mcpbeat

Azure SQL Virtual Machines

microsoftdocs/azure-sql-virtual-machines

Expert knowledge for SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. Use when planning SQL VM vs Managed Instance, Always On/FCI HADR, DTU/capacity, AHB licensing, or Blob backups, and other SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines related development tasks. Not for Azure SQL Database (use azure-sql-database), Azure SQL Managed Instance (use azure-sql-managed-instance), Azure Virtual Machines (use azure-virtual-machines), SAP HANA on Azure Large Instances (use azure-sap).

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Install

one command, takes just this skill from the repository 
npx skills add https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills --skill azure-sql-virtual-machines

The instruction itself

12 sections, as written by the author

SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines Skill

This skill provides expert guidance for SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines. Covers troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. It combines local quick-reference content with remote documentation fetching capabilities.

How to Use This Skill

> IMPORTANT for Agent: Use the Category Index below to locate relevant sections. For categories with line ranges (e.g., L35-L120), use read_file with the specified lines. For categories with file links (e.g., security.md), use read_file on the linked reference file

> IMPORTANT for Agent: If metadata.generated_at is more than 3 months old, suggest the user pull the latest version from the repository. If mcp_microsoftdocs tools are not available, suggest the user install it: Installation Guide

This skill requires network access to fetch documentation content:

  • Preferred: Use mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch with query string from=learn-agent-skill. Returns Markdown.
  • Fallback: Use fetch_webpage with query string from=learn-agent-skill&accept=text/markdown. Returns Markdown.

Category Index

| Category | Lines | Description |

|----------|-------|-------------|

| Troubleshooting | L37-L51 | Diagnosing and fixing performance, connectivity, capacity, memory, log, replication, and I/O issues for Azure SQL Database, Managed Instance, and SQL Server on Azure VMs |

| Best Practices | L52-L65 | Best practices for SQL Server on Azure VMs: HA/DR clustering, DNN listeners, backup/restore, performance tuning, storage and VM sizing, baselines, and best practices assessments. |

| Decision Making | L66-L77 | Guidance for choosing Azure SQL options and pricing, comparing SQL VMs vs Managed Instance, planning migrations (including Db2), HADR choices, regional feature support, and SQL VM licensing/AHB. |

| Architecture & Design Patterns | L78-L86 | High-level designs and patterns for SQL Server on Azure VMs: connectivity, Always On availability groups, failover cluster instances, and Windows Server Failover Clustering setup. |

| Limits & Quotas | L87-L91 | Info on Azure SQL capacity limits, DTU benchmark behavior, regional feature availability, and how to request quota increases for databases and managed instances |

| Security | L92-L101 | Securing SQL Server on Azure VMs: policies, TLS cert rotation, Key Vault/EKM, managed identities, Entra auth, Extended Security Updates, hardening guidance, and confidential VM deployment. |

| Configuration | L102-L145 | Configuring SQL Server on Azure VMs: HA/DR (AGs, FCIs, listeners, load balancers), storage and tempdb layout, editions/versions, IaaS Agent, and connectivity options. |

| Integrations & Coding Patterns | L146-L151 | Backing up SQL Server on Azure VMs directly to Azure Blob Storage, including configurations that use managed identities instead of stored credentials. |

| Deployment | L152-L169 | Deploying and configuring SQL Server Always On/FCI on Azure VMs, including single/multi-subnet AGs, cross-region setups, migrations (regions, disks, FCI), and confidential VM deployments. |

