Azure SQL Database Hyperscale – lower, simplified pricing!
Azure is a cloud platform designed to simplify building powerful and economical modern applications. Azure SQL Database Hyperscale is a leading relational database service offering for cloud-born applications. In addition to a rock-solid relational database foundation, Hyperscale offers several exciting modern developer features like REST and GraphQL endpoints, JSON data support, external API invocation. Hyperscale was built leveraging core cloud capabilities and offers auto-scaling, multi-tiered high performance storage, independently scalable compute, read scale-out, predictable, and quick operations like database copy, and much more! We want to ensure that all customers use Hyperscale for their application – no matter what size. Today, we're excited to announce changes to the way Hyperscale is priced. In most cases, you will see significantly lower costs – allowing you to invest the resultant savings in the resources you need to build AI-ready applications, increase the resiliency of your databases, and many other benefits unique to Hyperscale. Let’s take a deeper look at this exciting announcement! What is changing? We are reducing the price of compute by $0.10 USD per vCore per hour (some exceptions are listed later in this post), which in many cases can be up to 35% less than the pre-announcement (“current rate”) compute cost. The storage cost for Hyperscale has also been aligned with the market for developer databases and the pricing for other Azure Database offerings, while not charging for I/O operations. The new pricing will take effect and be displayed on the Azure SQL Database pricing page and Azure pricing calculator on December 15th. Examples of the pricing change Here are some examples to illustrate how the new pricing works as compared to the existing pricing. Note that all costs are estimated and assume a 730 hour month. Case 1: Hyperscale single DB with 6-vCore provisioned compute, 0 HA replica and 50 GB of allocated storage, East US Existing pricing New pricing Compute cost USD 1237.85 USD 800.05 Storage cost USD 5.0 USD 12.5 Total cost USD 1242.9 USD 812.55, saving 35% Case 2: Hyperscale single DB with 12-vCore provisioned compute, 1 HA replica and 200 GB of allocated storage, East US Existing pricing New pricing Compute cost USD 4075.9 USD 3200.20 Storage cost USD 20.0 USD 50.0 Total cost USD 4095.9 USD 3250.20, saving 21% Case 3: Hyperscale single DB with 32-vCore provisioned compute, 1 HA replica and 18 TB of allocated storage, East US Existing pricing New pricing Compute cost USD 10869.08 USD 8533.88 Storage cost USD 1,843.20 USD 4,608.00 Total cost USD 12712.28 USD 13141.88, 3% higher Conclusion In conclusion, these pricing changes for Hyperscale are aligned with our mission to provide the best features, with the highest performance and scalability, at a great price for all our customers. Our team is here to assist with any questions you may have about these changes. Please leave a comment on this blog and we’ll be happy to get back to you. Alternatively, you can also email us at sqlhsfeedback AT microsoft DOT com. We are eager to hear from you all! Frequently Asked Questions When does the change take effect, and what does it impact? The pricing changes take effect on December 15 th , 2023 at 00:00 hours UTC. The changes will apply to the following resources created on or after Dec 15 th , 2023. Any newly created Hyperscale single provisioned compute databases. Any (existing or new) Hyperscale single serverless databases (currently in preview). Any (existing or new) Hyperscale elastic pools (currently in preview). Any newly created Hyperscale elastic pooled databases (currently in preview). What happens to my existing Hyperscale resources? To start with, nothing changes till December 15 th , 2023. Here’s what will happen starting December 15 th , 2023: To provide a seamless experience without any impact on existing workloads, all existing Hyperscale single databases with provisioned compute created before December 15 th , 2023, will continue to be billed at the existing rates, for a period of up to 3 years (ending December 14 th , 2026). Customers will receive further notice of the pricing change to their Hyperscale databases in advance of December 14 th , 2026. All existing Hyperscale single