SQL Server On-Premises

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Our visitors often compare SQL Server On-Premises with Azure SQL Managed Instance and Azure SQL Database

AWS RDS for SQL Server Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Managed Instance SQL Server on Azure VM SQL Server on AWS EC2

SQL Server On-Premises

Deployment and Management

Deployment

Provision hardware/VMs and install OS and SQL – slowest option, entirely manual (weeks to procure if new hardware).

Management

Fully self-managed by your IT team (complete responsibility for maintenance).

Customization

Unlimited – choose any hardware, OS, SQL configuration (most flexible).

Use Case

Ideal for strict data control, low-latency to on-prem apps, or existing data center investments; also when compliance or legacy systems mandate it.

Maintenance and Operations

Maintenance Responsibility

Your IT team entirely – on-prem requires internal processes for all updates.

Operational Control

Complete control at hardware, OS, and DB level – no restrictions (can even delay patches indefinitely, for example).

Backups

Completely on user – typically use maintenance plans or enterprise backup tools writing to tapes/cloud.

Scalability and Performance

Scalability

Vertical: buy/upgrade hardware (major project); Horizontal: add servers and distribute load (requires significant effort and maybe app changes).

Performance

Potentially the highest (you can use top-end hardware, dedicated storage arrays, etc.); ultimate performance if budget allows, with no virtualization overhead if physical.

Elasticity

None – capacity is fixed once purchased. Scaling requires planning and manual execution (or new hardware purchase).

Features and Capabilities

SQL Server Version

Any version/edition for which you have media and license – including very old versions (some orgs still run 2008 or 2005 for legacy apps, which on-prem allows, albeit unsupported by MS).

SQL Feature Support

Everything SQL Server offers is available if you set it up – including things like replication, Linked Servers, Service Broker, etc. You have to configure them, but nothing is disabled by a provider.

Cross-Database Queries

Yes, common on on-prem to have many DBs on one server and join them. Also, cross-server via linked server is possible.

Custom Software

Yes – common to have monitoring agents (SCOM, etc.) on SQL servers, or backup agents. You could even run a third-party application on the same machine (though best practice is to separate, it’s up to you).

Network and Security

Network Configuration

On your corporate network – ultimate control (your own firewall, switches, VLANs). You can make it as open or isolated as you need. Typically behind corporate firewalls and accessible only within company network.

Security

Entirely on you – from physical security of the server room, to network security, to OS and SQL security. You can achieve very high security (even completely air-gapped networks), but it requires strict processes. Encryption (TDE, etc.) must be configured by you.

Authentication

Windows Auth and SQL Auth – often tightly integrated with on-prem AD. You can enforce AD group policies, etc. If not on a domain, SQL Auth is used. No cloud-specific auth out of the box (though you could integrate Kerberos and AD FS if needed for fancy setups).

High Availability and Disaster Recovery

High Availability

Many options but all manual: Failover Cluster Instances (with shared storage like SAN), Always On AG, database mirroring (old), log shipping as quasi-HA. Requires redundant hardware and networking. You manage failover process (though AG can auto-failover).

Disaster Recovery

Entirely on you: could be as robust as a secondary data center with log shipping or AGs, or as basic as offsite backup tapes. DR testing and execution are your ops team’s duty.

Pricing and Licensing

Pricing

Big upfront CapEx for hardware & licenses, then minor OpEx (power, cooling). Amortized 3-year cost for an 8-core server might be ~$1-3k/month depending on edition (Standard vs Enterprise), but you own the asset. Scaling requires new investment.

Licensing Model

Perpetual or Subscription licenses. Typically purchase per core (Enterprise ~$7.5k/core, Standard ~$1.9k/core) plus optional SA ~25%/yr. Hardware bought or leased separately. No builtin pay-per-use; however, you could run SQL Developer or Express free in non-prod.

Pricing Comparison of Database Configuration

8vCore + 4TB Data size + Backup,  Single Instance

On-prem not monthly billed, but roughly ~$1k (Std) / ~$3k (Ent) per month value when spread over a few years.

8vCore + 4TB Data size + Backup + DR/HA

Multi-site on-prem: requires second set of hardware (and possibly second license if active-active).
Hard to monthly-ize, but essentially 2× hardware cost; SQL license for passive is free with SA.