Troubleshooting

| Topic | URL |

|-------|-----|

| Resolve capacity errors when deploying Azure SQL resources | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/capacity-errors-troubleshoot?view=azuresql |

| Fix slow database import and export in Azure SQL | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/database-import-export-hang?view=azuresql |

| Troubleshoot and mitigate transient connectivity errors in Azure SQL | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/troubleshoot-common-connectivity-issues?view=azuresql |

| Troubleshoot Azure SQL and Fabric SQL connectivity errors | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/troubleshoot-common-errors-issues?view=azuresql |

| Troubleshoot geo-replication and redo lag in Azure SQL Database | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/troubleshoot-geo-replication-redo?view=azuresql |

| Investigate and fix memory issues in Azure SQL Database | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/troubleshoot-memory-errors-issues?view=azuresql |

| Diagnose and fix Azure SQL DB transaction log full errors | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/troubleshoot-transaction-log-errors-issues?view=azuresql-db |

| Resolve known issues in Azure SQL Managed Instance | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/managed-instance/doc-changes-updates-known-issues?view=azuresql |

| Resolve transaction log full errors in Azure SQL Managed Instance | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/managed-instance/troubleshoot-transaction-log-errors-issues?view=azuresql-mi |

| Troubleshoot SQL Server IaaS Agent extension issues on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/sql-agent-extension-troubleshoot-known-issues?view=azuresql |

| Diagnose I/O throttling for SQL Server on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/storage-performance-analysis?view=azuresql |

Best Practices

| Topic | URL |

|-------|-----|

| Prepare for planned maintenance in Azure SQL | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/planned-maintenance?view=azuresql |

| Use SQL features with DNN listeners on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/availability-group-dnn-interoperability?view=azuresql |

| Apply backup and restore strategies for SQL Server on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/backup-restore?view=azuresql |

| Use SQL Server features with FCI DNN on Azure | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/failover-cluster-instance-dnn-interoperability?view=azuresql |

| Configure HADR clusters for SQL Server on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/hadr-cluster-best-practices?view=azuresql |

| Apply performance best-practice checklist for SQL Server on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/performance-guidelines-best-practices-checklist?view=azuresql |

| Collect performance baselines for SQL Server on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/performance-guidelines-best-practices-collect-baseline?view=azuresql |

| Optimize Azure SQL VM storage performance configuration | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/performance-guidelines-best-practices-storage?view=azuresql |

| Apply VM sizing performance best practices for SQL Server on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/performance-guidelines-best-practices-vm-size?view=azuresql |

| Run SQL best practices assessment for Azure SQL VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/sql-assessment-for-sql-vm?view=azuresql |

Decision Making

| Topic | URL |

|-------|-----|

| Use Azure SQL decision tree to choose service | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/azure-sql-decision-tree?view=azuresql |

| Check Azure SQL Database feature availability by region | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/region-availability?view=azuresql |

| Plan and modernize SQL Server workloads to Azure SQL | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/migration-guides/modernization?view=azuresql |

| Plan and execute Db2 to SQL on Azure VM migration | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/migration-guides/virtual-machines/db2-to-sql-on-azure-vm-guide?view=azuresql |

| Use Modernization Advisor to compare SQL VM vs Managed Instance | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/modernization-advisor?view=azuresql |

| Choose HADR options for SQL Server on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/business-continuity-high-availability-disaster-recovery-hadr-overview?view=azuresql |

| Switch SQL Server VM licensing to Azure Hybrid Benefit | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/licensing-model-azure-hybrid-benefit-ahb-change?view=azuresql |

| Choose cost‑effective pricing for SQL Server on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/pricing-guidance?view=azuresql |

Architecture & Design Patterns

| Topic | URL |

|-------|-----|

| Understand connectivity architecture for Azure SQL Database | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/connectivity-architecture?view=azuresql |

| Apply SQL Server application patterns on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/application-patterns-development-strategies?view=azuresql |

| Design Always On availability groups for SQL Server on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/availability-group-overview?view=azuresql |

| Understand failover cluster instances for SQL Server on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/failover-cluster-instance-overview?view=azuresql |

| Use Windows Server Failover Clustering with SQL Server on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/hadr-windows-server-failover-cluster-overview?view=azuresql |

Limits & Quotas

| Topic | URL |

|-------|-----|

| Understand DTU benchmark characteristics for Azure SQL | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/dtu-benchmark?view=azuresql |

