Merge pull request #35478 from MashaMSFT/fixes

Adding error 8169, updating SQL 25 known issues, fixing SQL VM language, clarifying update policy

Author: denrea

azure-sql/includes/sql-vm-deployment-failure.md

@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+---
+author: MashaMSFT
+ms.author: mathoma
+ms.date: 10/07/2025
+ms.service: sql
+ms.topic: include
+---
+> [!WARNING]
+> Placing `tempdb` on the local temp disk for Azure VM images with uninitialized ephemeral disks isn't supported. Deployments through the Azure portal might fail, and SQL Server can fail to start. Either use a different VM size, or place `tempdb` on non-ephemeral storage both when you deploy the SQL Server image through the Azure portal, and when you install SQL Server manually. To learn more, review [VM deployment and SQL Server failures](/troubleshoot/sql/azure-sql/sql-deployment-fails-drive-not-ready).

azure-sql/managed-instance/doc-changes-updates-release-notes-whats-new.md

@@ -71,10 +71,6 @@ The following table lists features of Azure SQL Managed Instance that have been
 |[Native Windows principals](native-windows-principals.md) | February 2025 | Use the new **Windows** authentication metadata mode to allow Windows authentication or Microsoft Entra authentication (using a Windows principal metadata) with Azure SQL Managed Instance. |
 |[Instance pools](instance-pools-overview.md) | November 2024 | Save on costs and share resources between multiple instances in a pool within a single virtual machine. A convenient and cost-efficient way to migrate smaller SQL Server instances to the cloud, and the only way to deploy a 2-vCore managed instance. |
 |[Microsoft Entra nonunique name support](../database/authentication-microsoft-entra-create-users-with-nonunique-names.md) | November 2024 | The [CREATE USER](/sql/t-sql/statements/create-user-transact-sql) Transact-SQL (T-SQL) syntax has been extended to include `WITH OBJECT_ID` to [support creating Microsoft Entra logins and users in Azure SQL Managed Instance](../database/authentication-microsoft-entra-create-users-with-nonunique-names.md) that have nonunique names. |
-|[Fail over a link with T-SQL](managed-instance-link-failover-how-to.md?tabs=tsql#fail-over-a-database) | October 2024 | You can now fail over a [Managed Instance link](managed-instance-link-feature-overview.md) by using Transact-SQL (T-SQL) commands. |
-|[Link from SQL MI to SQL Server](managed-instance-link-feature-overview.md) | October 2024 | Configure a link *from* Azure SQL Managed Instance to SQL Server 2022. |
-|[Two-way DR with SQL Server 2022](managed-instance-link-disaster-recovery.md) | October 2024 | In the event of a disaster, you can fail your SQL Server 2022 workloads to Azure SQL Managed Instance using the link, and then, once the disaster is mitigated, you can fail back to SQL Server. |
-|[CURRENT_DATE Transact-SQL](/sql/t-sql/functions/current-date-transact-sql) | August 2024 |  A Transact-SQL (T-SQL) function that returns the current database system date as a date value, without the database time and time zone offset. |
 
 
 ## Documentation changes

azure-sql/managed-instance/frequently-asked-questions-faq.yml

@@ -558,7 +558,7 @@ sections:
           | --- | --- |
           | Maximum password age | 42 days |
           | Minimum password age | One day |
-          | Minimum password length | 10 characters |
+          | Minimum password length | 14 characters |
           | Password must meet complexity requirements | Enabled |
 
       - question: Is it possible to disable password complexity and expiration in SQL Managed Instance at the login level?

azure-sql/managed-instance/instance-create-quickstart.md

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ description: Create Azure SQL Managed Instance by using the Azure portal, PowerS
 author: vladai78
 ms.author: vladiv
 ms.reviewer: mathoma
-ms.date: 08/25/2025
+ms.date: 10/25/2025
 ms.service: azure-sql-managed-instance
 ms.subservice: deployment-configuration
 ms.topic: quickstart
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ The following table provides details for information on the **Additional setting
    | **Time zone** | Select the time zone that SQL managed instance observes.|For more information, see [Time zones in Azure SQL Managed Instance](timezones-overview.md).|
    | **Geo-Replication** | Select **No**. | Only enable this option if you plan to use the SQL managed instance as a failover group secondary.|
    | **Maintenance window** | Choose a suitable maintenance window. | Designate a schedule for when your instance is [maintained](../database/maintenance-window.md) by the service. | 
+   | **Update policy** | Select a suitable update policy. | The update policy determines how and when updates are applied to your SQL managed instance. For more information, see [Update policy](update-policy.md). The default option is **SQL Server 2022**, but you can choose the **SQL Server 2025** or **Always-up-to-date** update policy.|
 
