Azure.ResourceManager.Sql (.NET)

Management plane SDK for provisioning and managing Azure SQL resources via Azure Resource Manager.

> ⚠️ Management vs Data Plane > - This SDK (Azure.ResourceManager.Sql): Create servers, databases, elastic pools, configure firewall rules, manage failover groups > - Data Plane SDK (Microsoft.Data.SqlClient): Execute queries, stored procedures, manage connections

Installation

bash
dotnet add package Azure.ResourceManager.Sql
dotnet add package Azure.Identity

Current Versions: Stable v1.3.0, Preview v1.4.0-beta.3

Environment Variables

bash
AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID=<your-subscription-id>  # Required: Azure subscription ID
AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod  # Required only if DefaultAzureCredential is used in production
AZURE_TENANT_ID=<tenant-id>  # For service principal auth (optional)
AZURE_CLIENT_ID=<client-id>  # For service principal auth (optional)
AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET=<client-secret>  # For service principal auth (optional)

Authentication

csharp
using Azure.Identity;
using Azure.ResourceManager;
using Azure.ResourceManager.Sql;

// Local dev: DefaultAzureCredential. Production: set AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod or AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=<specific_credential>
var credential = new DefaultAzureCredential(
    DefaultAzureCredential.DefaultEnvironmentVariableName
);
// Or use a specific credential directly in production:
// See https://learn.microsoft.com/dotnet/api/overview/azure/identity-readme?view=azure-dotnet#credential-classes
// var credential = new ManagedIdentityCredential();
var armClient = new ArmClient(credential);

// Get subscription
var subscriptionId = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID");
var subscription = armClient.GetSubscriptionResource(
    new ResourceIdentifier($"/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}"));

Resource Hierarchy

ArmClient
└── SubscriptionResource
    └── ResourceGroupResource
        └── SqlServerResource
            ├── SqlDatabaseResource
            ├── ElasticPoolResource
            │   └── ElasticPoolDatabaseResource
            ├── SqlFirewallRuleResource
            ├── FailoverGroupResource
            ├── ServerBlobAuditingPolicyResource
            ├── EncryptionProtectorResource
            └── VirtualNetworkRuleResource

Core Workflow

1. Create SQL Server

csharp
using Azure.ResourceManager.Sql;
using Azure.ResourceManager.Sql.Models;

// Get resource group
var resourceGroup = await subscription
    .GetResourceGroupAsync("my-resource-group");

// Define server
var serverData = new SqlServerData(AzureLocation.EastUS)
{
    AdministratorLogin = "sqladmin",
    AdministratorLoginPassword = "YourSecurePassword123!",
    Version = "12.0",
    MinimalTlsVersion = SqlMinimalTlsVersion.Tls1_2,
    PublicNetworkAccess = ServerNetworkAccessFlag.Enabled
};

// Create server (long-running operation)
var serverCollection = resourceGroup.Value.GetSqlServers();
var operation = await serverCollection.CreateOrUpdateAsync(
    WaitUntil.Completed,
    "my-sql-server",
    serverData);

SqlServerResource server = operation.Value;

2. Create SQL Database

csharp
var databaseData = new SqlDatabaseData(AzureLocation.EastUS)
{
    Sku = new SqlSku("S0") { Tier = "Standard" },
    MaxSizeBytes = 2L * 1024 * 1024 * 1024, // 2 GB
    Collation = "SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS",
    RequestedBackupStorageRedundancy = SqlBackupStorageRedundancy.Local
};

var databaseCollection = server.GetSqlDatabases();
var dbOperation = await databaseCollection.CreateOrUpdateAsync(
    WaitUntil.Completed,
    "my-database",
    databaseData);

SqlDatabaseResource database = dbOperation.Value;

3. Create Elastic Pool

csharp
var poolData = new ElasticPoolData(AzureLocation.EastUS)
{
    Sku = new SqlSku("StandardPool")
    {
        Tier = "Standard",
        Capacity = 100 // 100 eDTUs
    },
    PerDatabaseSettings = new ElasticPoolPerDatabaseSettings
    {
        MinCapacity = 0,
        MaxCapacity = 100
    }
};

var poolCollection = server.GetElasticPools();
var poolOperation = await poolCollection.CreateOrUpdateAsync(
    WaitUntil.Completed,
    "my-elastic-pool",
    poolData);

ElasticPoolResource pool = poolOperation.Value;

4. Add Database to Elastic Pool

csharp
var databaseData = new SqlDatabaseData(AzureLocation.EastUS)
{
    ElasticPoolId = pool.Id
};

await databaseCollection.CreateOrUpdateAsync(
    WaitUntil.Completed,
    "pooled-database",
    databaseData);

5. Configure Firewall Rules

csharp
// Allow Azure services
var azureServicesRule = new SqlFirewallRuleData
{
    StartIPAddress = "0.0.0.0",
    EndIPAddress = "0.0.0.0"
};

var firewallCollection = server.GetSqlFirewallRules();
await firewallCollection.CreateOrUpdateAsync(
    WaitUntil.Completed,
    "AllowAzureServices",
    azureServicesRule);