Security

| Topic | URL |

|-------|-----|

| Use built-in Azure Policy definitions for Azure SQL | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/policy-reference?view=azuresql |

| Prepare for Azure SQL TLS root certificate rotation | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/updates/ssl-root-certificate-expiring?view=azuresql |

| Configure Azure Key Vault integration for SQL Server VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/azure-key-vault-integration-configure?view=azuresql |

| Enable Microsoft Entra authentication for SQL Server VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/configure-azure-ad-authentication-for-sql-vm?view=azuresql |

| Configure Extended Security Updates for SQL Server on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/extended-security-updates-sql-vm?view=azuresql |

| Harden SQL Server on Azure VMs with security best practices | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/security-considerations-best-practices?view=azuresql |

Configuration

| Topic | URL |

|-------|-----|

| Identify modifiable settings in Azure SQL Database | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/modifiable-configuration-reference?view=azuresql |

| Reference for Azure SQL Database monitoring metrics and logs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/monitoring-sql-database-azure-monitor-reference?view=azuresql |

| Identify modifiable settings in Azure SQL Managed Instance | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/managed-instance/modifiable-configuration-reference?view=azuresql |

| Reference monitoring metrics for Azure SQL Managed Instance | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/managed-instance/monitoring-sql-managed-instance-azure-monitor-reference?view=azuresql |

| Set up Always On AG with DH2i DxEnterprise on Azure | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/linux/dh2i-high-availability-tutorial?view=azuresql |

| Configure availability group listener for Linux SQL VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/linux/high-availability-listener-tutorial?view=azuresql |

| Configure RHEL cluster and fencing for SQL AG on Azure | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/linux/rhel-high-availability-fencing-tutorial?view=azuresql |

| Configure SLES cluster and STONITH for SQL AG on Azure | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/linux/sles-high-availability-fencing-tutorial?view=azuresql |

| Register Linux SQL Server VM with IaaS Agent extension | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/linux/sql-iaas-agent-extension-register-vm-linux?view=azuresql |

| Configure SQL IaaS Agent extension on Linux VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/linux/sql-server-iaas-agent-extension-linux?view=azuresql |

| Configure Ubuntu availability group for SQL on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/linux/ubuntu-high-availability-fencing-tutorial?view=azuresql |

| Create SQL Server on Azure VM with PowerShell | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/scripts/create-sql-vm-powershell?view=azuresql |

| Configure automated backups for SQL Server 2014 VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/automated-backup-sql-2014?view=azuresql |

| Configure automated backups for SQL Server on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/automated-backup?view=azuresql |

| Configure DNN listener for SQL availability groups on VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/availability-group-distributed-network-name-dnn-listener-configure?view=azuresql |

| Configure AG listeners and load balancer via PowerShell | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/availability-group-listener-powershell-configure?view=azuresql |

| Configure load balancer and AG listener in Azure portal | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/availability-group-load-balancer-portal-configure?view=azuresql |

| Configure Azure Load Balancer for SQL AG VNN listener | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/availability-group-vnn-azure-load-balancer-configure?view=azuresql |

| Change SQL Server edition in-place on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/change-sql-server-edition?view=azuresql |

| Upgrade or downgrade SQL Server version in-place on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/change-sql-server-version?view=azuresql |

| Configure SQL Server on Azure VM deployment options | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/create-sql-vm-portal?view=azuresql |

| Provision SQL Server on Azure VMs with advanced PowerShell options | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/create-sql-vm-powershell?view=azuresql |

| Configure SQL Server on Azure Dedicated Host | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/dedicated-host?view=azuresql |

| Manually configure SQL FCI with Azure Elastic SAN | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/failover-cluster-instance-azure-elastic-san-manually-configure?view=azuresql |

| Manually configure SQL FCI with Azure shared disks | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/failover-cluster-instance-azure-shared-disks-manually-configure?view=azuresql |

| Configure distributed network name for SQL FCI on Azure | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/failover-cluster-instance-distributed-network-name-dnn-configure?view=azuresql |

| Create SQL failover cluster instance using premium file shares | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/failover-cluster-instance-premium-file-share-manually-configure?view=azuresql |