databases with serverless compute (currently in preview) will automatically switch to the new pricing starting December 15 th , 2023. All existing Hyperscale elastic pools (currently in preview) will automatically switch to the new pricing starting December 15 th , 2023. What if I update / change a database to a different deployment option? Hyperscale allows seamless, rapid scaling of the database compute. You can also scale a Hyperscale database to move from provisioned compute to serverless compute (or the other way around). You can add an existing Hyperscale database to an elastic pool or move an elastic pooled database out of the elastic pool to a single database. Here’s how your costs are impacted if you perform any of these changes on or after December 15 th , 2023: Change Impact Hyperscale (serverless single, or elastic pooled) database is changed to a Hyperscale single database with provisioned compute. The final cost of the database will be based on when the database was created. If the database was created prior to December 15 th , 2023, it will be billed as per the existing pricing. If the database was created on or after December 15 th , 2023, it will be billed as per the new pricing. Hyperscale database is changed to a Hyperscale single database with serverless compute. The database will be billed with the new pricing. Hyperscale database is added to an elastic pool on or after December 15 th. The database’s storage will be charged as per the “new” storage pricing. There is no separate compute cost for a database in an elastic pool. Hyperscale single database with provisioned compute is scaled up, or down, or has high-availability replicas added or removed, or its hardware family is changed. The pricing model remains as it was before the scaling operation. The actual costs for compute resources will change based on the scaling operation (for example, they will increase if the database is scaled up, or replicas added). Do note that if you are using reserved capacity ("reservations") and are changing the hardware family, you will need to exchange those reservations to align to the new hardware family. The costs of storage resources associated with the single database will not change due to the scaling operation itself. Any copies of a Hyperscale database created as a Hyperscale single database, on or after December 15 th , 2023. The database copies will use the new pricing, regardless of when the original database was created. Any new single database created via. restore, or geo-replication operations, on or after December 15 th , 2023. The new database will use the new pricing, regardless of when the original database was created. Any non-Hyperscale database is updated to Hyperscale on or after December 15 th , 2023. The new database will use the new pricing, regardless of when it was originally created. See the summarized tables below for a quick reference. Single databases Hyperscale single databases with provisioned compute Hyperscale single databases with serverless compute Timeline: before December 15 th , 2023 Timeline: on or after December 15 th , 2023 Timeline: before December 15 th , 2023 Timeline: on or after December 15 th , 2023 Database was created or migrated to Hyperscale before December 15th, 2023 Database created or migrated to Hyperscale after December 15th, 2023 Database was created or migrated to Hyperscale before December 15th, 2023 Database created or migrated to Hyperscale after December 15th, 2023 Compute Existing provisioned compute price. Existing provisioned compute price. New provisioned compute price. Existing serverless compute price. New serverless compute price. New serverless compute price. Storage Existing storage prices. Existing storage prices. New storage prices. Existing storage prices. New storage prices. New storage prices. Elastic pools and pooled databases Hyperscale elastic pools Hyperscale elastic pooled databases Timeline: before December 15 th , 2023 Timeline: on or after December 15 th , 2023 Timeline: before December 15 th , 2023 Timeline: on or after December 15 th , 2023 Elastic pool was created before December 15th, 2023 Elastic pool created after December 15th, 2023 Database was created or migrated to Hyperscale before December 15th, 2023 Database created or migrated to Hyperscale after December 15th, 2023 Compute Existing