// Allow specific IP range
var clientRule = new SqlFirewallRuleData
{
    StartIPAddress = "203.0.113.0",
    EndIPAddress = "203.0.113.255"
};

await firewallCollection.CreateOrUpdateAsync(
    WaitUntil.Completed,
    "AllowClientIPs",
    clientRule);

6. List Resources

csharp
// List all servers in subscription
await foreach (var srv in subscription.GetSqlServersAsync())
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Server: {srv.Data.Name} in {srv.Data.Location}");
}

// List databases in a server
await foreach (var db in server.GetSqlDatabases())
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Database: {db.Data.Name}, SKU: {db.Data.Sku?.Name}");
}

// List elastic pools
await foreach (var ep in server.GetElasticPools())
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Pool: {ep.Data.Name}, DTU: {ep.Data.Sku?.Capacity}");
}

7. Get Connection String

csharp
// Build connection string (server FQDN is predictable)
var serverFqdn = $"{server.Data.Name}.database.windows.net";
var connectionString = $"Server=tcp:{serverFqdn},1433;" +
    $"Initial Catalog={database.Data.Name};" +
    "Persist Security Info=False;" +
    $"User ID={server.Data.AdministratorLogin};" +
    "Password=<your-password>;" +
    "MultipleActiveResultSets=False;" +
    "Encrypt=True;" +
    "TrustServerCertificate=False;" +
    "Connection Timeout=30;";

Key Types Reference

| Type | Purpose | |------|---------| | ArmClient | Entry point for all ARM operations | | SqlServerResource | Represents an Azure SQL server | | SqlServerCollection | Collection for server CRUD | | SqlDatabaseResource | Represents a SQL database | | SqlDatabaseCollection | Collection for database CRUD | | ElasticPoolResource | Represents an elastic pool | | ElasticPoolCollection | Collection for elastic pool CRUD | | SqlFirewallRuleResource | Represents a firewall rule | | SqlFirewallRuleCollection | Collection for firewall rule CRUD | | SqlServerData | Server creation/update payload | | SqlDatabaseData | Database creation/update payload | | ElasticPoolData | Elastic pool creation/update payload | | SqlFirewallRuleData | Firewall rule creation/update payload | | SqlSku | SKU configuration (tier, capacity) |

Common SKUs

Database SKUs

| SKU Name | Tier | Description | |----------|------|-------------| | Basic | Basic | 5 DTUs, 2 GB max | | S0-S12 | Standard | 10-3000 DTUs | | P1-P15 | Premium | 125-4000 DTUs | | GP_Gen5_2 | GeneralPurpose | vCore-based, 2 vCores | | BC_Gen5_2 | BusinessCritical | vCore-based, 2 vCores | | HS_Gen5_2 | Hyperscale | vCore-based, 2 vCores |

Elastic Pool SKUs

| SKU Name | Tier | Description | |----------|------|-------------| | BasicPool | Basic | 50-1600 eDTUs | | StandardPool | Standard | 50-3000 eDTUs | | PremiumPool | Premium | 125-4000 eDTUs | | GP_Gen5_2 | GeneralPurpose | vCore-based | | BC_Gen5_2 | BusinessCritical | vCore-based |

Best Practices

1. Use WaitUntil.Completed for operations that must finish before proceeding
2. Use WaitUntil.Started when you want to poll manually or run operations in parallel
3. Always use DefaultAzureCredential — never hardcode passwords in production
4. Handle RequestFailedException for ARM API errors
5. Use CreateOrUpdateAsync for idempotent operations
6. Navigate hierarchy via Get* methods (e.g., server.GetSqlDatabases())
7. Use elastic pools for cost optimization when managing multiple databases
8. Configure firewall rules before attempting connections

Error Handling

csharp
using Azure;

try
{
    var operation = await serverCollection.CreateOrUpdateAsync(
        WaitUntil.Completed, serverName, serverData);
}
catch (RequestFailedException ex) when (ex.Status == 409)
{
    Console.WriteLine("Server already exists");
}
catch (RequestFailedException ex) when (ex.Status == 400)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Invalid request: {ex.Message}");
}
catch (RequestFailedException ex)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"ARM Error: {ex.Status} - {ex.ErrorCode}: {ex.Message}");
}

Reference Files

| File | When to Read | |------|--------------| | references/server-management.md | Server CRUD, admin credentials, Azure AD auth, networking | | references/database-operations.md | Database CRUD, scaling, backup, restore, copy | | references/elastic-pools.md | Pool management, adding/removing databases, scaling |

Related SDKs

| SDK | Purpose | Install | |-----|---------|---------| | Microsoft.Data.SqlClient | Data plane (execute queries, stored procedures) | dotnet add package Microsoft.Data.SqlClient | | Azure.ResourceManager.Sql | Management plane (this SDK) | dotnet add package Azure.ResourceManager.Sql | | Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.SqlServer | ORM for SQL Server | dotnet add package Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.SqlServer |