 Select **Review + create** to review your choices before you create a SQL managed instance. Or, configure Azure Tags by selecting **Next: Tags** (recommended).
 

azure-sql/managed-instance/sql-managed-instance-paas-overview.md

@@ -321,7 +321,7 @@ The following table shows several properties, accessible through Transact-SQL, t
 | `SERVERPROPERTY('Edition')` | SQL Azure | This value is same as in SQL Database. |
 | `SERVERPROPERTY('EngineEdition')` | 8 | This value uniquely identifies a managed instance. |
 | `@@SERVERNAME`, `SERVERPROPERTY('ServerName')` | Full instance DNS name in the following format:`<instanceName>`.`<dnsPrefix>`.database.windows.net, where `<instanceName>` is name provided by the customer, while `<dnsPrefix>` is autogenerated part of the name guaranteeing global DNS name uniqueness ("wcus17662feb9ce98", for example) | Example: my-managed-instance.wcus17662feb9ce98.database.windows.net |
-| `SERVERPROPERTY('ProductUpdateType')` | CU, or Continuous | Update cadence the instance follows. Corresponds to the Azure SQL Managed Instance [update policy](/azure/azure-sql/managed-instance/update-policy).<br /><br />CU = Updates are deployed via cumulative updates (CUs) for the corresponding major SQL Server release (**SQL Server 2022** update policy).<br />Continuous = New features are brought to Azure SQL Managed Instance as soon as they're available, independent of the SQL Server release cadence (**Always-up-to-date** update policy). |
+| `SERVERPROPERTY('ProductUpdateType')` | CU, or Continuous | Update cadence the instance follows. Corresponds to the Azure SQL Managed Instance [update policy](update-policy.md).<br /><br />CU = Updates are deployed via cumulative updates (CUs) for the corresponding major SQL Server release (**SQL Server 2022**, or **SQL Server 2025** update policy).<br />Continuous = New features are brought to Azure SQL Managed Instance as soon as they're available, independent of the SQL Server release cadence (**Always-up-to-date** update policy). |
 
 ## Related content
 

azure-sql/managed-instance/update-policy.md

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ description: Use the update policy setting in Azure SQL Managed Instance to cont
 author: MladjoA
 ms.author: mlandzic
 ms.reviewer: mathoma
-ms.date: 09/15/2025
+ms.date: 10/15/2025
 ms.service: azure-sql-managed-instance
 ms.subservice: deployment-configuration
 ms.topic: how-to
@@ -122,15 +122,28 @@ To change the update policy for an existing instance in the Azure portal, follow
 
 ### [PowerShell](#tab/powershell)
 
-Set `DatabaseFormat` = `AlwaysUpToDate` when you update an existing SQL managed instance with the [Set-AzSqlInstance](/powershell/module/az.sql/set-azsqlinstance#example-9-update-an-existing-instance-with-database-format-and-pricing-model) PowerShell command to configure your instance to use the **Always-up-to-date** update policy. 
+Set `DatabaseFormat` when you update an existing SQL managed instance with the [Set-AzSqlInstance](/powershell/module/az.sql/set-azsqlinstance#example-9-update-an-existing-instance-with-database-format-and-pricing-model) PowerShell command to configure your instance to use the desired update policy. 
+
+To configure the update policy, set `DatabaseFormat` to one of the following values:
+- `SqlServer2025` to enable the **SQL Server 2025** update policy.
+- `AlwaysUpToDate` to enable the **Always-up-to-date** update policy.
 
 ### [Azure CLI](#tab/azure-cli)
 
-Set `--database-format` = `AlwaysUpToDate` when you update an existing SQL managed instance with the [az sql mi update](/cli/azure/sql/mi#az-sql-mi-update:~:text=Update%20mi%20database%20format%20and%20pricing%20model) Azure CLI command to configure your instance to use the **Always-up-to-date** update policy. 
+Set `--database-format` when you update an existing SQL managed instance with the [az sql mi update](/cli/azure/sql/mi#az-sql-mi-update:~:text=Update%20mi%20database%20format%20and%20pricing%20model) Azure CLI command to configure your instance to use the desired update policy.
+
+To configure the update policy, set `--database-format` to one of the following values:
+- `SqlServer2025` to enable the **SQL Server 2025** update policy.
+- `AlwaysUpToDate` to enable the **Always-up-to-date** update policy.
+
 
 ### [REST API](#tab/rest-api)
 
-Set `databaseFormat` = `AlwaysUpToDate` when you update an existing SQL managed instance with the [Managed Instances - Create Or Update](/rest/api/sql/managed-instances/create-or-update#create-managed-instance-with-all-properties) REST API command to configure your instance to use the **Always-up-to-date** update policy. 
+Set `databaseFormat` when you update an existing SQL managed instance with the [Managed Instances - Create Or Update](/rest/api/sql/managed-instances/create-or-update#create-managed-instance-with-all-properties) REST API command to configure your instance to use the desired update policy. 
+
+To configure the update policy, set `databaseFormat` to one of the following values:
+- `SqlServer2025` to enable the **SQL Server 2025** update policy.
+- `AlwaysUpToDate` to enable the **Always-up-to-date** update policy.
 
