixed, well-known Database Engine version.
Easy migration from SQL Server.
Private IP address within Azure Virtual Network.
You have the ability to deploy application or services on the host where SQL Server is
placed.

You need to manage your backups and patches.

You need to implement your own High-Availability solution.
There is a downtime while changing the resources(CPU/storage)

SQL Server instances with up to 256 TB of storage. The instance can support as many
databases as needed.

With SQL virtual machines, you can have applications that run partly in the cloud and
partly on-premises. For example, you can extend your on-premises network and
Active Directory Domain to the cloud via Azure Virtual Network. For more information
on hybrid cloud solutions, see Extending on-premises data solutions to the cloud.

Depends upon the VM size and SQL Server License

DBA works the same way as in on-prem environment
SQL Server can use all the resources allocated to the VM
Patching SQL Server You need to manage