Test your SQL workloads in the cloud using SQL Managed Instance for free if you have one of many available subscription types including: Pay-As-You-Go, Enterprise Agreement, Azure Plan etc. When you are ready to productionize your workload, convert your Managed Instance to production in two clicks and get the 99.99% uptime SLA as well as a myriad of configuration options.
Azure SQL Managed Instance is a scalable cloud database service that's always running on the latest stable version of the Microsoft SQL Server database engine and a patched OS with 99.99% built-in high availability, offering close to 100% feature compatibility with SQL Server. PaaS capabilities built into Azure SQL Managed enable you to focus on domain-specific database administration and optimization activities that are critical for your business while Microsoft handles backups, as well as patching and updating of the SQL and operating system code, which removes the burden on managing the underlying infrastructure. Learn more about Managed Instance here.
In addition to expanding eligible subscription types, you can also upgrade your managed instance tier from free to production ready with full SLA in 2 clicks. Additionally, you can now see exactly how many free vCore hours you have left.
What's new
Previously, Free SQL Managed Instance was available to the following subscriptions:
- Pay-as-you-go (0003P)
- Azure in CSP (0145P)
Today, we’re adding the following subscriptions to the list:
- Azure Plan (0017G)
- Enterprise Agreement Support
- Microsoft Azure EA Sponsorship (0136P)
- Visual Studio Professional subscribers (0059P)
- Visual Studio Test Professional subscribers (0059P)
- Visual Studio Enterpise subscribers (0063P)
- Pay-As-You-Go Dev/Test (0023P)
- Enterprise Dev/Test (0148P)
- Azure in Open Licensing (0111P)
To upgrade your SQL Managed Instance to production ready instance with SLA, go to Compute + Storage blade and select Paid offer and click apply:
You can see the full cost of your instance in the cost card before you upgrade it so you are informed as to what you will be paying monthly.
If you are not ready to upgrade your experience yet, you can track the number of remaining Free vCore hours in the essentials blade:
What Do You Get
Free SQL Managed Instance details:
- General Purpose instance with up to 100 databases
- 720 vCore hours of compute every month (does not accumulate)
- 64 GB of storage
- One instance per Azure subscription
- The instance is automatically stopped when you reach the monthly vCore limit; managed instance starts automatically when credits are available again, or you can manually stop it to preserve free monthly vCore hours
How to Get Started
Getting started is a breeze. Follow these simple steps:
- Visit Azure portal: Head to the provisioning page for Azure SQL Managed Instance
- Apply Free Offer: Look for the "Want to try Azure SQL Managed Instance for free?" banner and click on the "Apply offer" button
- Select Resource Group: Choose an existing resource group or create a new one
- Configure Instance: Set up your instance details, including region, authentication method, networking, security, and additional settings
- Review and Create: Review your settings, then click "Create" to set up your free instance
And just like that, you're ready to explore the capabilities of Azure SQL Managed Instance!
Connect Seamlessly to Your Instance
Connecting to your instance is a breeze, whether you have a public endpoint enabled or disabled:
- Public Endpoint Enabled: Copy the Host value from the Azure portal, paste it into your preferred data tool, and connect.
- Public Endpoint Disabled: Choose to create an Azure VM within the same virtual network or configure point-to-site for connection.
Did you know?
Replicate your on-prem databases to Free SQL Managed Instance via Managed Instance link
Your newly created Free SQL Managed Instance starts empty and you might want to add some data to it to proceed with your Managed Instance evaluation. One way to do this is to use Managed Instance link to replicate databases from your SQL Server on-prem or Azure Virtual Machine.
Maximize savings with Start/Stop schedule
To conserve credits, your free instance is scheduled to be on from 9 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday in your configured time zone. Modify the schedule to fit your business requirements.
For more information check out the documentation page.
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