provisioned compute price. New provisioned compute price. New provisioned compute price. N/A (charged per elastic pool) Storage N/A – storage is charged per database. Existing storage prices. New storage prices. New storage prices. Can I continue to use reservations for Hyperscale? With reservations, you make a commitment to use SQL Database for a period of one or three years to get a significant discount on the compute (vCores) costs. There are no changes to the Compute (vCores) pricing, and you can continue to use reserved capacity (“reservations”) for Hyperscale single databases with provisioned compute and Hyperscale elastic pools. How can I move my existing Hyperscale databases to the new pricing? Currently, there is no in-built support to switch pricing for existing Hyperscale databases. However, you can consider one of the redeployment methods (database copy, point-in-time restore, or geo-replication) to create a new “copy” of the existing Hyperscale database. The newly created “copy” of the database will be billed the new pricing. If you do decide to go down this path, do consider creating the new database with zone redundancy, as described here. Do you have any projections of likely costs when converting non-Hyperscale DBs to Hyperscale? We recommend you use the Azure pricing calculator to compare base cost for compute and storage. However, costs of backups can vary depending on the nature of the workload and backup retention settings configured. Databases in the (DTU) Basic, Standard and Premium service tiers include backup in the base cost. When converting such databases to Hyperscale, keep in mind that backups in Hyperscale can be a significant factor in overall cost. It is only possible to determine this after sufficient testing with realistic workloads on Hyperscale and we strongly recommend you do such testing before converting DTU service tier databases to Hyperscale. Does the reduction in compute price apply to all subscription offer types? In the case of dev/test subscriptions and related offer types including Enterprise dev/test, where you were already not paying for license costs, there will not be a further reduction in the price of compute. For such subscriptions, the storage costs for Hyperscale resources will still be based on the guidelines in the “When does the change take effect, and what does it impact?” and “What happens to my existing Hyperscale resources” sections in this blog post. Can I still use Azure Hybrid Benefit for Hyperscale? The change in price per vCore is done by eliminating the software license fee for Hyperscale resources. Hence, Azure Hybrid Benefit no longer applies to the Hyperscale tier, except for Hyperscale single databases with provisioned compute which were created prior to December 15, 2023. Even for those older databases, Azure Hybrid Benefit can only be used till December 14, 2026. Note that specifying values of BasePrice or LicenseIncluded for the LicenseType parameter in APIs / SDKs / PowerShell / CLI, is only relevant for Hyperscale single databases with provisioned compute which were created prior to December 15, 2023. These values are effectively ignored for all other types of Hyperscale resources. Current limitations and known issues Consider a database which was created originally as a non-Hyperscale database prior to Dec 15th, 2023. If this database is then migrated to Hyperscale on or after Dec 15th, 2023, the Cost Summary section of the Azure portal will incorrectly show the "old pricing" for this database. The Cost Summary section in the Azure portal is only intended to be an estimate. We recommend you rely on the Cost Management section in the Azure portal to review actual costs. Azure portal cost summary view in greater China regions does not show the updated pricing information accurately. This is only a display issue and does not impact the billing in any way. Please refer to the pricing calculator or the pricing page for accurate pricing information.Elastic pools for Azure SQL Database Hyperscale now in preview
Elastic pools for Azure SQL Database Hyperscale now in preview! Azure SQL Database Hyperscale elastic pools (“Hyperscale elastic pools”) combines the leading-edge architecture for Hyperscale with the cost effectiveness of elastic pools by introducing a shared resource model for Hyperscale databases.
