Migrate to Azure SQL Database, including Hyperscale, straight from Azure Arc (public preview)
The challenge Most organisations do not run in one place. Estates stretch across on-premises datacentres, hybrid deployments and the cloud, and every migration decision must balance application dependencies, operational requirements and a modernization roadmap that is already in motion. Mixed environments and legacy dependencies make that harder, and needing a different tool for assessment, migration, monitoring and management harder still. The result is more operational effort, inconsistency between teams, and modernization that moves slower than anyone wants. Azure Arc already solves the first half of that problem. It discovers and assesses SQL Server estates at scale, so you know which databases are ready to move. The second half has been the gap: once a database is identified as migration-ready, the path to Azure SQL Database runs outside Arc. You leave the experience you were working in, learn Azure Database Migration Service, configure a Self-hosted Integration Runtime, and juggle several tools to get one database across. That fragmentation costs time, and it is one of the reasons why assessments do not turn into migrations. What's new Azure Arc Database Migration now adds Azure SQL Database; including Hyperscale as a supported migration target, in public preview. You can migrate Arc enabled SQL Server databases to Azure SQL Database through a single, guided experience in the Azure portal. Behind that experience, the workflow integrates Azure Database Migration Service and streamlines Self-hosted Integration Runtime setup directly into the migration journey. You assess, configure, migrate, monitor and complete the migration without leaving Arc. This is a logical migration performed by DMS through the Self-hosted Integration Runtime, so there is no separate staging step for you to plan or maintain but it requires a planned downtime. Why Hyperscale For many teams, the database that most requires modernizing is also the largest one they run. Hyperscale is the Azure SQL Database service tier built for exactly that case: a fully managed platform designed to scale storage and compute independently as a workload grows, so a large SQL Server database can move to a managed service without being re-architected first. Making Hyperscale reachable from Arc matters because it removes a decision point from the middle of the journey. The databases Arc flags as migration-ready are often the ones whose size is used to rule out a managed destination; and now the assessment and the target sit in the same place. One portal, one operational model The principle has not changed: one portal for discovery, assessment and migration. The entire migration lifecycle is managed from a single tool in the Azure portal; assess readiness, select a target, configure settings, choose databases and tables to migrate, monitor progress and validate the results. Migrating to Azure SQL Database follows the same operational model already available for existing migration scenarios in Arc. The same migration dashboard, the same monitoring experience and the same guided workflow apply regardless of destination. That reduces the learning curve, keeps operational processes consistent, and lets your team choose the most appropriate Azure SQL platform for each database without changing migration methodology. How it works The flow starts where you already are, in the Database migration pane of your Arc-enabled SQL Server instance. Assess in Arc. Readiness assessments are generated automatically every weekend, and you can run one manually in a few minutes if you would rather not wait. SQL Server migration in Azure Arc is available by default for Arc-enabled SQL Server instances starting with SQL Server 2014 (12.x). Choose your target. Select Azure SQL Database, including the Hyperscale service tier, for the databases the assessment identified as ready. Set up DMS and SHIR, guided. The portal walks you through creating the Azure Database Migration Service resource and registering a Self-hosted Integration Runtime, inside the same workflow rather than as separate homework. Migrate. DMS performs a logical migration of your schema and data to the Azure SQL Database target through the integration runtime. Monitor and Completion. Track progress on the migration dashboard you already use, validate the results when the migration is completed. Microsoft Copilot is built into the Database migration pane to help you along the way. Why SHIR, and what it means for you The Self-hosted Integration Runtime secures bridge that it acts as the connectivity layer that enables Azure Database Migration Service to securely connect to the source SQL Server and the target Azure SQL Database for data movement. Azure DMS is a fully managed service for migrations to Azure data platforms and can be driven from the Azure portal, PowerShell or the Azure CLI — the runtime is simply how it gets to your source. In practice, setup is guided and one-time. You register the runtime once during the migration workflow, and subsequent migrations from the same environment reuse it. Nothing about how you operate your Arc-enabled instances changes. Learn more details in the technical documentation. Get started Trying the preview takes three things: an Arc-enabled SQL Server instance, a recent readiness assessment, and a target Azure SQL Database. In the Azure portal, open your Arc-enabled SQL Server instance, go to the Database migration pane, review the assessment results, and choose Azure SQL Database as your target. The portal takes it from there. Learn more: SQL Server migration in Azure Arc What is Azure Database Migration Service Create a Self-hosted Integration Runtime Step-by-step guidance for the new target We want your feedback For product feedback, feature requests, or migration pain points you'd like the team to track and act on, please share them through aka.ms/sqlfeedback under the Migration & Modernization category.
