/ Field Notes — series

Database Architecture

Twenty-one editions on SQL Server mechanisms and the operating boundaries of Azure SQL and Amazon RDS for SQL Server: performance evidence, identity, availability, recovery and migration.

Editions
21
Written by
Neeraj Kumar
Published
1 of 21
Running
October 29, 2026 — October 29, 2026
Original Veltheon logical illustration of engine versus service ownership; explanatory labels over generic infrastructure, not a recording of a customer environment.
October 29, 20263 min read

No. 01 The SQL engine is familiar. The operating model may not be.

The database engine name does not tell you who operates it. SQL Server on a VM, Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance and Amazon RDS have different management and feature boundaries. A managed service does not automatically tune the application or expose full host and sysadmin control.

DatabasesSQL ServerArchitecture
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