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Applies to: ✅ SQL database in Microsoft Fabric
Current limitations in the SQL database in Fabric are listed in this page. This page is subject to change.
Azure SQL Database and SQL database in Microsoft Fabric share a common code base with the latest stable version of the Microsoft SQL Database Engine. Most of the standard SQL language, query processing, and database management features are identical.
This article applies to SQL database in Fabric only. For the warehouse and SQL analytics endpoint items in Fabric Data Warehouse, see Limitations of Fabric Data Warehouse.
Important
This feature is in preview.
Database level limitations
- SQL database in Fabric uses storage encryption with service-managed keys to protect all customer data at rest. Customer-managed keys are not supported. Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) is not supported.
- In a trial capacity, you are limited to three databases. There is no limit on databases in other capacities.
- Each database in the workspace must have a unique name. If a database is deleted, another cannot be re-created with the same name.
Table level
- A table primary key cannot be one of these data types: hierarchyid, sql_variant, timestamp.
- If one or more columns in the table is of type Large Binary Object (LOB) with a size > 1 MB, the column data is truncated to size of 1 MB in Fabric OneLake.
- Currently, tables cannot be in-memory tables.
- Full-text indexing is not supported and cannot be created in SQL database in Microsoft Fabric.
- The following table-level data definition language (DDL) operations aren't allowed:
- Switch/Split/Merge partition
- Partition compression
Column level
- Column names for a SQL table cannot contain spaces nor the following characters:
,;{}()\n\t=.
SQL analytics endpoint limitations
The SQL analytics endpoint of the SQL database in Fabric works just like the Lakehouse SQL analytics endpoint. It is the same read-only experience.
Connection policy
Currently, the only supported connection policy for SQL database in Microsoft Fabric is Redirect. In the Redirect policy, clients establish connections directly to the node hosting the database, leading to reduced latency and improved throughput.
For connections to use this mode, clients need to:
Allow outbound communication from the client to all Azure SQL IP addresses in the region on ports in the range of 11000 to 11999. Use the Service Tags for SQL to make this easier to manage. Refer to the Azure IP Ranges and Service Tags – Public Cloud for a list of your region's IP addresses to allow.
Allow outbound communication from the client to Azure SQL gateway IP addresses on port 1433.
For more information, see Connectivity architecture - Connection policy.
Availability
SQL database in Fabric is available in most regions where Microsoft Fabric is available. The region of your workspace based on the license capacity, which is displayed in Workspace settings, in the License info page. For more information, see Fabric availability.
Mirroring of SQL database in Fabric is available in Fabric regions that support mirroring.
Features of Azure SQL Database and Fabric SQL database
The following table lists the major features of SQL Server and provides information about whether the feature is partially or fully supported in Azure SQL Database and SQL database in Fabric, with a link to more information about the feature.
| Feature | Azure SQL Database | Fabric SQL database |
|---|---|---|
| Database compatibility level | 100 - 170 | Currently, 170 |
| Accelerated database recovery (ADR) | Yes | Yes |
| Always Encrypted | Yes | No |
| Application roles | Yes | No |
| Microsoft Entra authentication | Yes | Yes |
| BACKUP command | No, only system-initiated automatic backups | No, only system-initiated automatic backups |
| Built-in functions | Most, see individual functions | Most, see individual functions |
| BULK INSERT statement | Yes, but just from Azure Blob storage as a source. | No |
| Certificates and asymmetric keys | Yes | Yes |
| Change data capture - CDC | Yes, for S3 tier and above. Basic, S0, S1, S2 aren't supported. | No |
| Collation - database collation | By default, SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS. Set on database creation and can't be updated. Collations on individual columns are supported. |
By default, SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS and can't be updated. Collations on individual columns are supported. |
| Column encryption | Yes | Yes |
