Which Azure service offers automatic patching, backups, and scaling for relational databases? Discover how Azure SQL Database delivers a fully managed, scalable, and secure relational database platform with built-in automation for maintenance and recovery.
Table of Contents
Question
Which Azure service provides automatic patching, backups, and scaling for relational databases?
A. Azure Blob Storage
B. Azure Virtual Machines
C. Azure SQL Database
D. Azure Files
E. Azure Table Storage
Answer
C. Azure SQL Database
Explanation
Azure SQL Database is a fully managed relational database service that provides automatic backups, patching, and scalability.
The Azure service best suited for providing automatic patching, backups, and scaling for relational databases is Azure SQL Database.
Automatic Patching: Azure SQL Database, as a platform-as-a-service (PaaS), automatically applies security updates and patches to the underlying SQL Server engine without requiring downtime or manual intervention. Microsoft uses advanced techniques like “hot patching,” which allows code updates without restarting the database engine, ensuring continuous availability and rapid deployment of critical fixes.
- Automatic Backups: Azure SQL Database automatically performs full, differential, and transaction log backups, storing them securely and enabling point-in-time restore within the retention period (up to 35 days for standard retention, and up to 10 years with long-term retention policies). These backups are managed by Azure and require no user intervention.
- Automatic Scaling: Azure SQL Database supports seamless vertical and horizontal scaling. You can increase resources (CPU, memory, storage) for a single database or use elastic pools to share resources among multiple databases, allowing your solution to adapt to changing workload demands without downtime.
Additional Features:
- High Availability: Built-in redundancy and failover capabilities.
- Security: Transparent data encryption, threat detection, and compliance certifications.
- Monitoring: Integrated tools for performance monitoring and query optimization.
Azure SQL Database is a fully managed relational database service that automates patching, backups, and scaling, reducing administrative overhead and ensuring your databases remain secure, recoverable, and able to handle variable workloads efficiently.
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