 ---
 
@@ -160,15 +173,27 @@ To create a new SQL managed instance with the **Always-up-to-date** policy in th
 
 ### [PowerShell](#tab/powershell)
 
-Set `DatabaseFormat` = `AlwaysUpToDate` when you create a new SQL managed instance with the [New-AzSqlInstance](/powershell/module/az.sql/new-azsqlinstance#example-10-create-a-new-instance-with-database-format-and-pricing-model) PowerShell command to create a new instance with the **Always-up-to-date** update policy. 
+Set `DatabaseFormat` = `AlwaysUpToDate` when you create a new SQL managed instance with the [New-AzSqlInstance](/powershell/module/az.sql/new-azsqlinstance#example-10-create-a-new-instance-with-database-format-and-pricing-model) PowerShell command to create a new instance with the desired update policy.
+
+To configure the update policy, set `DatabaseFormat` to one of the following values:
+- `SqlServer2025` to enable the **SQL Server 2025** update policy.
+- `AlwaysUpToDate` to enable the **Always-up-to-date** update policy.
 
 ### [Azure CLI](#tab/azure-cli)
 
-Set `--database-format` = `AlwaysUpToDate` when you create a new SQL managed instance with the [az sql mi create](/cli/azure/sql/mi#az-sql-mi-create:~:text=Create%20managed%20instance%20with%20database%20format%20and%20pricing%20model) Azure CLI command to create a new instance with the **Always-up-to-date** update policy. 
+Set `--database-format` = `AlwaysUpToDate` when you create a new SQL managed instance with the [az sql mi create](/cli/azure/sql/mi#az-sql-mi-create:~:text=Create%20managed%20instance%20with%20database%20format%20and%20pricing%20model) Azure CLI command to create a new instance with the desired update policy.
+
+To configure the update policy, set `--database-format` to one of the following values:
+- `SqlServer2025` to enable the **SQL Server 2025** update policy.
+- `AlwaysUpToDate` to enable the **Always-up-to-date** update policy.
 
 ### [REST API](#tab/rest-api)
 
-Set `databaseFormat` = `AlwaysUpToDate` when you create a new SQL managed instance with the [Managed Instances - Create Or Update](/rest/api/sql/managed-instances/create-or-update#create-managed-instance-with-all-properties) REST API command to create a new instance with the **Always-up-to-date** update policy. 
+Set `databaseFormat` when you create a new SQL managed instance with the [Managed Instances - Create Or Update](/rest/api/sql/managed-instances/create-or-update#create-managed-instance-with-all-properties) REST API command to create a new instance with the desired update policy. 
+
+To configure the update policy, set `DatabaseFormat` to one of the following values:
+- `SqlServer2025` to enable the **SQL Server 2025** update policy.
+- `AlwaysUpToDate` to enable the **Always-up-to-date** update policy.
 