Shrink for Azure SQL Database Hyperscale is now generally available
Today we are thrilled to announce General Availability (GA) of the database shrink in Azure SQL Database Hyperscale. This milestone marks another significant improvement in our Hyperscale service, providing our customers with more flexibility and efficiency in managing their database storage. Overview Database shrink in Azure SQL Database allows customers to reclaim unused space within their databases to optimize storage costs. Now this is available in Hyperscale service tier too. This feature has been highly anticipated by many customers, and we are excited to deliver it with robust capabilities and seamless user experience. This improvement needs no new learnings as the same DBCC SHRINKDATABASE and DBCC SHRINKFILE commands are used. Database shrink was first announced for Hyperscale in public preview during last year. During the preview phase, we received invaluable feedback from our customers, which helped us refine and enhance this capability. We are grateful for the active participation and insights shared by the customers, which played a crucial role in shaping the feature. Key features Storage Optimization: Database shrink effectively reclaims unused space, reducing the allocated storage footprint of your database. Cost Efficiency: By optimizing storage usage, customers can potentially lower their storage costs. Ease of Use: The feature uses the same syntax as what is available in other service tiers and in SQL Server. So, customers are able to seamlessly use existing scripts, minimizing disruption during adoption. How to use To help you get started with the shrink functionality, we have provided comprehensive documentation including example scripts. Here are the basic steps to implement database shrink in your Hyperscale database: Connect to your Hyperscale database through your preferred management tool such as SQL Server Management Studio, Azure Data Studio etc. Evaluate the free space available in the database. Execute the shrink command using the provided T-SQL (DBCC SHRINKDATABASE and DBCC SHRINKFILE). Optionally, you can monitor the shrink process through DMV to ensure successful completion. Review the reclaimed space and rerun by adjusting the parameters, if necessary. Conclusion The release of database shrink in Hyperscale is a testament to our commitment to continuous improvement in Hyperscale service tier. The General Availability of database shrink in Azure SQL Database Hyperscale is a major milestone, and we are excited to see the positive impact it will have on your database management. You can contact us by adding to this blog post and we’ll be happy to get back to you. Alternatively, you can also email us at sqlhsfeedback AT microsoft DOT com. We are eager to hear from you all!Announcing enhancements to Azure SQL Database Hyperscale
We are thrilled to announce a set of significant updates to Azure SQL Database Hyperscale. These updates are designed to provide more scalability, faster data processing, and improved reliability, particularly during failovers Increased maximum database size We are pleased to announce that the maximum database size in Azure SQL Database Hyperscale has increased from 100 TiB to 128 TiB. This enhancement is now generally available (GA) for single Hyperscale databases and will be released later for Hyperscale elastic pools. This expansion allows for even greater flexibility and capacity to manage large datasets, accommodating the needs of businesses with substantial data storage requirements. Higher limits for transaction log generation rate In our continuous effort to improve performance, the log generation rate in Azure SQL Database Hyperscale has been increased from 100 MiB/s to 150 MiB/s. The increased limit for the transaction log generation rate limit is currently in limited public preview, and you can sign up using this form: link. The higher log generation rate means faster data processing and better handling of write-intensive workloads. This ensures that your applications run smoothly and efficiently, even during peak usage times. Whether you're dealing with bulk data inserts, high-volume transaction processing, real-time data ingestion, or rebuilding of large indexes, the enhanced log generation rate provides the performance boost needed to keep your systems responsive and reliable. Continuous priming One another new feature we are introducing is continuous priming. This innovative feature is designed to optimize performance during failovers by priming secondary compute replicas. Here’s how it works: Continuous priming collects information about the most frequently accessed pages in all Hyperscale compute replicas, both primary and secondary. This information is aggregated at the Hyperscale storage layer (page servers). All Hyperscale compute replicas then use this list of most frequently accessed pages, which represents the typical customer workload, to “prime” both the buffer pool (BP) and the resilient buffer pool extension (RBPEX) with any missing pages. This “priming” process is done continuously to keep up with changes in the customer work set. With continuous priming, local HA replicas will prime themselves with the pages being used in the primary replica. This ensures that performance remains consistent and optimized, even during failovers. Please note that continuous priming is not applicable to Hyperscale databases with serverless compute and named replicas. If you’re interested in enrolling in this preview, please sign up using the provided link. Conclusion We are confident that these new features and enhancements will significantly benefit your operations, providing more scalability, faster data processing, and greater reliability. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to innovate and improve Azure Database Hyperscale to meet your needs. Please share your feedback and questions by leaving a comment; you can also email us at sqlhsfeedback AT microsoft DOT com. We are eager to hear from you all!Announcing General Availability of SQL Database Hyperscale long-term backup retention
Many applications have regulatory, compliance, or other business requirements that require the database backups to be stored for a long duration, beyond the 1-35 days provided by short-term backups. Long-term backup retention helps users meet these requirements by storing database backups for up to 10 years. We are excited to announce the general availability of long-term backup retention (LTR) in the Hyperscale tier of Azure SQL Database.
