Enhancements in AlwaysOn Availability Groups
If you didn't know before, you must know now that you should have an understanding of what an AlwaysOn Availability Group is and what it can be used for. In this section, you will learn about what has been changed and enhanced in AlwaysOn Availability Groups in SQL Server 2014:
Microsoft Azure Replica is one of the best features in SQL Server 2014. This feature gives the ability to have a replica hosted in Microsoft Azure. So, even if you don't have a second site that can act as a DR site, then you can make use of the cloud. Even if you have a DR site set up, you can have even more resilience by having a copy of your database at a third location—online—and satisfy your user requests.
There has been a change in the number of replicas that you can have in your AlwaysOn Availability Group. In SQL Server 2012, you were limited to four replicas. With SQL Server 2014, this number has increased to eight replicas.
If a secondary replica becomes disconnected...