Azure SQL Server VM

Question

We have an Azure subscription (type = Azure Plan) and have deployed an Azure VM using the Microsoft marketplace template ('Windows Server 2022 with SQL Server 2022 Standard'). Please note, this is an Azure Windows VM running SQL Server, not an Azure SQL Database running as a service.

The price of the VM includes the Windows server and SQL server licenses. From what I have read, we're entitle/covered to add up to 5 SQL instances on the VM, however, when try to create a new/second instance, the setup wizard is prompting us to chose a licensing method (please see below). We're struggling to find any meaningful documentation which confirms the licensing method we're meant to use. It's defaulting to 'product key' and has a pre-defined key. This seems like the obvious choice but its also asking us to select either 'SQL license only' or SQL license with SA'. Any advise would be appreciated.

Answer 1

First or all, the SQL Server Setup media is agnostic to where you are. It will be the same as on on-prem.

Have you looked at https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/frequently-asked-questions-faq?view=azuresql? As I understand it, you should select Pay-as-you-go to avoid extra costs. But read it yourself and make your own judgement.

There is another important thing to observe: While you can install multiple instances on Azure VM, you can only manage the default instance through the portal. (This is also discussed in the topic above.)