Merge pull request #36751 from MicrosoftDocs/main

Auto Publish – main to live - 2026-03-03 18:30 UTC

Author: learn-build-service-prod[bot]

azure-sql/database/active-geo-replication-overview.md

@@ -106,6 +106,9 @@ Both the primary and geo-secondary are required to have the same service tier. I
 
 Another consequence of an imbalanced geo-secondary configuration is that after failover, application performance can suffer due to insufficient compute capacity of the new primary. In that case, it's necessary to scale up the database to have sufficient resources, which might take significant time, and requires a [high availability](high-availability-sla-local-zone-redundancy.md) failover at the end of the scale up process, which can interrupt application workloads.
 
+> [!TIP]
+> For detailed troubleshooting guidance on lag with geo-replication, see [Troubleshoot geo-replication redo lag](troubleshoot-geo-replication-redo.md).
+
 If you decide to create the geo-secondary with a different configuration, you should monitor log I/O rate on the primary over time. This lets you estimate the minimal compute size of the geo-secondary required to sustain the replication load. For example, if your primary database is P6 (1000 DTU) and its log I/O is sustained at 50%, the geo-secondary needs to be at least P4 (500 DTU). To retrieve historical log I/O data, use the [sys.resource_stats](/sql/relational-databases/system-catalog-views/sys-resource-stats-azure-sql-database) view. To retrieve recent log I/O data with higher granularity that better reflects short-term spikes, use the [sys.dm_db_resource_stats](/sql/relational-databases/system-dynamic-management-views/sys-dm-db-resource-stats-azure-sql-database) view.
 
 > [!TIP]  
@@ -243,6 +246,10 @@ Active geo-replication can also be managed programmatically using T-SQL, Azure P
 
 ---
 
+## Troubleshooting
+
+For more information on troubleshooting geo-replica lag, see [Troubleshoot geo-replication lag](troubleshoot-geo-replication-redo.md).
+
 ## Related content
 
 Configure active geo-replication: 

azure-sql/database/doc-changes-updates-release-notes-whats-new-archive.md

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ description: Learn about the features and documentation improvements for Azure S
 author: WilliamDAssafMSFT
 ms.author: wiassaf
 ms.reviewer: mathoma, maghan
-ms.date: 02/19/2026
+ms.date: 03/02/2026
 ms.service: azure-sql-database
 ms.subservice: service-overview
 ms.topic: whats-new
@@ -25,6 +25,43 @@ This article summarizes older documentation changes associated with new features
 
 Return to [What's new in Azure SQL Database?](doc-changes-updates-release-notes-whats-new.md)
 
