Expanding Azure Arc SQL Migration with a New Target: SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines

Updating a SQL Server environment isn’t usually a quick task. It often involves several stages, including discovery, assessment, migration, and optimisation, spanning across on-premises, hybrid, and cloud setups. Fortunately, SQL Server powered by Azure Arc streamlines this process, providing a seamless experience for all migration steps within the Azure portal.

With the release in March 2026, this integrated experience now includes SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines as an additional migration target within Azure Arc. This means that you can now migrate Arc-enabled SQL Server instances not just to Azure SQL Managed Instance but also to SQL Server running on Azure infrastructure, all through a unified workflow.

By adding SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines as a migration destination, Azure Arc supports a wider variety of migration strategies while maintaining a single operational framework. You can easily choose between Azure SQL Managed Instance and SQL Server on Azure VMs without complicating your migration tools or processes.

The outcome is a flexible, scalable, and consistent migration experience that accommodates hybrid environments, reduces operational strain, and allows for a steady pace of modernisation.

An important benefit of migrating SQL Server using Azure Arc is that the entire migration journey is managed in one place. After enabling a SQL Server instance through Azure Arc, you can assess readiness, select a migration target, choose a migration method, monitor progress, and complete the cutover—all directly in the Azure portal.

This approach eliminates the need for separate tools or custom orchestration. The only prerequisite remains that the source SQL Server must be enabled by Azure Arc. From that point onward, migration is fully integrated into the Azure Arc SQL experience.

The migration process for SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines follows the same model that you’d find for Azure SQL Managed Instance migrations within Azure Arc. You’ll use the same guided workflow, migration dashboard, and monitoring tools, regardless of your choice of target.

This consistency is by design. It allows teams to select the destination that best meets their technical, operational, or regulatory needs without having to learn a new migration process. Whether you’re moving to a fully managed PaaS service or to SQL Server on Azure infrastructure, the experience remains both familiar and predictable.

The migration to SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines uses a backup and restore method, specifically leveraging the log shipping mechanism. This tried-and-true approach minimises downtime during online migrations while giving you control over the cutover period.

In this setup, you’ll need to upload database backups from your source SQL Server to Azure Blob Storage. The migration engine will then restore the initial full backup and subsequently apply ongoing transaction log and differential backups. Azure Blob Storage acts as a temporary storage space between the source and the target.

It’s important to note that the Azure Blob Storage account and the target SQL Server on an Azure Virtual Machine must be in the same Azure region. This ensures efficient data transfer, reliable restore operations, and predictable migration performance.

Within the Azure Arc migration experience, a straightforward guided user experience helps you select the Azure Blob Storage container that contains your backup files. Both the chosen storage account and the Azure VM hosting SQL Server must be located in the same Azure region.

Once the migration job starts, Azure Arc automatically restores the backup files to SQL Server on the Azure VM. As new log backups are added to Blob Storage, they are continuously detected and applied to the target database, keeping it in sync with the source.

This automated restore process continues until you initiate the final cutover. When you issue the cutover command, Azure Arc applies the last backup to the target SQL Server on the Azure Virtual Machine and completes the migration.

At this point, the target database comes online, and you can redirect applications to the new environment. This controlled cutover model allows you to plan downtime accurately, rather than being at the mercy of long-running restore operations.

To kick things off, enable your SQL Server with Arc. Then, in the Azure portal, go to your Arc-enabled SQL Server and select ‘Database Migration’ from the Migration menu on the left. For more details, check out the SQL Server migration documentation in Azure Arc.