Enabling ESUs

Azure VMs

SQL Iaas Agent Extension

If you run SQL Server 2016 in an Azure VM then the VM needs to be registered with the SQL IaaS Agent Extension so that Azure can see into a VM to detect the edition of SQL Server that is running. If you’ve deployed an Azure Marketplace image then this extension is pre-installed. If you’ve deployed a self-installed VM then you need to manually register with the extension. You can either do this on an instance-by-instance basis, or you can do things at scale by registering all SQL Server VMs in a Subscription automatically or by using a script to register multiple VMs in bulk.

Enabling ESUs

ESUs are then enabled for a SQL Server 2016 instance using its configuration settings, as shown in the Microsoft snippet below:

ESU patch installation

VMs that have automatic updates enabled through the SQL IaaS Agent Extension receive ESU updates automatically, delivered through any patching product or service that installs Microsoft patches. You can also manually download ESUs from the Azure Management Portal.

All other environments

Connecting to Azure Arc

If you run SQL Server 2016 in any other environment other than Azure VMs you need to connect your servers to Azure Arc. You can do this for an individual instance, or you have options for connecting machines at scale.

Enabling ESUs

ESUs are then enabled for a SQL Server 2016 instance using its configuration settings as shown in the Microsoft snippet below:

You can also enable ESUs on multiple Azure-Arc enabled machines by using an Azure Policy – find instructions here.

ESU patch installation

Instances that have automatic updates enabled receive ESU updates automatically, delivered through any patching product or service that installs Microsoft patches. You can also manually download ESUs from the Azure Management Portal.