+## 2025
+
+| Changes | Month | Details |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| **Regular expression functions preview** | November | Regular expression (REGEX) functions return text based on values in a search pattern.  Regular expression (REGEX) functions are now generally available for Azure SQL Database. For more information, see [Regular expressions](/sql/relational-databases/regular-expressions/overview) or [General Availability Announcement: Regex Support in SQL Server 2025 & Azure SQL](https://devblogs.microsoft.com/azure-sql/general-availability-announcement-regex-support-in-sql-server-2025-azure-sql/). |
+| **Change event streaming preview** | November | Capture and publish incremental DML changes of data (such as updates, inserts, and deletes) in near real-time. Change event streaming sends details of data changes such as the schema, previous values, and new values to Azure Event Hubs in a simple CloudEvent, serialized as either native JSON or Avro Binary. This feature is now in preview. To learn more, review [Change event streaming](/sql/relational-databases/track-changes/change-event-streaming/overview). |
+| **Convert to Hyperscale with geo-replicas** | October | The ability to [convert a geo-replicated database non-Hyperscale database to Hyperscale](convert-to-hyperscale.md) using T-SQL, REST API, PowerShell, or Azure CLI is now generally available. For more information, see [Blog: Hyperscale conversion support for geo-replicas](https://aka.ms/hs-conversion-geodr-ga). |
+| **Restart database in the Azure portal (preview)** | October | You can [restart your SQL database or elastic pool](restart-database.md) from the Azure portal. |
+| **Multiple geo-replicas for Hyperscale** | October | The ability to create up to four geo-replicas for Azure SQL Hyperscale is in preview.  Learn more about [multiple geo-replicas for Hyperscale](https://aka.ms/sqlhs-multi-geo-announcement). |
+| **Immutable LTR backups** | September | You can [configure long-term retention backups of Azure SQL Database as immutable](backup-immutability.md), a feature currently in preview.|
+| **New Azure SQL hub** | September | Choosing the right Azure SQL service can be challenging. To make this easier, we built the [Azure SQL hub at aka.ms/azuresqlhub](https://aka.ms/azuresqlhub), a new home for everything related to Azure SQL in the Azure portal. For more information, read the blog post [Introducing the Azure SQL hub: A simpler, guided entry into Azure SQL](https://aka.ms/azuresqlhubblog). | 
+| **sys.dm_hs_database_replicas** | August | You can query the details of Azure SQL Database Hyperscale replicas with the new dynamic management view (DMV) [sys.dm_hs_database_replicas](/sql/relational-databases/system-functions/sys-dm-hs-database-replicas).|
+| **UNISTR** | July | Azure SQL Database now supports the `UNISTR`. This syntax is now generally available. For more information, see [UNISTR (Transact-SQL)](/sql/t-sql/functions/unistr-transact-sql). |
+| **\| \| and \| \| = string concatenation support** | July | Azure SQL Database now supports \| \| and \| \| = compound assignment T-SQL syntax. This syntax is now generally available. For more information, see [|| (String concatenation)](/sql/t-sql/language-elements/string-concatenation-pipes-transact-sql) and [||= (Compound assignment)](/sql/t-sql/language-elements/compound-assignment-pipes-transact-sql). |
+| **Degrees of Parallelism (DOP) feedback** | July |[DOP Feedback](/sql/relational-databases/performance/intelligent-query-processing-degree-parallelism-feedback?view=azuresqldb-current&preserve-view=true) is now generally available for Azure SQL Database. For more information, see [Smarter Parallelism: Degree of parallelism feedback in SQL Server 2025](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/sqlserver/smarter-parallelism-degree-of-parallelism-feedback-in-sql-server-2025/4431318). |
+| **Convert to Hyperscale with geo-replicas (preview)** |July |The ability to [convert a geo-replicated database non-Hyperscale database to Hyperscale](convert-to-hyperscale.md) using T-SQL, REST API, PowerShell, or Azure CLI is currently a preview feature. For more information, see [Blog: Hyperscale conversion support for geo-replicas](https://aka.ms/hs-conversion-geodr-preview). |
+| **Audit re-architecture GA** | July | Enhancements to performance, availability, and reliability in server auditing for Azure SQL Database. For more information, see [Auditing](auditing-overview.md#enhancements-to-performance-availability-and-reliability-in-server-auditing-for-azure-sql-database-july-2025-ga). |
+| **TLS 1.0 and 1.1 retirement FAQ** | July | Azure has announced that support for older TLS versions (TLS 1.0, and 1.1) ends August 31, 2025. For more information, see [TLS 1.0 and 1.1 deprecation frequently asked questions](connectivity-settings.md#upcoming-tls-10-and-11-retirement-changes-faq). Starting August 2025, versions below TLS 1.2 won't be available. |
+| **Data Virtualization for Azure SQL Database (preview)** | June | Data virtualization, now in preview in Azure SQL Database, enables you to leverage all the power of Transact-SQL (T-SQL) and seamlessly query external data from Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 or Azure Blob Storage. For more information, see [Data virtualization with Azure SQL Database (Preview)](data-virtualization-overview.md).|
+| **Hyperscale increased log generation rate** | May | The transaction log generation rate in Azure SQL Database Hyperscale single databases has been increased from 100 MiB/s to 150 MiB/s for premium-series and premium-series memory optimized hardware. For more information, read [Blog: Enhancements to Azure SQL Database Hyperscale](https://aka.ms/HSenhancements).|
