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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDeploying SQL Server on Azure Local involves two separate jobs: first deploy and validate the Azure Local infrastructure; then install or connect SQL Server and verify its Azure Arc registration. Microsoft’s portal guide covers the infrastructure workflow, while its SQL Server Arc documentation covers the connection and management checks. It does not prescribe one universal SQL Server VM design or provide a complete, edition-specific SQL Server installation procedure.
What this deployment covers
Azure Local is the infrastructure platform. SQL Server is a workload you deploy separately in a supported guest environment. Once SQL Server is installed, Azure Arc can represent and manage the SQL Server instance in Azure.
Keep the two validation layers distinct:
- Azure Local deployment validation checks whether the selected machines and configuration are ready for the platform deployment. After deployment, the Azure resource inventory helps confirm that the expected infrastructure resources were created.
- SQL Server enabled by Azure Arc validation checks whether the SQL Server instance is registered and manageable through Azure Arc. A successful Azure Local deployment does not, by itself, confirm this SQL Server connection.
The steps below follow Microsoft’s Azure portal deployment guide, whose listed update date is September 15, 2026. Portal labels and supported configurations can change; use the documentation for the Azure Local release and topology you are deploying.
Prepare the Azure Local environment
Before opening the deployment wizard, use Microsoft’s Azure Local prerequisites checklist for your chosen release and topology. Its checklist is specific to the documented hyperconverged deployment scenario, so do not assume its values apply to every architecture.
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Gather the required inputs
- Unique names for the machines, the Active Directory fully qualified domain name, and the organizational unit where the machines will reside.
- Deployment and local administrator credentials that meet the documented password and naming requirements.
- Management-network details, including DNS configuration. In the documented checklist, the management subnet needs at least six available contiguous IP addresses.
- Access to the Azure subscription and the permissions required for deployment.
- For a two-node system using a cloud witness, an Azure Storage account.
Confirm that DNS resolves the Active Directory domain correctly. Microsoft warns that the node and Arc Resource Bridge DNS settings cannot be changed after deployment, so check them before proceeding. Also verify the release-specific hardware, operating-system, security, and network requirements rather than relying on a checklist from another release.
Deploy the Azure Local instance in the portal
Microsoft’s portal workflow begins after the machines have been registered with Azure Arc and the necessary deployment permissions have been assigned.
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- In the Azure portal, open Azure Local and select Create instance.
- Enter the subscription, resource group, instance name, and region. Choose the cluster option—Standard or Rack aware—that matches the intended topology, then select the identity provider and machines.
- Allow the portal to install the required Arc extensions on the selected machines. Continue only after extension installation succeeds and the machines show Ready.
- Select Validate selected machines. Wait for the successful green check. This check verifies that the machines have the same exact OS version, the required Azure extensions, and matching network adapters. Resolve reported failures before moving on.
- Complete the remaining configuration in the wizard and start deployment validation. Review its results before selecting Create. Microsoft cautions that retrying while validation tasks are still running can produce inaccurate results in the release covered by its guide.
- Select Create after reviewing the completed validation results to start deployment.
Microsoft’s guide gives approximate durations of 15 minutes to validate one or two machines, 1.5 to 2 hours for a single-machine deployment, and about 2.5 hours for a two-node deployment. These are estimates in the guide, not service commitments; actual completion time can vary.
Confirm that Azure Local deployed successfully
After deployment, open the deployment resource group and compare its contents with the expected resource inventory in Microsoft’s portal guide. In the documented scenario, look for:
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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 for each workload volume.
The guide says two storage accounts are created in its documented scenario for the cloud witness and Key Vault audit logs. Treat that detail as scenario-specific, not as a universal resource count for every deployment.
Remote access after deployment
Microsoft documents that RDP is disabled for security after deployment. If temporary remote access is necessary, use the guide’s remote PowerShell procedure and disable RDP again when the work is complete.
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Install SQL Server as a separate workload
The Azure Local deployment workflow does not define how to create or size a SQL Server VM, choose storage layout, select a SQL Server edition, or determine licensing for a particular environment. Those decisions depend on the supported guest environment, workload requirements, and licensing situation. Follow the applicable Azure Local and SQL Server documentation for your target configuration; do not treat the infrastructure wizard as a SQL Server installation wizard.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Connect SQL Server to Azure Arc
Microsoft says the Azure extension for SQL Server is installed automatically when SQL Server is installed on a server already connected to Azure through Azure Arc. If it does not appear, use the documented onboarding route. For an existing Arc-enabled server, Microsoft also documents installing the SQL Server extension on that server.
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| Situation | Documented route | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| The server is connected to Azure and SQL Server is installed | The SQL Server extension may install automatically. | Check whether the SQL Server resource appears in Azure Arc. |
| The extension did not install automatically | Use the SQL Server onboarding flow, which gathers subscription, resource group, region, operating system, SQL Server edition/license type, and optional excluded instances, then generates a script to run on the target machine. | Run the generated script on the intended machine and verify the resulting SQL Server resource. |
| The server is already Azure Arc-enabled | Install the SQL Server extension on the existing Arc-enabled server using Microsoft’s documented procedure. | Confirm the required resource providers and other prerequisites are in place. |
After onboarding, in the Azure portal open Azure Arc > SQL Server, then open the newly registered SQL Server resource to validate its Arc representation. This check is separate from the Azure Local resource-inventory check.
Troubleshoot SQL Server Arc onboarding prerequisites
Check the extension’s SQL Server login
The Azure extension for SQL Server Deployer runs as LocalSystem and uses Windows integrated authentication to connect to each SQL Server instance. Microsoft’s documented successful-provisioning conditions for the NT AUTHORITYSYSTEM login are that it exists, is enabled, and has CONNECT SQL permission. The SQL Server Arc prerequisites page provides a query to inspect those conditions. Review and test the query in a non-production environment before applying changes in production, and do not broaden permissions without security review.
Check version and network requirements
Microsoft’s SQL Server Arc prerequisites page, listed as updated July 7, 2026, identifies support for SQL Server 2014 and later, 64-bit only, and specifies supported Windows and Linux operating systems. Check that page’s current supported-version details for the exact SQL Server and operating-system combination you intend to use.
The same prerequisite guidance requires outbound TCP port 443 access to the regional Azure Arc Data Processing Service endpoint and says Azure Private Link cannot be used for that endpoint. Verify outbound connectivity from the target server and satisfy the other current extension prerequisites before onboarding.
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