VMware vCloud Air SQL Reference Guide

VMware vCloud® Air™ SQL

Early Access Release

July 2015

VMware, Inc. 3401 Hillview Ave. Palo Alto, CA 94304

www.vmware.com

All other trademarks not owned by VMware are the property of their respective owners.

Contents

1. About This Reference Guide .............................................................................................4

2. Introducing vCloud Air SQL ...............................................................................................4

1.1 What is a vCloud Air SQL instance? ................................................................................. 4

1.2 What can I do with it? ...................................................................................................... 5

1.3 What are the licensing requirements? ............................................................................ 5

1.3.1 SQL Server License Mobility and VMware® vCloud® Air™ SQL ........................ 6

1.3.2 License Mobility References ............................................................................ 6

1.4 Preparing to Use vCloud Air SQL ..................................................................................... 7

1.5 Obtain an OnDemand Account ........................................................................................ 7

1.6 Sign Up for the vCloud Air SQL Service ............................................................................ 8

1.7 Understand vCloud Air SQL Security ............................................................................... 8

1.7.1 The Service Network ........................................................................................ 9

1.7.2 vCloud Air SQL Roles ........................................................................................ 9

3. Configuring a vDC to Work with vCloud Air SQL .............................................................. 11

2.1 Create a Virtual Data Center .......................................................................................... 11

2.2 Enable the Service Network .......................................................................................... 12

2.3 Verify that the Service Network is Enabled ................................................................... 12

2.4 Configure Networking.................................................................................................... 13

4. Launching a vCloud Air SQL Instance ............................................................................... 16

5. Working with Instances .................................................................................................. 20

4.1 View an Instance ............................................................................................................ 20

4.2 Edit an Instance ............................................................................................................. 20

4.3 Delete an Instance ......................................................................................................... 21

4.4 Retain and Recover a vCloud Air SQL Instance .............................................................. 21

4.4.1 Restore to a Point in Time .............................................................................. 22

4.4.2 Take a Snapshot ............................................................................................. 24

4.4.3 View a Snapshot ............................................................................................. 24

4.4.4 Restore a Snapshot ........................................................................................ 24

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4.4.5 Delete a Snapshot .......................................................................................... 25

4.5 Metering and Billing ...................................................................................................... 25

4.5.1 Billing Resources ............................................................................................ 25

4.5.2 Estimating Usage and Cost ............................................................................. 26

4.5.3 Viewing Usage ................................................................................................ 26

4.5.4 Viewing a Monthly Statement ....................................................................... 27

6. Terminology .................................................................................................................. 28

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About This Reference Guide

Introducing vCloud Air SQL

1.1 What is a vCloud Air SQL instance?

VMware® vCloud® Air™ SQL is a database-as-a-service offering that provides easy access to cloud-hosted SQL Server Instances. The service offers fully managed and isolated SQL Server instances, with automated administrative capabilities that free you to focus on business priorities.

Delivered in a cost-efficient pay-as-you-go model, and built on the trusted foundation of vSphere, vCloud Air SQL enables hybrid data solutions that seamlessly and securely extend on-premises SQL Server instances to the cloud. vCloud Air SQL currently supports Microsoft SQL Server, with a variety of memory, compute, and storage options.

Intended Audience

This document is intended for datacenter administrators managing vCloud Air SQL, database administrators maintaining databases in the datacenter, and for software engineers using a vCloud Air SQL instance to host application databases.

1.2 What can I do with it?

1.3 What are the licensing requirements?

You can add multiple databases to a SQL Server instance using SQL Server management tools. Why put multiple databases in an instance? A high-traffic application might use a multiple database strategy to avoid log file contention. SQL Server has a different approach. In a SQL Server production environment there is typically one database per SQL Enterprise Server instance. The SQL Server approach is to partition the monolithic database rather than creating multiple databases. vCloud Air SQL supports both strategies.

vCloud Air SQL

vCloud Air SQL is a database-as-a-service offering that simplifies creating, maintaining, and accessing Microsoft SQL Server instances in the Cloud. A vCloud Air SQL instance is an isolated, virtual instance of Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise that can "host" many databases.

vCloud Air SQL DR (planned)

vCloud Air SQL DR is the first cloud-based disaster recovery solution for on-premises SQL Server instances. To implement disaster recovery (DR), vCloud Air establishes a connection between an on-premises SQL Enterprise Server and a vCloud Air SQL instance, forming a DR cluster. In the cluster the source (or "primary") instance on-premises is mirrored to the secondary instance. Asynchronous replication offers full protection from catastrophic failures and unplanned outages (failover) and planned maintenance outages (switchover). You can maintain SQL Server Instance availability with RPOs (recovery point objectives) measured in fractions of a second and RTOs (recovery time objectives) measured in seconds, based on manual failover response time.

