| Always Encrypted |
Yes - see Cert store and Key vault |
Yes - see Cert store and Key vault |
| Always On Availability Groups |
High availability is included with every database. Disaster recovery is discussed in Overview of business continuity with Azure SQL Database |
High availability is included with every database. Disaster recovery is discussed in Overview of business continuity with Azure SQL Database |
| Attach a database |
No |
No |
| Application roles |
Yes |
Yes |
| Auditing |
Yes |
Yes |
| Automatic backups |
Yes |
Yes |
| Automatic tuning (plan forcing) |
Yes |
Yes |
| Automatic tuning (indexes) |
Yes |
No |
| Azure Data Studio |
Yes |
Yes |
| BACPAC file (export) |
Yes - see SQL Database export |
No |
| BACPAC file (import) |
Yes - see SQL Database import |
No |
| BACKUP command |
No, only system-initiated automatic backups - see Automated backups |
System-initiated automated backups and user initiated copy-only backups - see Backup differences |
| Built-in functions |
Most - see individual functions |
Yes - see Stored procedures, functions, triggers differences |
| Change data capture |
No |
Yes |
| Change tracking |
Yes |
Yes |
| Collation statements |
Yes |
Yes |
| Columnstore indexes |
Yes - Premium tier, Standard tier - S3 and above, General Purpose tier, and Business Critical tiers |
Yes |
| Common language runtime (CLR) |
No |
Yes - see CLR differences |
| Contained databases |
Yes |
Yes |
| Contained users |
Yes |
Yes |
| Control of flow language keywords |
Yes |
Yes |
| Cross-database queries |
No - see Elastic queries |
Yes, plus Elastic queries |
| Cross-database transactions |
No |
Yes - see Linked server differences |
| Cursors |
Yes |
Yes |
| Data compression |
Yes |
Yes |
| Database mail |
No |
Yes |
| Data Migration Service (DMS) |
Yes |
Yes |
| Database mirroring |
No |
No |
| Database configuration settings |
Yes |
Yes |
| Data Quality Services (DQS) |
No |
No |
| Database snapshots |
No |
No |
| Data types |
Yes |
Yes |
| DBCC statements |
Most - see individual statements |
Yes - see DBCC differences |
| DDL statements |
Most - see individual statements |
Yes - see T-SQL differences |
| DDL triggers |
Database only |
Yes |
| Distributed partition views |
No |
Yes |
| Distributed transactions - MS DTC |
No - see Elastic transactions |
No - see Elastic transactions |
| DML statements |
Yes |
Yes |
| DML triggers |
Most - see individual statements |
Yes |
| DMVs |
Most - see individual DMVs |
Yes - see T-SQL differences |
| Dynamic data masking |
Yes |
Yes |
| Elastic pools |
Yes |
Built-in - a single Managed Instance can have multiple databases that share the same pool of resources |
| Event notifications |
No - see Alerts |
Yes |
| Expressions |
Yes |
Yes |
| Extended events |
Some - see Extended events in SQL Database |
Yes - see Extended events differences |
| Extended stored procedures |
No |
No |
| Files and file groups |
Primary file group only |
Yes |
| Filestream |
No |
No |
| Full-text search |
Third-party word breakers are not supported |
Third-party word breakers are not supported |
| Functions |
Most - see individual functions |
Yes - see Stored procedures, functions, triggers differences |
| Geo-restore |
Yes - General Purpose and Business Critical service tiers only |
No – you can restore COPY_ONLY full backups that you take periodically - see Backup differences and Restore differences. |
| Geo-replication |
Yes - General Purpose and Business Critical service tiers only |
No |
| Graph processing |
Yes |
Yes |
| In-memory optimization |
Yes - Premium and Business Critical tiers only |
Yes - Business Critical tier only - currently in preview |
| JSON data support |
Yes |
Yes |
| Language elements |
Most - see individual elements |
Yes - see T-SQL differences |
| Linked servers |
No - see Elastic query |
Only to SQL Server and SQL Database |
| Log shipping |
High availability is included with every database. Disaster recovery is discussed in Overview of business continuity with Azure SQL Database |
High availability is included with every database. Disaster recovery is discussed in Overview of business continuity with Azure SQL Database |
| Master Data Services (MDS) |
No |
No |
| Minimal logging in bulk import |
