Feature differences between editions
ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server is available in three series — Cluster Edition, High-availability Series, and Basic Edition — each supporting different SQL Server versions. This page lists the features available in each series so you can choose the right configuration before provisioning an instance.
What all editions share
The following features are available across all series and SQL Server versions:
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Instance lifecycle: Create, restart, auto-renew, change billing method, change specifications, and release instances
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Instance properties: View instance lists and details, modify remarks, manage maintenance windows, and manage tags
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Database connections: VPC internal connection string and public connection string
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Monitoring: Resource monitoring, engine monitoring, custom monitoring policies, and monitoring aggregation
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Parameter management: Modify parameters
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Log management: Error logs
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Data security: IP address whitelist, control plane operation audit, firewall (IP address whitelist), and database audit
Because these features are identical across editions, the tables below show only the features that differ by series.
Features not supported in any edition
Regardless of which series or SQL Server version you use, the following features are not available:
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Read-write splitting connection string
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Change tracking
Basic feature differences
Instance management
| Feature | Cluster Edition | High-availability Series | 2008 R2 | Basic Edition | Read-only instances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minor engine version update | Supported (not supported when disk encryption is enabled) | Supported (not supported when disk encryption is enabled) | Not supported | Supported (not supported when disk encryption is enabled) | Upgraded with the primary instance |
| Major engine version upgrade | Supported | Supported | Supported | Supported | Upgraded with the primary instance |
| Clone instance | Supported (not supported for shared instance types) | Supported (not supported for shared instance types) | Not supported | Supported (not supported for shared instance types) | Not supported |
| Create read-only instance | Supported | Not supported | Not supported | Not supported | Not supported |
Cluster Edition applies to: 2025, 2022, 2019, and 2017 Enterprise Cluster Edition.
High-availability Series applies to: 2025/2022/2019/2017 Standard Edition; 2016/2014/2012 Standard Edition and Enterprise Edition.
2008 R2 applies to: SQL Server 2008 R2.
Basic Edition applies to: 2025 Standard Edition and 2025 Enterprise Cluster Edition; 2022/2019/2017 Web Edition, Standard Edition, and Enterprise Cluster Edition; 2016 Web Edition, Standard Edition, and Enterprise Edition; 2014 Standard Edition; 2012 Web Edition and Enterprise Edition (single-node).
Read-only instances applies to: 2025/2022/2019/2017 Enterprise Cluster Edition (read-only instance).
Zone migration
| Feature | Cluster Edition | High-availability Series | 2008 R2 | Basic Edition | Read-only instances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Migrate across zones | Supported (not supported for primary instances with attached read-only instances) | Supported (not supported for shared instance types) | Supported | Supported (not supported for shared instance types) | Not supported |
Database connections
| Feature | Cluster Edition | High-availability Series | 2008 R2 | Basic Edition | Read-only instances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Read-only connection string | Not supported | Not supported | Not supported | Not supported | Supported |
Service availability
| Feature | Cluster Edition | High-availability Series | 2008 R2 | Basic Edition | Read-only instances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intra-zone disaster recovery | Supported | Supported | Supported | Supported | Not supported |
| Zone-disaster recovery | Supported | Supported | Supported | Not supported | Not supported |
| Cross-region disaster recovery | Supported | Not supported | Not supported | Not supported | Not supported |
Backup and recovery
| Feature | Cluster Edition | High-availability Series | 2008 R2 | Basic Edition | Read-only instances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full backup | Supported | Supported | Supported | Supported | Not supported |
| Incremental backup | Supported | Supported | Supported | Supported | Not supported |
| Log backup | Supported | Supported | Supported | Supported | Not supported |
| Customize backup policy | Supported | Supported | Supported | Supported | Not supported |
| Restore from backup set | Supported | Supported | Supported | Supported | Not supported |
| Point-in-time restore | Supported | Supported | Supported | Supported | Not supported |
| Restore from user backup set | Supported (full, differential, and log) | Supported (full, differential, and log) | Supported (full backup only) | Supported (full, differential, and log) | Not supported |
| Clone and restore | Supported | Supported | Not supported | Supported | Not supported |
| Back up specific databases and tables | Supported | Supported | Not supported | Supported | Not supported |
| Restore specific databases and tables | Supported | Supported | Not supported | Supported | Not supported |
Data management feature differences
Data management
| Feature | Cluster Edition | High-availability Series | 2008 R2 | Basic Edition | Read-only instances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| User management | Supported | Supported | Supported | Supported | Not supported |
| Database and table management | Supported | Supported | Supported | Supported | Not supported |
| Data operations | T-SQL only | T-SQL only | T-SQL only | T-SQL only | Data query only |
| Scheduled tasks | T-SQL only | T-SQL only | T-SQL only | T-SQL only | Not supported |
| Data integration (SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS)) | Supported (not supported for shared instance types) | Supported (not supported for shared instance types) | Not supported | Supported (not supported for shared instance types) | Supported |
| Data analytics (SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS)) | Supported (not supported for shared instance types) | Supported (not supported for shared instance types) | Not supported | Supported (not supported for shared instance types) | Supported |
| Data reporting (SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS)) | Supported (not supported for shared instance types) | Supported (not supported for shared instance types) | Not supported | Supported (not supported for shared instance types) | Supported |
Read-only instances in this table applies to: 2022/2019/2017 Enterprise Cluster Edition (read-only instance).