| Columnstore indexes, clustered | Yes - Premium tier, Standard tier - S3 and above, General Purpose tier, Business Critical, and Hyperscale tiers. | Yes, but the table cannot be mirrored to OneLake. |
| Columnstore indexes, nonclustered | Yes - Premium tier, Standard tier - S3 and above, General Purpose tier, Business Critical, and Hyperscale tiers. | Yes |
| Credentials | Yes, but only database scoped credentials. | Yes, but only database scoped credentials. |
| Cross-database/three-part name queries | No, see Elastic queries | Yes, you can do cross-database three-part name queries via the SQL analytics endpoint. |
| Data classification and labeling | Yes, via Database discovery and classification | Yes, with database labeling with Microsoft Purview Information Protection sensitivity labels |
| Database mirroring to Fabric OneLake | Yes, manually enabled | Yes, automatically enabled for all eligible tables |
| Database-level roles | Yes | Yes. In addition to Transact-SQL support, Fabric supports managing database-level roles in Fabric portal. |
| DBCC statements | Most, see individual statements | Most, see individual statements |
| DDL statements | Most, see individual statements | Most, see individual statements. See Limitations in Fabric SQL database. |
| DDL triggers | Database only | Database only |
| Distributed transactions - MS DTC | No, see Elastic transactions | No |
| DML triggers | Most, see individual statements | Most, see individual statements |
| Dynamic data masking | Yes | Yes |
| Elastic database client library | Yes | No |
| Elastic query | Yes, with required RDBMS type (preview) | No |
| EXECUTE AS | Yes, but EXECUTE AS LOGIN isn't supported - use EXECUTE AS USER |
No |
| Expressions | Yes | Yes |
| Extended events (XEvents) | Some, see Extended events in Azure SQL Database | Some |
| Files and file groups | Primary file group only | Primary file group only |
| Full-text search (FTS) | Yes, but third-party filters and word breakers aren't supported | No |
| Functions | Most, see individual functions | Most, see individual functions |
| Intelligent query processing | Yes | Yes |
| Language elements | Most, see individual elements | Most, see individual elements |
| Ledger | Yes | No |
| Linked servers | Yes, only as a target | Yes, only as a target |
| Logins and users | Yes, but CREATE and ALTER login statements are limited. Windows logins are not supported. |
Logins are not supported. Only users representing Microsoft Entra principals are supported. |
| Minimal logging in bulk import | No, only Full Recovery model is supported. | No, only Full Recovery model is supported. |
| OPENROWSET | Yes, only to import from Azure Blob storage | Yes, with OPENROWSET BULK function (preview) |
| Operators | Most, see individual operators | Most, see individual operators |
| Optimized locking | Yes | Yes |
| Recovery models | Full Recovery only | Full Recovery only |
| Restore database from backup | See Restore automated backups | See Restore automated backups |
| Restore database to SQL Server | No. Use BACPAC or BCP instead of restore. | No. Use BACPAC or BCP instead of restore. |
| Row level security | Yes | Yes |
| Service Broker | No | No |
| Server-level roles | Yes | No |
| Set statements | Most, see individual statements | Most, see individual statements |
| SQL Server Agent | No, see Elastic jobs | No, try scheduled Data Factory pipelines or Apache Airflow jobs |
| SQL Server Auditing | No, see Azure SQL Database auditing | No |
| System functions and dynamic management functions | Most, see individual functions | Most, see individual functions |
| System dynamic management views (DMV) | Most, see individual views | Most, see individual views |
| System stored procedures | Some, see individual stored procedures | Some, see individual stored procedures |
| System tables | Some, see individual tables | Some, see individual tables |
| System catalog views | Some, see individual views | Some, see individual views |
| TempDB | Yes | Yes |
| Temporary tables | Local and database-scoped global temporary tables | Local and database-scoped global temporary tables |
| Time zone choice | No | No |
| Trace flags | No | No |
| Transactional replication | Yes, subscriber only | Yes, subscriber only |
| Transparent data encryption (TDE) | Yes | No. Fabric SQL database uses storage encryption with service-managed keys to protect all customer data at rest. Currently, customer-managed keys are not supported. |
Platform capabilities
The Azure platform provides a number of PaaS capabilities that are added as an additional value to the standard database features. There are a number of external services that can be used with Azure SQL Database and SQL database in Fabric.
