Azure Database offerings

When building cloud-native or hybrid applications on Azure, choosing the right database service is critical. Azure’s data platform spans relational and NoSQL offerings, delivering fully managed options, predictable performance, global distribution, and enterprise-grade security.

At a Glance

Category	Service	Deployment Type	Key Benefits
Azure SQL	Azure SQL Database	PaaS	Single DB, elastic pools, Hyperscale scaling
	Azure SQL Managed Instance	PaaS	Near 100% SQL Server compatibility
	SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machine	IaaS	Full OS/SQL control, custom extensions
Open Source Relational Engines	Azure Database for MySQL	PaaS	Community MySQL, high availability, scaling
	Azure Database for MariaDB	PaaS	Predictable performance, built-in security
	Azure Database for PostgreSQL	PaaS	Single & Flexible Server, HA, enterprise-grade
Globally Distributed NoSQL (Multi-Model)	Azure Cosmos DB	PaaS	JSON, MongoDB, Gremlin, Cassandra, Table APIs

Azure SQL Offerings

Azure SQL delivers managed SQL Server–based engines with varying levels of control and compatibility:

Service	Description	Ideal Use Case
Azure SQL Database	Fully managed single databases, elastic pools, or Hyperscale for large-scale workloads.	New cloud apps, SaaS, rapid scaling
Azure SQL Managed Instance	Hosted PaaS instance with near-100% compatibility to on-premises SQL Server.	Lift-and-shift migrations, legacy apps
SQL Server on Azure VM	Infrastructure-level control over the OS and SQL Server instance.	Custom extensions, unsupported PaaS features

Deployment and Scaling

# Create a single Azure SQL Database
az sql db create \
  --resource-group myRG \
  --server mySqlServer \
  --name myDatabase \
  --service-objective S0

Azure SQL Database Hyperscale supports up to 100 TB of storage and rapid auto-scaling—ideal for unpredictable workloads.

Azure Database for Open Source Relational Engines

Azure’s managed services for MySQL, MariaDB, and PostgreSQL deliver community-driven engines with enterprise features:

Engine	Deployment Model	High Availability	Scaling Options
MySQL	Single Server	Zone redundant	Vertical and read replicas
MariaDB	Single Server	Zone redundant	Vertical scaling
PostgreSQL	Single & Flexible Server	Built-in HA	Read replicas, burst

Quickstart: Deploy PostgreSQL Flexible Server

az postgres flexible-server create \
  --resource-group myRG \
  --name myFlexServer \
  --location eastus \
  --tier Burstable \
  --storage-size 128

Azure Cosmos DB

Azure Cosmos DB is a fully managed, globally distributed NoSQL database service with multi-model support and five well-defined consistency levels:

Core (SQL) API for schemaless JSON.
MongoDB API for wire-protocol compatibility.
Gremlin API for graph data models.
Cassandra API for wide-column workloads.
Table API for key–value storage.

Selecting a consistency level has cost and performance implications. Review Consistency levels in Azure Cosmos DB before production deployments.

Global Distribution & Throughput

{
  "location": "East US",
  "locations": [
    { "locationName": "East US", "failoverPriority": 0 },
    { "locationName": "West Europe", "failoverPriority": 1 }
  ],
  "databaseThroughput": 400
}

Introduction

Just Enough Azure for AKS

Building and containerizing sample application

Working with AKS

Networking in AKS

AKS Security

CI/CD Workflow for AKS

Observability

Close out

Azure Database offerings

At a Glance

Azure SQL Offerings

Deployment and Scaling

Azure Database for Open Source Relational Engines

Azure Cosmos DB

Global Distribution & Throughput

Links and References

Watch Video

​At a Glance

​Azure SQL Offerings

​Deployment and Scaling

​Azure Database for Open Source Relational Engines

​Azure Cosmos DB

​Global Distribution & Throughput

​Links and References

Watch Video

At a Glance

Azure SQL Offerings

Deployment and Scaling

Azure Database for Open Source Relational Engines

Azure Cosmos DB

Global Distribution & Throughput

Links and References