There’s a new (September 2022) Microsoft Licensing Guide for Azure Arc-enabled SQL Managed Instance. It gives you an overview of the service tiers, and explains how to license containers, how the billing under different connectivity modes works, how to use the Azure Hybrid Benefit, and the licensing for non-production use.
Find this guide here: http://bit.ly/3u7z2es.
There’s a new SQL Server 2022 Licensing Guide (http://bit.ly/3OeDYqT) and Datasheet (http://bit.ly/3V0dETI), and the Product Terms is also updated (http://bit.ly/3prduoo) for SQL Server 2022. Here are the key licensing changes to be aware of:
SQL Server 2022 licenses with SA or purchased as Software Subscriptions are also eligible for the Flexible Virtualization Benefit, introduced in October 2022, enabling customers to use their licences with any Authorized Outsourcer’s shared hardware. Find the Flexible Virtualization Benefit Licensing Guide here: http://bit.ly/3hGOJ9l.
And finally, there’s the new PAYG option where customers can pay for SQL Server on a consumption basis from $0.1 per hour for a Standard Core, and $0.375 for an Enterprise Core for Azure Arc-enabled servers. Find out more about how that all works here: http://bit.ly/3Arq2UP.
Microsoft announce the preview of SQL Server 2022 for early adopters, with the public preview and general availability coming in the next year.
In terms of what’s new, there are the usual improvements to performance, security and availability that you’d expect, as well as greater integration with Azure.
The three main improvements feature Disaster Recovery in the cloud through Azure SQL Managed Instance, near real-time insights on on-premises data through Azure Synapse Link, and visibility across the entire data estate though integration with Azure Purview.
There’s a useful datasheet here: https://bit.ly/30j36Ig with links at the bottom to the announcement, an overview video, and where you can apply to join the Early Adoption Program.