Data migration and synchronization
| Feature | Cluster Edition | High-availability Series | 2008 R2 | Basic Edition | Read-only instances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homogeneous data migration | Supported via Data Transmission Service (DTS) | Supported via DTS | Supported via DTS | Supported via DTS | Not supported |
| Heterogeneous data migration | Supported via DTS | Supported via DTS | Supported via DTS | Supported via DTS | Not supported |
| Data synchronization | Supported via DTS | Supported via DTS | Supported via DTS | Supported via DTS | Not supported |
| Copy databases between instances | Supported | Supported | Not supported | Supported | Not supported |
Data security
| Feature | Cluster Edition | High-availability Series | 2008 R2 | Basic Edition | Read-only instances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disk encryption | Supported | Supported | Not supported | Supported | Not supported (follows the primary instance) |
| Network encryption | Supported | Supported | Supported | Supported | Not supported (follows the primary instance) |
| Security group management | Not supported | Not supported | Not supported | Not supported | Supports configuring security groups, but does not support adding security group rules |
Performance optimization
| Feature | Cluster Edition | High-availability Series | 2008 R2 | Basic Edition | Read-only instances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Storage management | Supported | Supported | Not supported | Supported | Supported |
| Performance Insight | Supported | Supported | Not supported | Supported | Supported |
| Index analysis | Supported | Supported | Not supported | Supported | Supported |
| Deadlock analysis | Supported | Supported | Not supported | Supported | Supported |
| Slow log analysis | Supported | Supported | Not supported | Supported | Supported |
| Monitoring dashboard | Supported | Supported | Not supported | Supported | Supported |
SQL Server edition differences
The table below summarizes the main feature differences between the Web, Standard, and Enterprise editions of Microsoft SQL Server as they apply to ApsaraDB RDS instances.
| Feature | Standard Edition | Web Edition | Enterprise Edition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Specifications | Up to 24 cores, 128 GB | Up to 16 cores, 64 GB | No limit |
| High availability | Mirroring HA | Single-node | Always On |
| Data compression | Supported in 2016 and later | Not supported | Supported |
| SQL Profiler | Supported in 2016 and later | Not supported | Supported |
| Change data capture (CDC) | Supported in 2016 and later | Not supported | Supported |
| Columnstore index | Supported in 2016 and later | Not supported | Supported |
| Online DDL | Not supported | Not supported | Supported |
| Parallel index operations | Not supported | Not supported | Supported |
| Parallelism adjustment for partitioned tables | Not supported | Not supported | Supported |
| Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) | Not supported | Not supported | Supported |
| Advanced R integration | Not supported | Not supported | Supported |
| Table and index partitioning | Supported in SQL Server 2016; not supported in SQL Server 2012 | Not supported | Supported |
For the full feature list for each SQL Server version, see the official Microsoft documentation:
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SQL Server 2025: Editions and supported features of SQL Server 2025
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SQL Server 2022: Editions and supported features of SQL Server 2022
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SQL Server 2019: Editions and supported features of SQL Server 2019
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SQL Server 2017: Editions and supported features of SQL Server 2017
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SQL Server 2016: Editions and supported features of SQL Server 2016
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SQL Server 2014: Features supported by the editions of SQL Server 2014
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SQL Server 2012: Features supported by the editions of SQL Server 2012