This page lists instance types for primary ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instances, covering current and historical specifications across all RDS editions.
The memory listed for each instance type includes memory consumed by RDS management services, the database engine, and the underlying operating system (BIOS-reserved memory, kernel memory, and hypervisor runtime memory). Available memory is less than the listed capacity.
RDS SQL Server instances that use cloud disks run on Elastic Compute Service (ECS). Performance may vary because different instances can use different ECS instance families.
Standard Edition Basic series instances are available only in regions outside China.
Choose an RDS edition
ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server is available in three editions. Select the tab for your edition to view its instance types.
RDS edition | Deployment model | Typical use case |
RDS Cluster Edition | Multi-node cluster with automatic failover | Production workloads requiring high availability and automatic failover |
RDS High-availability Edition | Primary/standby with automatic failover | General-purpose production databases |
RDS Basic Edition | Single node, no standby | Development, testing, and cost-sensitive workloads |
Instance family naming conventions
Instance type names encode the CPU-to-memory ratio of the instance:
Prefix | Memory-to-vCPU ratio | Example |
| 2:1 (2 GB per vCPU) |
|
| 4:1 (4 GB per vCPU) |
|
| 8:1 (8 GB per vCPU) |
|
| Shared, ~2:1 ratio |
|
| Shared, ~4:1 ratio |
|
The suffix encodes the RDS edition and SQL Server license type:
.e1/.e2: Enterprise Edition (Basic / High-availability or Cluster).s1/.s2: Standard Edition (Basic / High-availability).w1: Web Edition (Basic)
RDS Cluster Edition
Supported SQL Server versions: SQL Server 2022 Enterprise Edition, 2019 Enterprise Edition, and 2017 Enterprise Edition.
All instance types in this edition belong to the dedicated instance family.
Instance type | CPU cores and memory | Maximum connections | Maximum IOPS | Storage capacity |
mssql.x4.medium.e2 | 2 cores, 8 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.large.e2 | 4 cores, 16 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.xlarge.e2 | 8 cores, 32 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.2xlarge.e2 | 16 cores, 64 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.4xlarge.e2 | 32 cores, 128 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.8xlarge.e2 | 64 cores, 256 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.medium.e2 | 2 cores, 16 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.large.e2 | 4 cores, 32 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.xlarge.e2 | 8 cores, 64 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.2xlarge.e2 | 16 cores, 128 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.4xlarge.e2 | 32 cores, 256 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.8xlarge.e2 | 64 cores, 512 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
RDS High-availability Edition
SQL Server 2008 R2 with local disks (phased out)
These instance types are listed for reference only. They are no longer available for new instances.
General-purpose instance family
Instance type | CPU cores and memory | Maximum connections | Maximum IOPS | Storage capacity |
rds.mssql.s1.small | 1 core, 2 GB | 600 | See IOPS | 10 GB to 2,000 GB |
rds.mssql.s1.large | 2 cores, 2 GB | 600 | See IOPS | 10 GB to 2,000 GB |
rds.mssql.s2.large | 2 cores, 4 GB | 1,200 | See IOPS | 10 GB to 2,000 GB |
rds.mssql.s2.xlarge | 2 cores, 8 GB | 2,000 | See IOPS | 10 GB to 2,000 GB |
rds.mssql.s3.large | 4 cores, 8 GB | 2,000 | See IOPS | 10 GB to 2,000 GB |
rds.mssql.m1.medium | 4 cores, 16 GB | 4,000 | See IOPS | 10 GB to 2,000 GB |
rds.mssql.c1.large | 8 cores, 16 GB | 4,000 | See IOPS | 10 GB to 2,000 GB |
rds.mssql.c1.xlarge | 8 cores, 32 GB | 8,000 | See IOPS | 10 GB to 2,000 GB |
rds.mssql.c2.xlarge | 16 cores, 64 GB | 16,000 | See IOPS | 10 GB to 2,000 GB |
Dedicated instance family
Instance type | CPU cores and memory | Maximum connections | Maximum IOPS | Storage capacity |
mssql.x8.medium.2 | 2 cores, 16 GB | 2,500 | See IOPS | 250 GB |
mssql.x8.large.2 | 4 cores, 32 GB | 5,000 | See IOPS | 500 GB |
mssql.x8.xlarge.2 | 8 cores, 64 GB | 10,000 | See IOPS | 1,000 GB |
mssql.x8.2xlarge.2 | 16 cores, 128 GB | 20,000 | See IOPS | 2,000 GB |
Dedicated host instance family
Instance type | CPU cores and memory | Maximum connections | Maximum IOPS | Storage capacity |
rds.mssql.st.d13 | 30 cores, 220 GB | 64,000 | See IOPS | 2,000 GB |
rds.mssql.st.h43 | 60 cores, 470 GB | 100,000 | See IOPS | 3,000 GB |
