Azure SQL Database - 1

2026 (11)

November (2)

azure: [In preview] Public Preview: Extend immutability for PITR backups for Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Managed Instance

Azure Updates

2026-11-03

Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Managed Instance now support extending immutability for PITR backups in public preview. This lets you lock backup retention to the configured PITR retention period instead of only the default 7 days.

azure: [Launched] Generally Available: Restart databases in Azure SQL DB via the Azure portal

Azure Updates

2026-11-02

Azure SQL Database now supports restarting or failing over databases directly in the Azure portal. This applies to single databases, Hyperscale databases, and databases in elastic pools.

October (2)

azure: [In preview] Public Preview: Support database-level managed identity (including FIC) in Create Database Scoped Credential T-SQL

Azure Updates

2026-10-30

Azure SQL Database public preview adds database-level managed identity support, including federated identity credentials (FIC), for creating database scoped credentials in T-SQL. This lets each database use a user-assigned managed identity to access Azure Blob Storage and Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 via external tables and OPENROWSET.

azure: Retirement: Always Encrypted with Intel SGX Enclaves

Azure Updates

2026-10-06

Always Encrypted with Intel SGX enclaves in Azure SQL Database will retire on October 31, 2027. The retirement is tied to the phase-out of SGX-enabled DC-series hardware, and customers are directed to move to VBS enclaves.

September (6)

azure: [In preview] Public Preview: SQL Performance Monitoring for Azure SQL Database

Azure Updates

2026-09-29

Microsoft has opened public preview of managed SQL performance monitoring for Azure SQL Database. It provides built-in monitoring so you do not need custom data collection scripts or manual correlation across separate tools.

azure: [Launched] Generally Available: Azure SQL updates for late-September 2026

Azure Updates

2026-09-29

Azure SQL added larger Hyperscale Premium compute options in Azure SQL Database, including 160-vCore and 192-vCore SKUs. Microsoft says these provide up to 50% more compute capacity than the previous top tier.

azure: [In preview] Public Preview: Azure SQL Database Hyperscale Serverless auto-pause and auto-resume

Azure Updates

2026-09-29

Azure SQL Database Hyperscale Serverless now supports auto-pause and auto-resume in public preview. Databases can pause during inactivity and resume automatically when activity returns.

azure: [In preview] Public Preview: Migrate directly from Azure Arc to Azure SQL Database, including Hyperscale

Azure Updates

2026-09-29

Azure Arc database migration now supports Azure SQL Database, including Hyperscale, as a direct migration target in public preview. The guided workflow also handles Azure Database Migration Service and Self-hosted Integration Runtime setup.

azure: [In preview] Public Preview: Microsoft SQL Agent Skills

Azure Updates

2026-09-29

Microsoft SQL Agent Skills are in public preview. They provide product-specific guidance for AI agents used to build, operate, and migrate SQL workloads across Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Database container, and SQL Server migration scenarios.

azure: [Launched] Generally Available: Vector search and vector indexes in Azure SQL

Azure Updates

2026-09-28

Vector search and vector indexes are now generally available in Azure SQL Database. The update adds CREATE VECTOR INDEX and VECTOR_SEARCH T-SQL support for efficient approximate nearest neighbor searches in AI scenarios.

August (1)

azure: [Launched] Generally Available: Azure SQL Database provisioning in MSSQL extension

Azure Updates

2026-08-19

Azure SQL Database provisioning in the MSSQL extension is now generally available. Users can create and connect to a managed Azure SQL Database from their editor, with ARM, Bicep, and Terraform templates included.