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Deploying SQL Server on Azure Local involves two separate checks: first deploy and validate the Azure Local infrastructure, then confirm that SQL Server is connected to Azure Arc and appears as a manageable SQL Server resource. The Azure portal deployment guide covers the infrastructure workflow; SQL Server installation, VM design, edition choice, and licensing depend on your environment and are not a single universal procedure.
1. Prepare the Azure Local environment
Start with the Azure Local prerequisites for the release and topology you plan to deploy. The portal workflow described by Microsoft is for Azure Local hyperconverged deployments, so its requirements should not be assumed to apply to every architecture or future release.
Gather the deployment inputs
Before opening the wizard, have the following information ready:
- Unique names for the machines, the Active Directory fully qualified domain name, and the organizational unit where the deployment will place the relevant accounts.
- Deployment and local administrator credentials. Follow Microsoft’s documented password requirements and name restrictions.
- Management-network details, including DNS configuration. The documented management subnet requires at least six available contiguous IP addresses.
- Access to the Azure subscription and the permissions required to deploy Azure Local.
- An Azure Storage account if you are deploying a two-node system with a cloud witness.
Verify that DNS resolves the Active Directory domain. Microsoft’s prerequisites warn that the node and Arc Resource Bridge DNS settings cannot be changed after deployment, so confirm them before proceeding.
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Check release-specific requirements
Review the current hardware, operating-system, security, and network requirements for your chosen Azure Local release. Do not treat a checklist for one release or topology as a universal specification.
2. Deploy Azure Local from the Azure portal
The portal workflow begins after the machines are registered with Azure Arc and the required deployment permissions are assigned. The portal installs Arc extensions on the selected machines; wait for that installation to succeed and for each machine to show Ready before continuing.
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- In the Azure portal, open Azure Local and select Create instance.
- Enter the subscription, resource group, instance name, region, cluster option, identity provider, and machines requested by the wizard.
- Run Validate selected machines. Wait for the successful green check before moving on.
- Review validation failures and resolve actionable issues. This check compares whether machines have the same exact operating-system version, the required Azure extensions, and matching network adapters.
- Complete the remaining configuration in the wizard, then start deployment validation.
- Review the validation results before selecting Create. Microsoft cautions against retrying while validation tasks are still running because results may be inaccurate in the documented release.
Use portal timing estimates as estimates
Microsoft’s Azure Local portal guide, updated in 2026, gives these approximate durations. They are operational estimates, not service commitments.
| Operation | Microsoft’s estimate |
|---|---|
| Validation for one to two machines | About 15 minutes |
| Single-machine deployment | About 1.5 to 2 hours |
| Two-node deployment | About 2.5 hours |
3. Validate the Azure Local deployment
When deployment finishes, open its resource group and check the inventory against the resources expected for a successful deployment. The Azure Local platform validation is distinct from the later SQL Server Arc check.
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- One Azure Arc machine resource for each machine.
- One Azure Local resource and one Arc Resource Bridge.
- An infrastructure logical network, a Key Vault, and a custom location.
- Storage accounts and, where applicable, one Azure Local storage path per workload volume.
In the documented scenario, two storage accounts are created for the cloud witness and Key Vault audit logs. Check the expected resources for your particular deployment rather than assuming every topology creates identical storage resources.
Account for post-deployment access settings
Microsoft’s portal guide says RDP is disabled for security after deployment. If temporary access is necessary, use the guide’s documented remote PowerShell steps, then disable RDP again when the work is complete.
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4. Install SQL Server as a workload and connect it to Azure Arc
Azure Local deployment does not by itself define how to create or configure a SQL Server workload. The appropriate VM creation procedure, sizing, storage layout, SQL Server edition, and licensing depend on the supported guest environment, workload, and licensing situation. Consult the applicable Azure Local and SQL Server documentation for those decisions; the portal and Arc connection steps below do not prescribe a VM design or SQL Server installation method.
For Arc management, Microsoft documents that the Azure extension for SQL Server can install automatically when SQL Server is installed on a server already connected to Azure Arc. If it does not appear, use the documented onboarding route. Its portal flow asks for the subscription, resource group, region, operating system, SQL Server edition and license type, and any instances to exclude; it then generates a script to run on the target machine. If the server is already Arc-enabled, Microsoft also documents installing the SQL Server extension on that existing server.
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| Situation | Next step |
|---|---|
| The SQL Server extension appeared automatically on the Arc-connected server. | Continue to the SQL Server resource in the Azure portal and validate it. |
| The extension did not install automatically. | Use the documented onboarding flow to generate and run its script on the target machine. |
| The server is already Azure Arc-enabled and needs the SQL Server extension. | Follow Microsoft’s procedure for installing the extension on an existing Arc-enabled server, after checking prerequisites. |
5. Validate the SQL Server Arc connection
In the Azure portal, open Azure Arc > SQL Server, then open the newly registered SQL Server resource. This checks the SQL Server instance’s Arc representation and manageability; it is separate from confirming that the Azure Local infrastructure deployed successfully.
Check the extension’s SQL Server login
The Azure extension for SQL Server Deployer runs as LocalSystem (NT AUTHORITYSYSTEM) and uses Windows integrated authentication to connect to each SQL Server instance. For provisioning to succeed, the corresponding SQL Server login must exist, be enabled, and have CONNECT SQL permission. Microsoft’s prerequisite documentation provides a query to inspect these conditions. Review and test the required access in a non-production or test environment before production, and do not broaden permissions without security review.
Check supported versions and outbound connectivity
Microsoft’s SQL Server Arc prerequisites list SQL Server 2014 and later, 64-bit only, and identify supported Windows and Linux operating systems. Because exact supported operating-system versions and extension requirements can change, check the current support table for the guest environment you intend to use.
The target environment needs outbound TCP port 443 access to the regional Azure Arc Data Processing Service endpoint. The cited prerequisite guidance says Azure Private Link cannot be used for that endpoint. Check any other current extension and resource-provider prerequisites before manual installation.
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