SQL Server 2016 EE, 2014 EE, 2012 EE, and 2008 R2 with cloud disks
Dedicated instance family
Instance type | CPU cores and memory | Maximum connections | Maximum IOPS | Storage capacity |
mssql.x4.medium.e2 | 2 cores, 8 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.medium.e2 | 2 cores, 16 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.large.e2 | 4 cores, 16 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.large.e2 | 4 cores, 32 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.xlarge.e2 | 8 cores, 32 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.xlarge.e2 | 8 cores, 64 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.2xlarge.e2 | 16 cores, 64 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.2xlarge.e2 | 16 cores, 128 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.3xlarge.e2 | 24 cores, 96 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.4xlarge.e2 | 32 cores, 128 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.4xlarge.e2 | 32 cores, 256 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.8xlarge.e2 | 64 cores, 256 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.8xlarge.e2 | 64 cores, 512 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
SQL Server 2022 SE — dedicated instance family
Instance type | CPU cores and memory | Maximum connections | Maximum IOPS | Storage capacity |
mssql.x4.medium.s2 | 2 cores, 8 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.large.s2 | 4 cores, 16 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.xlarge.s2 | 8 cores, 32 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.2xlarge.s2 | 16 cores, 64 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.3xlarge.s2 | 24 cores, 96 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.medium.s2 | 2 cores, 16 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.large.s2 | 4 cores, 32 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.xlarge.s2 | 8 cores, 64 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.2xlarge.s2 | 16 cores, 128 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
SQL Server 2019 SE, 2017 SE, 2016 SE, 2014 SE, and 2012 SE
Dedicated instance family
Instance type | CPU cores and memory | Maximum connections | Maximum IOPS | Storage capacity |
mssql.x4.medium.s2 | 2 cores, 8 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.large.s2 | 4 cores, 16 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.xlarge.s2 | 8 cores, 32 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.2xlarge.s2 | 16 cores, 64 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.3xlarge.s2 | 24 cores, 96 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.medium.s2 | 2 cores, 16 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.large.s2 | 4 cores, 32 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.xlarge.s2 | 8 cores, 64 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.2xlarge.s2 | 16 cores, 128 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
Shared instance family
Instance type | CPU cores and memory | Maximum connections | Maximum IOPS | Storage capacity |
mssql.mem2.medium.s2 | 2 cores, 4 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 4,000 GB |
mssql.mem2.large.s2 | 4 cores, 8 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 4,000 GB |
mssql.mem2.xlarge.s2 | 8 cores, 16 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 4,000 GB |
mssql.mem2.2xlarge.s2 | 12 cores, 24 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 4,000 GB |
mssql.mem2.3xlarge.s2 | 16 cores, 32 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 4,000 GB |
mssql.mem2.4xlarge.s2 | 24 cores, 48 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 4,000 GB |
SQL Server 2016 EE, 2014 EE, and 2012 EE — shared instance family
Instance type | CPU cores and memory | Maximum connections | Maximum IOPS | Storage capacity |
mssql.mem2.medium.e2 | 2 cores, 4 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 4,000 GB |
mssql.mem4.medium.e2 | 2 cores, 8 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 4,000 GB |
mssql.mem2.large.e2 | 4 cores, 8 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 4,000 GB |
mssql.mem4.large.e2 | 4 cores, 16 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 4,000 GB |
mssql.mem2.xlarge.e2 | 8 cores, 16 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 4,000 GB |
mssql.mem4.xlarge.e2 | 8 cores, 32 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 4,000 GB |
mssql.mem2.2xlarge.e2 | 16 cores, 32 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 4,000 GB |
mssql.mem4.2xlarge.e2 | 16 cores, 64 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 4,000 GB |
