Connecting SQL Server 2016 to Azure - SQL Managed Instance link | Data Exposed

Link feature for Managed Instance is a new feature providing a hybrid connection between SQL Server 2016 (Enterprise, Developer and Standard editions) hosted anywhere and the fully managed PaaS service Azure SQL Managed Instance, providing unprecedented hybrid flexibility and database mobility. With an approach that uses near real-time data replication to Azure using Always On technology, you can offload workloads to read-only secondaries on Azure to take advantage of a fully managed database platform, performance, and scale. The link can be operated for as long as you need it – months and years at a time, empowering you to get all the modern benefits of Azure today without migrating to the cloud. On your modernization journey, when and if you are ready to migrate to the cloud, the link de-risks your migration experience allowing you to validate your workloads in Azure prior to migrating with a seamless and instant experience, and at your own pace. In this episode of Data Exposed with Dani Ljepava and Anna Hoffman, you'll dive deeper into the insights of this new feature.

0:00 Introduction
1:33 What is link and why use it?
2:20 Link feature overview
3:13 Demo: Establishing the link
7:45 Link is based on distributed Availability Groups
9:25 Link networking requirements
11:05 Minimum downtime migrations
11:46 Workload consolidation and de-consolidation in Azure
12:50 Demo: Minimum downtime migration to Azure
15:14 Getting started

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[grumpydeveloper]

Very nice. But in the failover demo, what does it mean "Stop the workload on replicated SQL Server databases". In this context "replicated database" is the currently read_only version in the cloud?.

Also as @pavankumar noted this is ony the server. But applications using the on-prem database need to switch-over, which probably means they have to be stopped, and user interuption does occur?

[anniega]

Any video show how to add Azure port 5022 and range, also create network connection between MI and SQL server before Link? Thanks (Seems all video show how to do on SSMS side.)

[czahrobsky]

How about connecting FROM Azure to an on-prem SQL 2016? Is there are reason you're only demonstrating replication TO the cloud?

[JanselFernandez]

Amazing, but when i tried to create a link in my work lab env, the WSFC was installed but the check box for Always On is still disabled, i have the last Update for SQL Server 2016 and the azure connect pack

[maheshshinde]

Give more details on how to setup networking for this setup

[berndeckenfels]

Great Demo. Do you share the scripts somewhere? Why is it limited to 2016?

[pavankumaralle]

What about the listener ? Do we need to change connection strings in the application.