| Platform feature | Azure SQL Database | Fabric SQL database |
|---|---|---|
| Active geo-replication | Yes, see Active geo-replication | Not currently |
| Automatic backups | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic tuning (indexes) | Yes, see Automatic tuning | Yes |
| Availability zones | Yes | Yes, automatically configured |
| Azure Database Migration Service (DMS) | Yes | No |
| Data Migration Service (DMA) | Yes | No |
| Elastic jobs | Yes, see Elastic jobs | No |
| Failover groups | Yes, see failover groups | No |
| Geo-restore | Yes, see Geo-restore | No |
| Long-term retention (LTR) | Yes, see long-term retention | No |
| Pause/resume | Yes, in serverless | Yes, automatic |
| Public IP address | Yes. The access can be restricted using firewall or service endpoints | Yes, available by default |
| Point in time database restore | Yes, see Point-in-time restore | Yes |
| Resource pools | Yes, as Elastic pools | No |
| Scaling up or down | Yes, automatic in serverless, manual in provisioned compute | Yes, automatic |
| SQL Alias | No, use DNS Alias | No |
| SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) | No, Azure Analysis Services is a separate Azure cloud service. | No, Azure Analysis Services is a separate Azure cloud service. |
| SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) | Yes, with a managed SSIS in Azure Data Factory (ADF) environment, where packages are stored in SSISDB hosted by Azure SQL Database and executed on Azure SSIS Integration Runtime (IR), see Create Azure-SSIS IR in ADF. | No, instead use Data Factory in Microsoft Fabric. |
| SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) | No - see Power BI | No - see Power BI |
| Query performance monitoring | Yes, use Query performance insights | Yes, see Performance Dashboard |
| VNet | Partial, restricted access using VNet Endpoints | No |
| VNet Service endpoint | Yes, see virtual network service endpoints | No |
| VNet Global peering | Yes, using Private IP and service endpoints | No |
| Private connectivity | Yes, using Private Link | Yes, using Private links |
| Connectivity Policy | Redirect, Proxy, or Default | Redirect |
Resource limits
Note
These resource limits apply only to the current preview and may change before general availability.
| Category | Fabric SQL database limit |
|---|---|
| Compute size | Up to 32 vCores |
| Storage size | In the current preview, up to 4 TB |
| Tempdb size | Up to 1,024 GB |
| Log write throughput | In the current preview, up to 50 MB/s |
| Availability | See Fabric Reliability |
| Backups | Zone-redundant (ZRS) automatic backups with 7 days retention period (enabled by default). |
| Read-only replicas | Use the read-only SQL analytics endpoint for a read-only TDS SQL connection |
Tools
Azure SQL Database and SQL database in Fabric support various data tools that can help you manage your data.
| Tool | Azure SQL Database | Fabric SQL database |
|---|---|---|
| Azure CLI | Yes | No |
| Azure PowerShell | Yes | No |
| .bacpac export | Yes, see Azure SQL Database export | Yes, see SqlPackage for SQL database in Microsoft Fabric |
| .bacpac import | Yes, see Azure SQL Database import | Yes, see SqlPackage for SQL database in Microsoft Fabric |
| BCP | Yes | Yes |
| BICEP | Yes | No |
| Database watcher | Yes | Not currently |
| Data Factory in Microsoft Fabric connectors | Yes, see Azure SQL Database connector overview | Yes, see SQL database connector overview (Preview) |
| SMO | Yes, see SMO | Yes, see SMO |
| SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) | Yes | Yes (minimum version is Visual Studio 2022 17.12) |
| SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) | Yes | Yes |
| SQL Server PowerShell | Yes | Yes |
| SQL Server Profiler | No, see Extended events | No, see Extended events |
| sqlcmd | Yes | Yes |
| System Center Operations Manager | Yes, see Microsoft System Center Management Pack for Azure SQL Database. | No |
| Visual Studio Code | Yes | Yes |
| Visual Studio Code with the mssql extension | Yes | Yes |
Limitations
For more limitations in specific areas, see:
- Limitations and behaviors for Fabric SQL database mirroring (preview)
- Limitations in Authentication in SQL database in Microsoft Fabric
- Limitations in backups in SQL database in Microsoft Fabric
- Limitations in restore from a backup in SQL database in Microsoft Fabric
- Limitations in share your SQL database and manage permission.
- Limitations of Copilot for SQL database