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In the fall of 2018, we announced the general availability (GA) of Azure Database for MariaDB. Since that release five years ago, we’ve invested time and resources in Azure Database for MariaDB to further extend our commitment to the open-source community by providing valuable, enterprise-ready features of Azure for use on open-source database instances.
In November 2021 we released Flexible Server, the next-generation deployment option for Azure Database for MySQL. As we continue to invest in Azure Database for MySQL and focus our efforts on Flexible Server to make it the best destination for your open-source MySQL workloads, we’ve decided to retire the Azure Database for MariaDB service in two years (September 2025). This will help us focus on Azure Database for MySQL – Flexible Server to ensure that we are providing the best user experience for our customers.
Azure Database for MySQL – Flexible Server has enhanced features, performance, an improved architecture, and more controls to manage costs across all service tiers when compared to Azure Database for MariaDB. As a result, we encourage you to migrate to Azure Database for MySQL – Flexible Server before the Azure MariaDB retirement to experience the new capabilities of the service, including:
- More ways to optimize costs, including support for burstable tier compute options.
- Improved performance for business-critical production workloads that require low latency, high concurrency, fast failover, and high scalability.
- Improved uptime with the ability to configure a hot standby on the same or a different zone, and a one-hour time window for planned server maintenance.
For more information about Flexible Server, see the article Azure Database for MySQL – Flexible Server.
Migrate from Azure Database for MariaDB to Azure Database for MySQL – Flexible Server
For information about how you can migrate your Azure Database for MariaDB server to Azure Database for MySQL – Flexible Server, see the blog post Migrating from Azure Database for MariaDB to Azure Database for MySQL.
Retirement announcement FAQs
We understand that you may have a lot of questions about what this announcement means for your Azure Database for MariaDB workloads. As a result, we’ve added several “frequently asked questions” in the article What’s happening to Azure Database for MariaDB?
For quick reference, we’ve included a few key questions and answers below.
Q. Why am I being asked to migrate to Azure Database for MySQL – Flexible Server
A. There’s a high application compatibility between Azure Database for MariaDB and Azure Database for MySQL, as MariaDB was forked from MySQL. Azure Database for MySQL – Flexible Server is the best platform for running all your MySQL workloads on Azure. MySQL- Flexible Server is economical and provides better performance across all service tiers, together with more ways to control your costs for less costly and faster disaster recovery.
Q. After the Azure Database for MariaDB retirement announcement, can I still create new MariaDB servers to meet my business needs?
A. As part of this retirement, we’ll no longer support the ability to create new MariaDB instances by using Azure portal beginning on December 19, 2023. If you do still need to create MariaDB instances to meet business continuity needs, you can use the Azure CLI to do so until March 19, 2024.
Q. Can I choose to continue running Azure Database for MariaDB beyond the sunset date?
A. Unfortunately, we don’t plan to support Azure Database for MariaDB beyond the sunset date of September 19, 2025. As a result, we advise you to start planning your migration as soon as possible.
Q. I have additional questions about the retirement. How can I find out more?
A. If you have questions, get answers from community experts in Microsoft Q&A. If you have a support plan and you need technical help, create a support request that includes the following information:
- For Issue type, select Technical.
- For Subscription, select your subscription.
- For Service, select My services.
- For Service type, select Azure Database for MariaDB.
- For Resource, select your resource.
- For Problem type, select Migration.
- For Problem subtype, select Migrating from Azure for MariaDB to Azure for MySQL Flexible Server.
If you have questions about the information in this post, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at AskAzureDBforMariaDB@service.microsoft.com. Thank you!
Brought to you by Dr. Ware, Microsoft Office 365 Silver Partner, Charleston SC.
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