No |
No |
| Modifying system data |
No |
Yes |
| Online index operations |
Yes |
Yes |
| OPENDATASOURCE |
No |
Yes - see T-SQL differences |
| OPENJSON |
Yes |
Yes |
| OPENQUERY |
No |
Yes - see T-SQL differences |
| OPENROWSET |
No |
Yes - see T-SQL differences |
| OPENXML |
Yes |
Yes |
| Operators |
Most - see individual operators |
Yes - see T-SQL differences |
| Partitioning |
Yes |
Yes |
| Point in time database restore |
Yes - General Purpose and Business Critical service tiers only - see SQL Database recovery |
Yes - see SQL Database recovery |
| Polybase |
No |
No |
| Policy-based management |
No |
No |
| Predicates |
Yes |
Yes |
| R Services |
Preview release; see What's new in machine learning |
No |
| Resource governor |
No |
Yes |
| RESTORE statements |
No |
Yes - see Restore differences |
| Restore database from backup |
From automated backups only - see SQL Database recovery |
From automated backups - see SQL Database recovery and from full backups - see Backup differences |
| Row Level Security |
Yes |
Yes |
| Semantic search |
No |
No |
| Sequence numbers |
Yes |
Yes |
| Service Broker |
No |
Yes - see Service Broker differences |
| Server configuration settings |
No |
Yes - see T-SQL differences |
| Set statements |
Most - see individual statements |
Yes - see T-SQL differences |
| SMO |
Yes |
Yes |
| Spatial |
Yes |
Yes |
| SQL Data Sync |
Yes |
No |
| SQL Server Agent |
No - see Elastic jobs |
Yes - see SQL Server Agent differences |
| SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) |
No -see Azure Analysis Services |
No - see Azure Analysis Services |
| SQL Server Auditing |
No - see SQL Database auditing |
Yes - see Auditing differences |
| SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) |
Yes |
Yes |
| SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) |
Yes, with a managed SSIS in Azure Data Factory (ADF) environment, where packages are stored in SSISDB hosted by Azure SQL Database and executed on Azure SSIS Integration Runtime (IR), see Create Azure-SSIS IR in ADF.
To compare the SSIS features in SQL Database logical server and Managed Instance, see Compare SQL Database logical server and Managed Instance. |
Yes, with a managed SSIS in Azure Data Factory (ADF) environment, where packages are stored in SSISDB hosted by Managed Instance and executed on Azure SSIS Integration Runtime (IR), see Create Azure-SSIS IR in ADF.
To compare the SSIS features in SQL Database and Managed Instance, see Compare SQL Database logical server and Managed Instance. |
| SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) |
Yes |
Yes |
| SQL Server PowerShell |
Yes |
Yes |
| SQL Server Profiler |
No - see Extended events |
Yes |
| SQL Server Replication |
Transactional and snapshot replication subscriber only |
Yes - Replication with SQL Database Managed Instance - public preview |
| SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) |
No - see Power BI |
No - see Power BI |
| Stored procedures |
Yes |
Yes |
| System stored functions |
Most - see individual functions |
Yes - see Stored procedures, functions, triggers differences |
| System stored procedures |
Some - see individual stored procedures |
Yes - see Stored procedures, functions, triggers differences |
| System tables |
Some - see individual tables |
Yes - see T-SQL differences |
| System catalog views |
Some - see individual views |
Yes - see T-SQL differences |
| Temporary tables |
Local and database-scoped global temporary tables |
Local and instance-scoped global temporary tables |
| Temporal tables |
Yes |
Yes |
| Threat detection |
Yes |
Yes |
| Trace flags |
No |
No |
| Variables |
Yes |
Yes |
| Transparent data encryption (TDE) |
Yes - General Purpose and Business Critical service tiers only |
Partial, only with service-managed encryption |
| VNet |
Partial - see VNet Endpoints |
Yes, Resource Manager model only |
| Windows Server Failover Clustering |
High availability is included with every database. Disaster recovery is discussed in Overview of business continuity with Azure SQL Database |
High availability is included with every database. Disaster recovery is discussed in Overview of business continuity with Azure SQL Database |
| XML indexes |
Yes |
Yes |