Reference Guide

You can add multiple databases to a SQL Server instance using SQL Server management tools. Why put
multiple databases in an instance? A high-traffic application might use a multiple database strategy to
avoid log file contention. SQL Server has a different approach. In a SQL Server production environment
there is typically one database per SQL Enterprise Server instance. The SQL Server approach is to
partition the monolithic database rather than creating multiple databases. vCloud Air SQL supports both
strategies.
vCloud Air SQL
vCloud Air SQL is a database-as-a-service offering that simplifies creating, maintaining, and
accessing Microsoft SQL Server instances in the Cloud. A vCloud Air SQL instance is an isolated,
virtual instance of Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise that can "host" many databases.
vCloud Air SQL DR (planned)
vCloud Air SQL DR is the first cloud-based disaster recovery solution for on-premises SQL Server
instances. To implement disaster recovery (DR), vCloud Air establishes a connection between an
on-premises SQL Enterprise Server and a vCloud Air SQL instance, forming a DR cluster. In the
cluster the source (or "primary") instance on-premises is mirrored to the secondary instance.
Asynchronous replication offers full protection from catastrophic failures and unplanned outages
(failover) and planned maintenance outages (switchover). You can maintain SQL Server Instance
availability with RPOs (recovery point objectives) measured in fractions of a second and RTOs
(recovery time objectives) measured in seconds, based on manual failover response time.
1.2
What can I do with it?
If you are already using VMware virtualization in your datacenter (vSphere), vCloud Air SQL is an
opportunity to:
• Move an on-premises SQL Server instance to the cloud.
• Create hybrid applications that extend on-premises workloads to the cloud.
• Convert hybrid applications to cloud-native applications.
• Quickly set up a cloud development environment.
1.3
What are the licensing requirements?
In Early Access the only licensing option is to bring your own licenses (BYOL). For BYOL you need to
review the terms and conditions for each license you bring. If you are bringing an on-premises SQL
Server instance to the cloud, you typically need the same number of licenses you would use on a
physical server, as dictated by your organization's service level agreements. It is your responsibility to:
• Provide the correct license edition, version, and SLA.
o Software assurance coverage must be active
o Licenses must remain active and they cannot be used anywhere else
o Supported versions are Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise Edition Version 2008 R2 or 2012
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