Deployment choices for IaaS
This section will cover the different ways in which you can deploy a VM in Azure, along with considerations and best practices that are applicable no matter which method is used, as well as briefly talk about licensing SQL Server in Azure.
Deployment methods
There are three options for deploying a VM in Azure for use with SQL Server:
- Choose a pre-built template, also known as an image, with SQL Server already installed.
- Choose a template with the OS but without SQL Server installed, which will be done after the VM is built.
- Build a custom image using a virtual hard drive and upload it to Azure.
No matter which of the three deployment methods you choose, you can deploy using Cloud Shell (Bash or PowerShell)6, also known as the Azure command-line interface (CLI), Azure portal7, Azure Resource Manager templates8 that are written in JSON, and the Azure PowerShell module9. Builds can be automated and incorporated into DevOps processes...