Always On availability groups: interoperability (SQL Server)

Applies to: SQL Server

This article documents interoperability of Always On availability groups with other SQL Server features.

Features that Interoperate with Always On availability groups

The following table lists SQL Server features that interoperate with Always On availability groups. A link in the More Information column indicates that interoperability considerations exist for a given feature.

Feature	More Information
Change data capture	Replication, Change Tracking, Change Data Capture, and Always On Availability Groups (SQL Server)
Change tracking	Replication, Change Tracking, Change Data Capture, and Always On Availability Groups (SQL Server)
Contained databases	Contained Databases with Always On Availability Groups (SQL Server)
Database encryption	Encrypted Databases with Always On Availability Groups (SQL Server)
Database snapshots	Database Snapshots with Always On Availability Groups (SQL Server)
FILESTREAM and FileTable	FILESTREAM and FileTable with Always On Availability Groups (SQL Server)
Full-text search	Note: Full-Text indexes are synchronized with Always On secondary databases.
Log shipping	Prerequisites for Migrating from Log Shipping to Always On Availability Groups (SQL Server)
Remote Blob Store (RBS)	Remote Blob Store (RBS) and Always On Availability Groups (SQL Server)
Replication	Configure Replication for Always On Availability Groups (SQL Server) Maintaining an Always On Publication Database (SQL Server) Replication, Change Tracking, Change Data Capture, and Always On Availability Groups (SQL Server) Replication Subscribers and Always On Availability Groups (SQL Server)
Analysis Services	Analysis Services with Always On Availability Groups
Reporting Services	Utilize read only secondary replicas as a reporting data source and reduce the load on your primary read-write replica. Reporting Services with Always On Availability Groups (SQL Server)
Service Broker	Service Broker with Always On Availability Groups (SQL Server)
SQL Server Agent

Features that interoperate with Always On availability groups with restrictions

The following features interoperate with Always On availability groups with specific restrictions. See the linked topics for details.

• Cross-database transactions within the same SQL Server instance require SQL Server 2016 (13.x) SP2 and Windows Server 2016 or later, with some patching requirements. For more information, see Cross-Database Transactions and Distributed Transactions for Always On Availability Groups and Database Mirroring (SQL Server)
• Distributed transactions require SQL Server 2016 (13.x) SP2 and Windows Server 2012 R2 or later, with some patching requirements. For more information, see Cross-Database Transactions and Distributed Transactions for Always On Availability Groups and Database Mirroring (SQL Server)
• Query statistics system data collector cannot reliably run in an environment with non-readable secondaries. To use query statistics system data collector, set all secondary availability group replicas to allow read-access.

Features that don't interoperate with Always On availability groups

Always On availability groups does not interoperate with the following features:

• Database mirroring. For more information, see Cross-Database Transactions and Distributed Transactions for Always On Availability Groups and Database Mirroring (SQL Server).

Related content

• Migration Guide: Migrating to SQL Server 2012 Failover Clustering and Availability Groups from Prior Clustering and Mirroring Deployments
• SQL Server Always On Team Blogs: The official SQL Server Always On Team Blog
• CSS SQL Server Engineers Blogs
• Migration Guide: Migrating to Always On Availability Groups from Prior Deployments Combining Database Mirroring and Log Shipping
• Microsoft SQL Server Always On Solutions Guide for High Availability and Disaster Recovery
• SQL Server Customer Advisory Team Whitepapers
• Overview of Always On Availability Groups (SQL Server)
• Prerequisites, Restrictions, and Recommendations for Always On Availability Groups (SQL Server)