 ---
 
@@ -185,7 +210,7 @@ select serverproperty('ProductUpdateType')
 ```
 
 The following values for `ProductUpdateType` indicate the update policy for the current instance: 
-- `CU`: Updates are deployed via cumulative updates (CUs) for the corresponding major SQL Server release (**SQL Server 2022** update policy)
+- `CU`: Updates are deployed via cumulative updates (CUs) for the corresponding major SQL Server release (**SQL Server 2022**, or **SQL Server 2025** update policy)
 - `Continuous`: New features are brought to Azure SQL Managed Instance as soon as they're available, independent of the SQL Server release cadence (**Always-up-to-date** update policy)
 
 ## Related content

azure-sql/toc.yml

@@ -506,6 +506,8 @@
         href: database/business-continuity-high-availability-disaster-recover-hadr-overview.md
       - name: High availability
         href: database/high-availability-sla-local-zone-redundancy.md
+      - name: Reliability
+        href: /azure/reliability/reliability-sql-database?toc=/azure/azure-sql/toc.json
       - name: HA/DR checklist
         href: database/high-availability-disaster-recovery-checklist.md
       - name: Automated backups

azure-sql/virtual-machines/linux/frequently-asked-questions-faq.yml

@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ sections:
       - question: |
           What SQL Server virtual machine gallery images are available?
         answer: |
-             Azure maintains virtual machine (VM) images for all supported major releases of SQL Server on all editions for both Linux and Windows. For more information, see the complete list of [Linux VM images](sql-server-on-linux-vm-what-is-iaas-overview.md#create) and [Windows VM images](../windows/sql-server-on-azure-vm-iaas-what-is-overview.md#licensing).
+             Azure maintains virtual machine (VM) images for all supported major releases of SQL Server on all editions for both Linux and Windows. For more information, see the complete list of [Linux VM images](sql-server-on-linux-vm-what-is-iaas-overview.md#create) and [Windows VM images](../windows/sql-server-on-azure-vm-iaas-what-is-overview.md#sql-vm-images-and-licensing).
           
       - question: |
           Are existing SQL Server virtual machine gallery images updated?

azure-sql/virtual-machines/linux/sql-vm-create-portal-quickstart.md

@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ If you're running on Windows and don't have a BASH shell, install an SSH client,
 
 1. Select **Open** and enter your username and password at the prompts.
 
-For more information about connecting to Linux VMs, see [Create a Linux VM on Azure using the Portal](/azure/virtual-machines/linux/quick-create-portal).
+For more information about connecting to Linux VMs, see [Create a Linux VM on Azure using the Azure portal](/azure/virtual-machines/linux/quick-create-portal).
 
 > [!NOTE]  
 > If you see a PuTTY security alert about the server's host key not being cached in the registry, choose from the following options. If you trust this host, select **Yes** to add the key to PuTTy's cache and continue connecting. If you want to carry on connecting just once, without adding the key to the cache, select **No**. If you don't trust this host, select **Cancel** to abandon the connection.

azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/create-sql-vm-portal.md

@@ -29,12 +29,12 @@ An Azure subscription. Create a [free account](https://azure.microsoft.com/prici
 
 Use the Azure Marketplace to choose one of several pre-configured images from the virtual machine gallery.
 
-The Developer edition is used in this article because it's a full-featured, free edition of SQL Server for development testing. You pay only for the cost of running the VM. However, you're free to choose any of the images to use in this walkthrough. For a description of available images, see the [SQL Server Windows Virtual Machines overview](sql-server-on-azure-vm-iaas-what-is-overview.md#licensing).
+The Developer edition is used in this article because it's a full-featured, free edition of SQL Server for development testing. You pay only for the cost of running the VM. However, you're free to choose any of the images to use in this walkthrough. For a description of available images, see the [SQL Server Windows Virtual Machines overview](sql-server-on-azure-vm-iaas-what-is-overview.md#sql-vm-images-and-licensing).
 
 > [!NOTE]  
 > SQL Server 2025 Preview introduces separate Enterprise Developer and Standard Developer editions of SQL Server.
 
-Licensing costs for SQL Server are incorporated into the per-second pricing of the VM you create and varies by edition and cores. However, SQL Server Developer edition is free for development and testing but not production. Also, SQL Express is free for lightweight workloads (less than 1 GB of memory, less than 10 GB of storage). You can also bring-your-own-license (BYOL) and pay only for the VM. Those image names are prefixed with {BYOL}. For more information on these options, see [Pricing guidance for SQL Server Azure VMs](pricing-guidance.md).
+Licensing costs for SQL Server are incorporated into the per-second pricing of the VM you create and varies by edition and cores. However, SQL Server Developer edition is free for development and testing but not production. Also, SQL Express is free for lightweight workloads (less than 1 GB of memory, less than 10 GB of storage). You can also allocate your SQL Server license to your SQL Server on Azure VM with the [Azure Hybrid Benefit](sql-server-on-azure-vm-iaas-what-is-overview.md#azure-hybrid-benefit) and pay only for the VM. For more information on these options, see [Pricing guidance for SQL Server Azure VMs](pricing-guidance.md).
 
 To choose an image, follow these steps:
 
@@ -49,6 +49,8 @@ To choose an image, follow these steps:
 
 ## Basic settings
 
+[!INCLUDE [sql-vm-deployment-failure](../../includes/sql-vm-deployment-failure.md)]
+
 The **Basics** tab allows you to select the subscription, resource group, and instance details.
 
 Using a new resource group is helpful if you're just testing or learning about SQL Server deployments in Azure. After you finish with your test, delete the resource group to automatically delete the VM and all resources associated with that resource group. For more information about resource groups, see [Azure Resource Manager Overview](/azure/active-directory-b2c/overview).