| Prepare Azure VMs for SQL failover cluster instances | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/failover-cluster-instance-prepare-vm?view=azuresql |

| Configure SQL FCI using Storage Spaces Direct on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/failover-cluster-instance-storage-spaces-direct-manually-configure?view=azuresql |

| Configure Azure Load Balancer for SQL FCI VNN | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/failover-cluster-instance-vnn-azure-load-balancer-configure?view=azuresql |

| Configure cluster quorum for SQL Server VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/hadr-cluster-quorum-configure-how-to?view=azuresql |

| Manage SQL Server on Azure VMs using the SQL virtual machines resource | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/manage-sql-vm-portal?view=azuresql |

| Enable automatic SQL IaaS Agent extension registration for all SQL VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/sql-agent-extension-automatic-registration-all-vms?view=azuresql |

| Manually register SQL Server VM with SQL IaaS Agent | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/sql-agent-extension-manually-register-single-vm?view=azuresql |

| Bulk register SQL Server VMs with the SQL IaaS Agent extension | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/sql-agent-extension-manually-register-vms-bulk?view=azuresql |

| Configure Azure Elastic SAN for SQL Server VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/storage-configuration-azure-elastic-san?view=azuresql |

| Configure storage layout for SQL Server on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/storage-configuration?view=azuresql |

| Configure tempdb on ephemeral storage for SQL Server VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/tempdb-ephemeral-storage?view=azuresql |

| Configure vCore customization for SQL Server on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/vm-vcore-customization-for-sql?view=azuresql |

| Configure connectivity options for SQL Server on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/ways-to-connect-to-sql?view=azuresql |

Integrations & Coding Patterns

| Topic | URL |

|-------|-----|

| Back up SQL Server on Azure VMs to Azure Blob Storage | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/azure-storage-sql-server-backup-restore-use?view=azuresql |

| Back up SQL Server VM databases to Blob using managed identity | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/backup-restore-to-url-using-managed-identities?view=azuresql |

Deployment

| Topic | URL |

|-------|-----|

| Check Azure SQL Managed Instance feature availability by region | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/managed-instance/region-availability?view=azuresql |

| Deploy multi-subnet availability group using PowerShell/CLI | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/availability-group-az-commandline-configure-multi-subnet?view=azuresql |

| Deploy single-subnet availability group via PowerShell/CLI | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/availability-group-az-commandline-configure?view=azuresql |

| Configure domain-independent workgroup availability group | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/availability-group-clusterless-workgroup-configure?view=azuresql |

| Configure cross-region multi-subnet availability group | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/availability-group-manually-configure-multi-subnet-multiple-regions?view=azuresql |

| Configure cross-region availability group for SQL VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/availability-group-manually-configure-multiple-regions?view=azuresql |

| Prepare prerequisites for single-subnet availability groups | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/availability-group-manually-configure-prerequisites-tutorial-single-subnet?view=azuresql |

| Configure multi-subnet availability group on SQL VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/availability-group-manually-configure-tutorial-multi-subnet?view=azuresql |

| Configure single-subnet Always On availability group | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/availability-group-manually-configure-tutorial-single-subnet?view=azuresql |

| Migrate availability group from single to multi-subnet | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/availability-group-manually-migrate-multi-subnet?view=azuresql |

| Deploy availability group using Azure quickstart templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/availability-group-quickstart-template-configure?view=azuresql |

| Migrate SQL Server VMs to another Azure region | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/move-sql-vm-different-region?view=azuresql |

| Deploy SQL Server on Azure Confidential VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/sql-vm-create-confidential-vm-how-to?view=azuresql |

| Migrate SQL Server VM log disk to Azure Ultra Disk | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/storage-migrate-to-ultradisk?view=azuresql |

| Migrate SQL FCI to Azure VMs with Azure Migrate | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/data-migration/sql-server/virtual-machines/failover-cluster-instance-migrate |

How to use it

Copy the folder

Take microsoftdocs/azure-sql-virtual-machines from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.

Check the name does not clash

The agent identifies a skill by the name field in its header. Two skills with the same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.