I would love to see this too Tom. I would love to see the Azure SQL Serverless product used for development systems. Epicor could also use the serverless sku for the Education databases. Today, they are paying to run these instances while mostly idle. They could save a lot money if the SQL were allowed to hibernate when not in use. The less than one minute spin up time would be fine for Education users along with testing and development workloads.
So, does it work and would SSRS reports work correctly? There are many variations of SQL on Azure, it seems the most viable solution might be the PaaS SQL Server on Azure VM.
I would agree Education and Development databases would be very attracted to use the Azure SQL Serverless solution. Those 2 databases can go weeks without any use.
Blockquote With SQL on Azure VMs , you can use any of the platform-provided SQL Server images (which includes a license) or bring your SQL Server license. All the supported SQL Server versions (2008R2, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019) and editions (Developer, Express, Web, Standard, Enterprise) are available. In addition, Bring-Your-Own-License versions (BYOL) of the images are available. When using the Azure provided images, the operational cost depends on the VM size and the edition of SQL Server you choose. Regardless of VM size or SQL Server edition, you pay per-minute licensing cost of SQL Server and the Windows or Linux Server, along with the Azure Storage cost for the VM disks. The per-minute billing option allows you to use SQL Server for as long as you need without buying addition SQL Server licenses. If you bring your own SQL Server license to Azure, you are charged for server and storage costs only. For more information on bring-your-own licensing, see License Mobility through Software Assurance on Azure. In addition, you are billed for outgoing Internet traffic at regular data transfer rates.
Logic Apps are a great way to not have a “server” sitting around for scheduled items like FTP, running Stored Procedures, sending Email notifications, pulling attachments from generic mailboxes, … By removing these “servers”, you’re reducing your attack surface, reducing maintenance (patching), and you only pay for what you use.