+| **Hyperscale continuous priming** | May | [Continuous priming](service-tier-hyperscale.md#continuous-priming) optimizes Hyperscale performance during failovers by priming high availability secondary compute replicas. Continuous priming is now generally available. For more information, read [Blog: Enhancements to Azure SQL Database Hyperscale](https://aka.ms/HSenhancements).|
+| **JSON native data type GA** | May | The [**json** data type and JSON aggregate functions](/sql/t-sql/data-types/json-data-type?view=azuresqldb-current&preserve-view=true) provide new capabilities for handling semistructured data in Azure SQL Database. This data type is now generally available. |
+| **JSON aggregate functions GA** | May | Two [**json** aggregate functions `JSON_OBJECTAGG` and `JSON_ARRAYAGG`](/sql/relational-databases/json/json-data-sql-server?view=azuresqldb-current&preserve-view=true#json-data-from-aggregates) enable construction of JSON objects or arrays based on an aggregate from SQL data. These JSON functions are now generally available. |
+| **Manually initiate cutover for conversion to Hyperscale** | April | When converting an Azure SQL Database to the Hyperscale service tier, [you have a new option to manually initiate the cutover](https://aka.ms/hs-conversion-v2-ga). For more information, see [Convert an existing database to Hyperscale](convert-to-hyperscale.md). This feature is currently in preview.|
+| **ABORT_QUERY_EXECUTION** | March | The new `ABORT_QUERY_EXECUTION` [query hint](/sql/t-sql/queries/hints-transact-sql-query?view=azuresqldb-current&preserve-view=true#use_hint_abort_query_execution), currently in preview, can block future execution of known problematic queries, for example nonessential queries causing high resource consumption and impacting critical application workloads. For more information, see [Query Store hints: Block future execution of problematic queries](/sql/relational-databases/performance/query-store-hints-best-practices?view=azuresqldb-current&preserve-view=true#block-future-execution-of-problematic-queries).|
+| **Approximate or fuzzy string matching (preview)**| February | Check if two strings are similar, and calculate the difference between two strings. Use this capability to identify strings that might be different because of character corruption. [What is fuzzy string matching?](/sql/relational-databases/fuzzy-string-match/overview)|
+| **DATEADD number allows bigint (preview)** | February | For `DATEADD (datepart, number, date)`, number can be expressed as a **bigint**. For more information, see [DATEADD (Transact-SQL)](/sql/t-sql/functions/dateadd-transact-sql).|
+| **Regular expression functions (preview)** | February | Regular expression (REGEX) functions return text based on values in a search pattern. For more information, see [Regular expressions](/sql/relational-databases/regular-expressions/overview). |
+| **Availability metric**| February | Availability is presented as a metric in the Azure Monitor metrics. Driven by a variety of user connection failures, you can [monitor and configure alerts on Azure SQL Database Availability](monitoring-metrics-alerts.md#availability-metric). For more information, see [Blog: Availability metric is now generally available](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/azuresqlblog/availability-metric-for-azure-sql-db-is-now-generally-available/4379174).|
+| **sys.dm_database_backups** | February | The [sys.dm_database_backups](/sql/relational-databases/system-dynamic-management-views/sys-dm-database-backups-azure-sql-database?view=azuresqldb-current&preserve-view=true) dynamic management view returns information about the [automated backups of a database](automated-backups-overview.md). This DMV is now generally available. | 
+| **Manually initiate cutover for conversion to Hyperscale** | February | When converting an Azure SQL Database to the Hyperscale service tier, [you have a new option to manually initiate the cutover](https://aka.ms/hs-conversion-v2-preview). For more information, see [Convert an existing database to Hyperscale](convert-to-hyperscale.md). This feature is currently in preview.|
+| **Import bacpac file size increase** | February | The limit for an imported bacpac file size has been increased from 4 GB to 150 GB. For more information on importing a bacpac file generated from SqlPackage, see [Quickstart: Import a bacpac file to a database in Azure SQL Database](database-import.md).|
+| **Free Azure SQL Database** | January | Use [Azure SQL Database for free](free-offer.md), for the life of your subscription. This free offer provides up to 10 free General Purpose databases, each with 100,000 vCore seconds of compute, every month. For more information, see [Blog: General availability of Azure SQL Database free offer](https://aka.ms/azuresqlfreedb).|
+| **Hyperscale support for database and file shrink** | January | [Database and file shrink commands](file-space-manage.md)  are now generally available for Azure SQL Database Hyperscale. For more information, see the [Shrink in Hyperscale Generally Available blog post](https://aka.ms/hs-shrink-ga).|
+| **SQL Insights retired** | January | [SQL Insights has been retired](https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/?id=sql-insights-retirement) and is no longer available. Use [database watcher](../database-watcher-overview.md) or another monitoring solution to monitor Azure SQL Database. |
+
+
 ## 2024
 
 | Changes | Month | Details |