Azure SQL Database Managed Instance (Part 1 – Overview)

Introduction

Azure SQL Database Managed Instance (preview) is a new capability of Azure SQL Database, providing near 100% compatibility with SQL server on-premises and a native virtual network (VNet) implementation that addresses common security concerns. With this, existing SQL Server customers can lift and shift their on-premises applications to the cloud with minimal database changes by preserving all PaaS capabilities.

Key features and capabilities of Managed Instance

PaaS benefits	Business continuity
No hardware purchasing and management No management overhead for managing underlying infrastructure Quick provisioning and service scaling Automated patching and version upgrade Integration with other PaaS data services	99.99% uptime SLA Built in high availability Data protected with automated backups Customer configurable backup retention period (fixed to 7 days in Public Preview) User-initiated backups Point in time database restore capability
Security and compliance	Management
Isolated environment (VNet integration, single-tenant service, dedicated compute and storage) Encryption of the data in transit Azure AD authentication, single sign-on support Adheres to compliance standards same as Azure SQL database SQL auditing Threat detection	Azure Resource Manager API for automating service provisioning and scaling Azure portal functionality for manual service provisioning and scaling Data Migration Service

Advanced Security and Compliance

• Managed Instance security isolation: Includes Native Virtual Network implementation, connectivity to on-premises environment using Azure Express Route or VPN Gateway; SQL endpoint is exposed only through a private IP address; and Single-tenant with dedicated underlying infrastructure.

• Auditing for compliance and security: Tracks and writes database events to an audit log in Azure.

• Data encryption in motion: Secures data by providing encryption using Transport Layer Security.

• Dynamic data masking: Limits sensitive data exposure by masking it to nonprivileged users.

• Row-level security: Controls access to rows based on characteristics of the user.

• Threat detection: Provides additional layer of security intelligence that detects unusual behaviour.
• Azure active directory and multi-factor authentication: Centrally manage user identity with AAD integration.