Microsoft added text to the October 2023 Product Terms confirming that if a customer has enabled Extended Security Updates through Azure Arc they may use the updates on licensed Disaster Recovery servers and in Dev/Test environments.
Find the terms here: https://bit.ly/3Y6xsac, and note that the same rules apply for the traditional 1-year ESUs, the terms of which are here: https://bit.ly/46ldV8W.
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.
There’s text added to page 30 of the January 2020 Product Terms document stating that customers must indicate their use of SQL Server on Azure when making use of the Azure Hybrid Benefit or Disaster Recover Rights. For details on how to do this see our blog post: http://bit.ly/2ZB6nwI.