If you are already using VMware virtualization in your datacenter (vSphere), vCloud Air SQL is an opportunity to:

• Move an on-premises SQL Server instance to the cloud.

• Create hybrid applications that extend on-premises workloads to the cloud.

• Convert hybrid applications to cloud-native applications.

• Quickly set up a cloud development environment.

In Early Access the only licensing option is to bring your own licenses (BYOL). For BYOL you need to review the terms and conditions for each license you bring. If you are bringing an on-premises SQL Server instance to the cloud, you typically need the same number of licenses you would use on a physical server, as dictated by your organization's service level agreements. It is your responsibility to:

• Provide the correct license edition, version, and SLA.

o Software assurance coverage must be active o Licenses must remain active and they cannot be used anywhere else o Supported versions are Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise Edition Version 2008 R2 or 2012

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SQL Server License Mobility and VMware® vCloud® Air™ SQL

Product:

SQL Server (Per Processor)

Edition:

Enterprise

Quantity to Deploy:

Number of database instances * 4

License Mobility References

o If you have license versions more recent than 2012, you can potentially use them for

vCloud Air SQL because Software Assurance coverage confers downgrade rights.

• Calculate the number of licenses you need to cover the virtual CPUs hosting your SQL Server

instance. This calculation depends on the licensing model associated with your licenses, and any service level agreements you have with your license vendor.

Consult your Microsoft license vendor for assistance in determining which licenses are suitable to bring to vCloud Air SQL.

See SQL Server License Mobility and VMware® vCloud® Air™ SQL for a description of your responsibilities. Also, see the next section, License Mobility References.

1.3.1

Microsoft SQL Server license requirements are set out in the Microsoft Product Use Rights (PUR), which can be found on the Microsoft Website.

You are responsible for obtaining and maintaining the licenses required to support any SQL Server instances you create using vCloud Air SQL, and for complying with all applicable Microsoft licensing terms and policies.

VMware vCloud Air SQL provides the option to bring your own SQL Server licenses (available in Early Access) and using licenses VMware owns (is planned for the future). Both solutions are possible because VMware is a Microsoft Authorized Mobility Partner. VMware supports Microsoft Software Assurance, specifically the License Mobility through Software Assurance benefit. License Mobility through Software

Assurance support can vary depending on your SQL Server editions, versions, and any service plans or

volume licensing agreements your organization has in place. All these factors affect how you can legally use your licenses.

Fill out the Microsoft license verification form

• For the "Authorized Mobility Partner Email Address" supply Inbound.licensing@vmware.com

• On Exhibit A, make the following selections:

and submit it to your license provider:

1.3.2

The following documents discuss license mobility and Microsoft's licensing policies.

• VMware whitepaper, "Use Your Microsoft Software Licenses in the Cloud"

• Microsoft brief on "Licensing Microsoft server products in virtual environments"

• Microsoft Software Assurance Overview

• Microsoft License Mobility through Software Assurance, Customer Verification Guide

• Microsoft 2012 Server and cloud pricing and licensing page, SQL Server Virtualization Licensing

Guide

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1.4 Preparing to Use vCloud Air SQL

1.5 Obtain an OnDemand Account

This section discusses how to sign up for the Early Access version of the service. You need a Virtual

Private Cloud OnDemand account. This is a housekeeping requirement that implements the flexible pay-

as-you-go model and supports the rapid creation of fully managed SQL Server instances. Your account must have the OnDemand Account Administrator role. Once you obtain an OnDemand account

Note that during Early Access the registration process can take several days if you do not have a preexisting vCloud Air account.

you can

If you already have an OnDemand account, proceed to Sign Up for the vCloud Air SQL Service.

1. Before registering for Virtual Private Cloud OnDemand account you must have:

1. A valid email account. You will receive your invitation to the service via this account.

2. A payment method, such as a credit card, or Subscription Purchasing Program

Credits. Visit How to Buy VMware Products and Support to inquire about SPP.

