Azure Resource Manager SQL Dotnet

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

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

AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID=<your-subscription-id>
# For service principal auth (optional)
AZURE_TENANT_ID=<tenant-id>
AZURE_CLIENT_ID=<client-id>
AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET=<client-secret>

Authentication

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

// Always use DefaultAzureCredential
var credential = new DefaultAzureCredential();
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

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

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

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

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

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

5. Configure Firewall Rules

// 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

// 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

// 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

Common SKUs

Database SKUs

Elastic Pool SKUs

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

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

Related SDKs

When to Use

Azure Resource Manager SDK for Azure SQL in .NET. Use for MANAGEMENT PLANE operations: creating/managing SQL servers, databases, elastic pools, firewall rules, and failover groups via Azure Resource Manager.

Covers: Azure.ResourceManager.Sql (.NET), Environment Variables, For service principal auth (optional), Authentication, Resource Hierarchy.