An Azure SQL service tier that pairs a single compute node with remote storage. Compared with Business Critical it has higher latency and lacks a synchronous replica.
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In the Ultra Transcenders books
Each book explains General Purpose in context, with comparison tables and the common traps.
Terms in this definition
- Auditing
Azure SQL capability that sends database audit logs to Log Analytics, Event Hubs or a storage account; that account is allowed to be in a different region.
- Archive
Offline access tier for blobs, cheapest to store yet dearest to access. Reading a blob means rehydrating it first, which can take as long as 15 hours.
- General-purpose v1
The older storage account kind (
Storage), which lacks access tiers, Archive and premium file shares and retires on 13 October 2026. Converting to ZRS requires first upgrading to GPv2, a one-way change. - Business Critical
Azure SQL vCore tier offering the lowest latency by running Always On replicas on local SSD, plus zone-redundant failover that loses no data; serverless isn't offered.
- Azure AI Search replica
Additional copy of a search service's engine and indexes. Replicas spread queries for load balancing and improve availability, so adding them is the fix when queries are throttled with HTTP 503.
Related terms
- MySQL Flexible Server
Option for running Azure Database for MySQL. Burstable lacks zone-redundant high availability, which is available only on the General Purpose and Business Critical tiers.
- Serverless
Compute tier for single Azure SQL databases that scales automatically, pauses when idle and charges by the second. It is offered in General Purpose and Hyperscale, not Business Critical, and reserved capacity does not apply.