mssql.mem2.3xlarge.e2 | 24 cores, 48 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 4,000 GB |
mssql.mem4.3xlarge.e2 | 24 cores, 96 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 4,000 GB |
mssql.mem2.4xlarge.e2 | 32 cores, 64 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 4,000 GB |
mssql.mem4.4xlarge.e2 | 32 cores, 128 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 4,000 GB |
RDS Basic Edition
SQL Server 2016 EE — dedicated instance family
Instance type | CPU cores and memory | Maximum connections | Maximum IOPS | Storage capacity |
mssql.x4.medium.e1 | 2 cores, 8 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.large.e1 | 4 cores, 16 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.xlarge.e1 | 8 cores, 32 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.2xlarge.e1 | 16 cores, 64 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.4xlarge.e1 | 32 cores, 128 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.8xlarge.e1 | 64 cores, 256 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.medium.e1 | 2 cores, 16 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.large.e1 | 4 cores, 32 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.xlarge.e1 | 8 cores, 64 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.2xlarge.e1 | 16 cores, 128 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.4xlarge.e1 | 32 cores, 256 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.8xlarge.e1 | 64 cores, 512 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
SQL Server 2022 SE, 2019 SE, 2017 SE, 2016 SE, and 2014 SE — dedicated instance family
Instance type | CPU cores and memory | Maximum connections | Maximum IOPS | Storage capacity |
mssql.x4.medium.s1 | 2 cores, 8 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.large.s1 | 4 cores, 16 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.xlarge.s1 | 8 cores, 32 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.2xlarge.s1 | 16 cores, 64 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.3xlarge.s1 | 24 cores, 96 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.medium.s1 | 2 cores, 16 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.large.s1 | 4 cores, 32 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.xlarge.s1 | 8 cores, 64 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x8.2xlarge.s1 | 16 cores, 128 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
SQL Server 2022 Web, 2019 Web, 2017 Web, 2016 Web, and 2012 Web — dedicated instance family
Instance type | CPU cores and memory | Maximum connections | Maximum IOPS | Storage capacity |
mssql.x2.medium.w1 | 2 cores, 4 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.medium.w1 | 2 cores, 8 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x2.large.w1 | 4 cores, 8 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.large.w1 | 4 cores, 16 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x2.xlarge.w1 | 8 cores, 16 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.xlarge.w1 | 8 cores, 32 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x2.2xlarge.w1 | 16 cores, 32 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
mssql.x4.2xlarge.w1 | 16 cores, 64 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
SQL Server 2012 EE Basic — general-purpose instance family
Instance type | CPU cores and memory | Maximum connections | Maximum IOPS | Storage capacity |
rds.mssql.s2.large | 2 cores, 4 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
rds.mssql.s2.xlarge | 2 cores, 8 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
rds.mssql.s3.large | 4 cores, 8 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
rds.mssql.m1.medium | 4 cores, 16 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
rds.mssql.c1.large | 8 cores, 16 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
rds.mssql.c1.xlarge | 8 cores, 32 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
rds.mssql.c2.xlarge | 16 cores, 64 GB | Unlimited | See IOPS | 20 GB to 32,000 GB |
Phased-out instance types
The following instance types are no longer available for new instances. Select a current instance type when creating a new RDS instance.
Instance type | CPU cores | Memory | Maximum connections |
rds.mssql.s1.small | 1 | 2 GB | 600 |
rds.mss1.small | 6 | 1,000 MB | 100 |
rds.mss1.mid | 8 | 2,000 MB | 200 |
rds.mss1.standard | 9 | 4,000 MB | 400 |
rds.mss1.large | 10 | 6,000 MB | 600 |
rds.mss1.xlarge | 11 | 8,000 MB | 800 |
rds.mss1.2xlarge | 12 | 12,000 MB | 1,200 |
rds.mss1.4xlarge | 13 | 24,000 MB | 2,000 |
rds.mss1.8xlarge | 13 | 48,000 MB | 2,000 |
rds.mssql.c2.xlp2 | 16 | 96 GB | 24,000 |