Merge pull request #37076 from MicrosoftDocs/main

Auto Publish – main to live - 2026-04-15 17:30 UTC

Author: learn-build-service-prod[bot]

azure-sql/database/long-term-retention-overview.md

@@ -28,10 +28,8 @@ Many applications have regulatory, compliance, or other business reasons that re
 By using the LTR feature, you can store specified full SQL Database and SQL Managed Instance backups in redundant Azure Blob storage with a configurable retention policy of up to 10 years. LTR backups can then be restored as a new database. If an LTR policy is configured, automated backups are copied to different blobs for long-term storage which you can then use to restore your database to a specific point in time. The copy process is a background job that has no performance impact on the database workload. The LTR policy for each database can also specify how frequently the LTR backups are created. 
 
 > [!NOTE]  
-> You can [configure long-term retention backups of Azure SQL Database as immutable](backup-immutability.md), a feature currently in preview.
-> 
-> It's not currently possible to configure backups of Azure SQL Managed Instance as [immutable](/azure/storage/blobs/immutable-storage-overview). LTR backups are nonmodifiable, but you can delete them through Azure portal, Azure CLI, PowerShell, or REST API. As a workaround in Azure SQL Managed Instance, you can take [copy-only database backups](/sql/relational-databases/backup-restore/copy-only-backups-sql-server?view=azuresqldb-mi-current&preserve-view=true) and retain them in your own Azure Storage account as an immutable file.
-
+> - In Azure SQL Database, you can [configure long-term retention backups as immutable](backup-immutability.md).
+> - In Azure SQL Managed Instance, it's not currently possible to configure backups as [immutable](/azure/storage/blobs/immutable-storage-overview). LTR backups are nonmodifiable, but you can delete them through Azure portal, Azure CLI, PowerShell, or REST API. As a workaround in Azure SQL Managed Instance, you can take [copy-only database backups](/sql/relational-databases/backup-restore/copy-only-backups-sql-server?view=azuresqldb-mi-current&preserve-view=true) and retain them in your own Azure Storage account as an immutable file.
 
 To enable LTR, you can define a policy using a combination of four parameters: weekly backup retention (W), monthly backup retention (M), yearly backup retention (Y), and week of the year (WeekOfYear). If you specify W, one backup every week is copied to long-term storage. If you specify M, the first backup of each month is copied to the long-term storage. If you specify Y, one backup during the week specified by WeekOfYear is copied to the long-term storage. If the specified WeekOfYear is in the past when the policy is configured, the first LTR backup is created the following year. Each backup is kept in long-term storage according to the policy parameters that are configured when the LTR backup is created.
 

azure-sql/database/serverless-tier-overview.md

@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@ title: Serverless compute tier
 description: This article describes the new serverless compute tier and compares it with the existing provisioned compute tier for Azure SQL Database.
 author: WilliamDAssafMSFT
 ms.author: wiassaf
-ms.reviewer: moslake, mathoma, dfurman
-ms.date: 2/12/2026
+ms.reviewer: kendalv, moslake, mathoma, dfurman
+ms.date: 04/14/2026
 ms.service: azure-sql-database
 ms.subservice: service-overview
 ms.topic: concept-article
@@ -18,8 +18,7 @@ ms.custom:
 
 Serverless is a [compute tier](service-tiers-sql-database-vcore.md#compute) for single databases in Azure SQL Database that automatically scales compute based on workload demand and bills for the amount of compute used per second. The serverless compute tier also automatically pauses databases during inactive periods when only storage is billed and automatically resumes databases when activity returns. The serverless compute tier is available in the [General Purpose](service-tiers-sql-database-vcore.md#general-purpose) service tier and the [Hyperscale](service-tier-hyperscale.md) service tier.
 
-> [!NOTE]
-> Auto-pause and auto-resume are currently only supported in the General Purpose service tier.
+Currently, auto-pause and auto-resume are currently only supported in the General Purpose service tier.
 
 ## Overview
 
@@ -202,7 +201,7 @@ Auto-resuming is triggered if any of the following conditions are true at any ti
 |Auto-tuning|Application and verification of auto-tuning recommendations such as auto-indexing|
 |Database copying|Create database as copy.<br>Export to a BACPAC file.|
 |SQL data sync|Synchronization between hub and member databases that run on a configurable schedule or are performed manually|
-|Modifying certain database metadata|Adding new database tags.<br>Changing maximum vCores, minimum vCores, or auto-pause delay.|
+|Modifying certain database metadata|Adding or modify Azure tags on the database.<br>Changing maximum vCores, minimum vCores, or auto-pause delay.|
 |SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)|When using SSMS versions earlier than 18.1 and opening a new query window for any database in the server, any auto-paused database in the same server is resumed. This behavior does not occur if using SSMS version 18.1 or later.|
 
 Monitoring, management, or other solutions performing any of these operations trigger auto-resuming. Auto-resuming is also triggered during the deployment of some service updates that require the database be online.

azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/pricing-guidance.md

@@ -30,15 +30,16 @@ If you want to develop, test, or build a proof of concept, then use the freely l
 > [!NOTE]  
 > SQL Server 2025 introduces separate Enterprise Developer and Standard Developer editions of SQL Server.
 
-If you want to run a lightweight workload in production (<4 cores, <1-GB memory, <10 GB/database), use the freely licensed **SQL Server Express edition**. A SQL Server Express edition VM also only incurs charges for the cost of the VM.
+If you want to run a lightweight workload in production (<=4 cores, <1-GB memory, <=50 GB/database), use the freely licensed **SQL Server Express edition**. A SQL Server Express edition VM only incurs charges for the cost of the VM. However, many [features](/sql/sql-server/editions-and-components-of-sql-server-2025) necessary for production, such as Enterprise-level disaster recovery features, aren't available in the Express edition, so be sure that it meets your business needs before deployment. 
 
 For these development/test and lightweight production workloads, you can also save money by choosing a smaller VM size that matches these workloads. The [D2as_v5](/azure/virtual-machines/dasv5-dadsv5-series) might be a good choice in some scenarios.
 
-To create an Azure VM running SQL Server 2022 with one of these images, see the following links:
+To create an Azure VM running SQL Server 2025 with one of these images, see the following links:
 
 | Platform | Freely licensed images |
 |---|---|
-| Windows Server 2022 | [SQL Server 2022 Developer Azure VM](https://portal.azure.com/#create/microsoftsqlserver.sql2022-ws2022sqldev-gen2) |
+| Windows Server 2025 | [SQL Server 2025 Standard Developer Azure VM](https://portal.azure.com/#create/microsoftsqlserver.sql2025-ws2025stddev-gen2) |
+| Windows Server 2025 | [SQL Server 2025 Enterprise Developer Azure VM](https://portal.azure.com/#create/microsoftsqlserver.sql2025-ws2025entdev-gen2) |
 | Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS | [SQL Server 2022 Developer Azure VM](https://portal.azure.com/#create/microsoftsqlserver.sql2019-ubuntupro2004sqldev_upro-ARM) |
 
 ## Paid SQL Server editions