Introduction to Azure SQL Database

Azure SQL Database is a fully managed relational database service in the Microsoft cloud. It combines the capabilities of the SQL Server Engine with built‑in high availability, scaling, and intelligent performance optimizations.

Why use Azure SQL Database?

• Fully managed – no hardware or OS maintenance.
• Built‑in high availability with 99.99% SLA.
• Automatic backups and point‑in‑time restore.
• Scalable compute and storage on demand.
• Advanced security with Transparent Data Encryption, Threat Detection, and Row‑Level Security.

Prerequisites

1. Azure subscription – Create a free account.
2. Azure portal access.
3. SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) or Azure Data Studio installed locally.

Quick start: Create a database

Follow these steps to spin up a new Azure SQL Database using the Azure portal.

# 1️⃣ Sign in to Azure Portal
https://portal.azure.com

# 2️⃣ Create a resource group (optional)
az group create --name MyResourceGroup --location eastus

# 3️⃣ Create a logical server
az sql server create \
  --name myazuresqlserver \
  --resource-group MyResourceGroup \
  --location eastus \
  --admin-user sqladmin \
  --admin-password YourStrongPassword!123

# 4️⃣ Create a database
az sql db create \
  --resource-group MyResourceGroup \
  --server myazuresqlserver \
  --name MySampleDB \
  --service-objective S0

Once the deployment finishes, you can connect using SSMS.

Connect with SSMS

Open SSMS and use the following connection details:

• Server name: myazuresqlserver.database.windows.net
• Authentication: SQL Server Authentication
• Login: sqladmin
• Password: the password you set above
• Database: MySampleDB

Next steps

After you have a running database, consider exploring:

• Scaling compute and storage
• Implementing security best practices
• Monitoring performance and health
• Automation with Azure CLI & PowerShell

Resources

Official docs

Azure SQL Documentation

Pricing

SQL Database pricing calculator

Community samples

GitHub – Azure SQL samples