SQL Server 2016 Stretch Database

[June 7, 2016 note: A more recent version of this report can be found at www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/research/secured/2016/06/sql-server-2016-stretch-database.]

Stretch Database is the name of a new data management technology in SQL Server 2016 that allows on-premises databases to leverage Azure SQL Database to store historic data and potentially reduce on-premises storage costs. The feature is compatible with most SQL Server capabilities and automatically handles data movement between on-premises and Azure SQL Database tables; however, Stretch has compatibility and size limitations, and most applications will need some modification. This first release of Stretch represents an important direction and architectural concept for SQL Server that organizations should consider for future application development.

Stretch to Remote Storage

With Stretch, developers can extend on-premises databases into Azure SQL Database, allowing current (hot) data to remain on-premises in fast storage, while historic (cold) data is migrated to Azure SQL Database. Azure SQL Database is a multitenant relational database service (currently based on SQL Server 2014 and some features of SQL Server 2016) hosted in Azure. As compared to SQL Server, Azure SQL Database provides quick deployment and easy scalability and management.