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What is an Azure SQL database? | Microsoft Docs |
This article provides an overview of Azure SQL databases. |
sql-database |
na |
CarlRabeler |
jhubbard |
sql-database |
single databases |
na |
get-started-article |
na |
data-management |
11/28/2016 |
carlrab |
This topic provides an overview of Azure SQL databases. For information about Azure SQL logical servers, see Logical servers.
Each database in Azure SQL Database is associated with a logical server. The database can be:
- A single database with its own set of resources (DTUs)
- Part of an elastic pool that shares a set of resources (eDTUs)
- Part of a scaled-out set of sharded databases, which can be either single or pooled databases
- Part of a set of databases participating in a multitenant SaaS design pattern, and whose databases can either be single or pooled databases (or both)
- Authentication and authorization: Azure SQL Database supports SQL authentication and Azure Active Directory Authentication (with certain limitations - see Connect to SQL Database with Azure Active Directory Authentication for authentication. You can connect and authenticate to Azure SQL databases through the server's master database or directly to a user database. For more information, see Managing Databases and Logins in Azure SQL Database. Windows Authentication is not supported.
- TDS: Microsoft Azure SQL Database supports tabular data stream (TDS) protocol client version 7.3 or later.
- TCP/IP: Only TCP/IP connections are allowed.
- SQL Database firewall: To help protect your data, a SQL Database firewall prevents all access to your database server or its databases until you specify which computers have permission. See Firewalls
The default database collation used by Microsoft Azure SQL Database is SQL_LATIN1_GENERAL_CP1_CI_AS, where LATIN1_GENERAL is English (United States), CP1 is code page 1252, CI is case-insensitive, and AS is accent-sensitive. It is not possible to alter the collation for V12 databases. For more information about how to set the collation, see COLLATE (Transact-SQL).
Names for all new objects must comply with the SQL Server rules for identifiers. For more information, see Identifiers.
For information about supported features, see Features. See also Azure SQL Database Transact-SQL differences for more background on the reasons for lack of support for certain types of features.
You can manage Azure SQL Database logical servers using several methods:
- For information about the Azure SQL Database service, see What is SQL Database?
- For information about supported features, see Features
- For an overview of Azure SQL logical servers, see SQL Database logical server overview
- For information about Transact-SQL support and differences, see Azure SQL Database Transact-SQL differences.
- For information about specific resource quotas and limitations based on your service tier. For an overview of service tiers, see SQL Database service tiers.
- For an overview of security, see Azure SQL Database Security Overview.
- For information on driver availability and support for SQL Database, see Connection Libraries for SQL Database and SQL Server.