2. If you are new to vCloud Air, sign up for an OnDemand account. Go

to https://signupvcloud.vmware.com

1. Login, or create an account, if necessary.

2. Fill out the application and click submit.

3. You’ll receive an email when the account is activated.

3. Verify that your OnDemand account role is account administrator. If it is not, your organization's

administrator must assign this role to you. See vCloud Air SQL Roles.

4. Make note of your OnDemand account service IDs.

Log into your OnDemand account and go to Tools > Service Credits and look for a 10-character letter and number string that starts with M. Alternatively, you can hover over the OnDemand tile until the related service IDs are displayed.

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1.6 Sign Up for the vCloud Air SQL Service

1.7 Understand vCloud Air SQL Security

Before signing up, verify that your OnDemand account has the Account Administrator role, and be sure to have your service ID, as described in Obtain an OnDemand Account.

• Visit vCloud Air SQL at http://www.vmware.com/cloud-services/develop/vcloud-air-sql.html

Click the yellow Sign Up button.

• Fill out the application and click Submit. You might get a response that the Early Access program

• You will receive an invitation email from NoReply@vca.vmware.com.

• Submit an acceptance.

• You will eventually receive a notice that your account is activated, and you are given the role

Policy Administrator. See vCloud Air SQL Roles.

Note: This is the start of the billing cycle if your account is new. If you had an existing OnDemand account the service is added to the billing cycle in progress.

Figure 1 depicts a high-level view of vCloud Air. On the left is an on-premises data center connecting

through the cloud to vCloud Air. Within vCloud Air we have a virtual data center (vDC) created with the OnDemand service, and the vCloud Air SQL service. Both the vDC and vCloud Air SQL are isolated network spaces that can use the internal Service Network to communicate.

vCloud Air SQL security is built in at the network level, where you can restrict IP addresses and gateway access at the service level or the instance level. You can also secure access at the server and instance level with vCloud Air SQL user roles. Finally, vCloud Air SQL instances can interact with SQL Server user authentication.

Figure1: vCloud Air SQL Architecture Overview

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The Service Network

vCloud Air SQL Roles

1.7.1

As shown in Figure 1, a vDC is an isolated, addressable network space used to create an isolated network of virtual machines (VMs). Your organization can create many vDCs in vCloud Air. The Virtual Private Cloud OnDemand platform supplies compute, storage, and network resources to VMs in the vDC. vCloud Air SQL creates a single isolated network of SQL Server instances. You specify the compute characteristics and the amount of storage, and vCloud Air SQL manages licenses and network resources, and configures recovery options according to your specification.

Each vDC is accessed through a single IP address, and the same is true for vCloud Air SQL. As shown in Figure 1, vCloud Air uses an internal service network to connect vDCs and vCloud Air SQL, allowing VMs and vCloud Air SQL instances to talk to each other and the outside world. You must configure access both to the service network, and from any external source, such as a VM. Because a vDC is isolated by default, exposing it to the service network is a required step. See Enabling the Service

Network.

1.7.2

In vCloud Air SQL user roles can be assigned at the vCloud Air SQL service level, or to a specific instance.

Service level accounts are Administration Level roles. A vCloud Air Administrator, or a vCloud Air SQL administrator with the PolicyAdmin role can assign one of the predefined service level roles to your user account, which is identified by email address. Note that when you obtain a new OnDemand account you have the Account Administrator role by default, which automatically gives you the vCloud Air SQL PolicyAdmin role. You can assign vCloud Air SQL Service Level roles to your account and to others.

In Table 1, C | R | U | D refers to Create, Read, Update (edit), and Delete permissions. Typically a user should have only one of these roles.

• PolicyAdmin is a powerful role that allows you to grant access and work with instances.

PolicyAdmin can also read the service plan and view instance resource usage.

• The DBAdmin role is sufficient to support most vCloud Air SQL users. As a DBAdmin you can

create an instance, and as the instance owner you have the permissions in Table 2, including the ability to grant access to other users.

• The SnapshotAdmin can view everyone's instances in order to manage snapshots. He cannot

read or modify an instance, although he can create a new instance while recovering a snapshot, or performing a point-in-time-recovery. The SnapshotAdmin becomes the owner of the recovered instance.

Table 1: Service Level Administration Permissions

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