ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server is a fully managed relational database service built on SQL Server. It handles infrastructure provisioning, high availability, backups, and patching — so you can focus on your application instead of database operations.
Key capabilities:
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High availability — Built on a high-availability architecture.
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Point-in-time restore — Restore a database to any point in time to recover from accidental changes or data loss.
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Included SQL Server licenses — Microsoft-issued licenses are bundled with every instance, approved based on the number of cores configured. No Client Access License is required.
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Enterprise-grade security — Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) and cloud disk encryption protect data at rest.
Some features described on this page may be unavailable. The specific terms and conditions in your commercial contract shall prevail. This page is for reference only and is provided without warranty of any kind, expressed or implied.
Licensing
Every ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance includes a Microsoft-issued SQL Server license. The license is approved based on the number of cores configured for the instance — not the number of client connections. No Client Access License is required.
This means you pay for compute capacity, not per-seat access, which simplifies license management for teams of any size.
Advanced features
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Cloud disk encryption | Encrypts entire data disks based on block storage. Protects data even if backup files are exposed. Requires no application changes and does not interrupt running workloads. |
| Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) | Performs real-time I/O encryption and decryption on data files. Data is encrypted before being written to disk and decrypted when read into memory, preventing unauthorized access at the storage layer. |
| Snapshot backup | Provides faster restoration and supports larger backup volumes than regular physical backups. |
| Cross-region backup | Automatically replicates backup files from the source region to a destination region. Supports disaster recovery and regulatory compliance requirements. |
| Read-only instance | Offloads read traffic from the primary RDS instance. If the primary RDS instance meets specific requirements, read-only instances can be initialized within minutes without affecting the I/O performance of the primary instance. |
| Read/write splitting | Routes write requests to the primary RDS instance and read requests to a read-only routing endpoint. The endpoint distributes reads across read-only instances based on configured read weights. |
| Instance parameter management | Modify instance parameters from the ApsaraDB RDS console or through API operations. View the full parameter modification history to streamline O&M. |
| Data archiving to OSS | Converts infrequently accessed databases to cold storage in an OSS bucket. Reduces storage costs by separating hot and cold data. |
For the complete feature list, see Features.
For complex business requirements, purchase a support plan to get access to enterprise instant messaging (IM) groups, technical account managers (TAMs), and service managers. For product details, visit the ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server product page.
Key concepts
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Instance — A database process with independent physical memory resources. Specify memory size, storage capacity, and database type when you create an instance. Performance scales with the memory size configured.
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Database — A logical unit created within an RDS instance. One instance can host multiple databases, each with a unique name on that instance.
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Region and zone — A region is a physical data center. Each region contains multiple isolated zones. Each zone has independent power supply and network infrastructure. For available regions, see Global infrastructure of Alibaba Cloud.
General terms
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| On-premises database | A database deployed in your own data center, or any database not running on an ApsaraDB RDS instance. |
| ApsaraDB RDS for XX | ApsaraDB RDS with a specific database engine. XX represents one of the supported engines: MySQL, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, or MariaDB. For example, ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server is an ApsaraDB RDS instance running the SQL Server engine. |