The following general guidelines can help you choose the right service tier and characteristics of SQL Managed Instance to help match your [performance baseline](sql-server-to-managed-instance-performance-baseline.md):

|Technology | Description|

|---------|---------|

| [Azure Migrate](../../../migrate/how-to-create-azure-sql-assessment.md) | This Azure service helps you discover and assess your SQL data estate at scale on VMware. It provides Azure SQL deployment recommendations, target sizing, and monthly estimates. |

|[Native backup and restore](../../managed-instance/restore-sample-database-quickstart.md) | SQL Managed Instance supports restore of native SQL Server database backups (.bak files). It's the easiest migration option for customers who can provide full database backups to Azure Storage.|

|[Log Replay Service](../../managed-instance/log-replay-service-migrate.md) | This cloud service is enabled for SQL Managed Instance based on SQL Server log-shipping technology. It's a migration option for customers who can provide full, differential, and log database backups to Azure Storage. Log Replay Service is used to restore backup files from Azure Blob Storage to SQL Managed Instance.|

|[Managed Instance link](../../managed-instance/managed-instance-link-feature-overview.md) | This feature enables online migration to Managed Instance using Always On technology. It’s a migration option for customers who require database on Managed Instance to be accessible in R/O mode while migration is in progress, who need to keep the migration running for prolonged periods of time (weeks or months at the time), who require true online replication to Business Critical service tier, and for customers who require the most performant minimum downtime migration. |

|Migration option |When to use |Considerations |

|---------|---------|---------|

|[Azure Database Migration Service](../../../dms/tutorial-sql-server-to-managed-instance.md) | - Migrate single databases or multiple databases at scale.<br/>- Can accommodate downtime during the migration process.<br/><br/>Supported sources:<br/>- SQL Server (2005 to 2019) on-premises or Azure VM<br/>- AWS EC2<br/>- AWS RDS<br/>- GCP Compute SQL Server VM | - Migrations at scale can be automated via [PowerShell](../../../dms/howto-sql-server-to-azure-sql-managed-instance-powershell-offline.md).<br/>- Time to complete migration depends on database size and is affected by backup and restore time.<br/>- Sufficient downtime might be required. |

|[Native backup and restore](../../managed-instance/restore-sample-database-quickstart.md) | - Migrate individual line-of-business application databases.<br/>- Quick and easy migration without a separate migration service or tool.<br/><br/>Supported sources:<br/>- SQL Server (2005 to 2019) on-premises or Azure VM<br/>- AWS EC2<br/>- AWS RDS<br/>- GCP Compute SQL Server VM | - Database backup uses multiple threads to optimize data transfer to Azure Blob Storage, but partner bandwidth and database size can affect transfer rate.<br/>- Downtime should accommodate the time required to perform a full backup and restore (which is a size of data operation).|

|[Log Replay Service](../../managed-instance/log-replay-service-migrate.md) | - Migrate individual line-of-business application databases.<br/>- More control is needed for database migrations.<br/><br/>Supported sources:<br/>- SQL Server (2008 to 2019) on-premises or Azure VM<br/>- AWS EC2<br/>- AWS RDS<br/>- GCP Compute SQL Server VM | - The migration entails making full database backups on SQL Server and copying backup files to Azure Blob Storage. Log Replay Service is used to restore backup files from Azure Blob Storage to SQL Managed Instance.<br/>- Databases being restored during the migration process will be in a restoring mode and can't be used for read or write workloads until the process is complete.|

Migrating to SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines requires the following resources:

- An [Azure Migrate project](../../../migrate/create-manage-projects.md) (only required for SQL Server discovery in your data estate).

- A prepared target [SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines](../../virtual-machines/windows/create-sql-vm-portal.md) instance that's the same or greater version than the SQL Server source.

- [Connectivity between Azure and on-premises](/azure/architecture/reference-architectures/hybrid-networking).

When migrating from SQL Server on-premises to SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines, it is unlikely that you'll have any compatibility or feature parity issues if the source and target SQL Server versions are the same. If you're *not* upgrading the version of SQL Server, skip this step and move to the [Migrate](#migrate) section.

[!INCLUDE [assess-estate-with-azure-migrate](../../../../includes/azure-migrate-to-assess-sql-data-estate.md)]

To learn more about Azure recommendations, see [Get right-sized Azure recommendation for your on-premises SQL Server database(s)](../../../dms/ads-sku-recommend.md).

For a version upgrade, use [Data Migration Assistant](/sql/dma/dma-overview) to assess on-premises SQL Server instances if you are upgrading to an instance of SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines with a higher version to understand the gaps between the source and target versions.

The following sections provide steps for performing either a migration by using backup and restore or a minimal downtime migration by using backup and restore along with log shipping.

To perform a minimal downtime migration using Azure Data Studio, follow the high level steps below. For a detailed step-by-step tutorial, see [Migrate SQL Server to SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machine online using Azure Data Studio](../../../dms/tutorial-sql-server-to-virtual-machine-online-ads.md):

1. Launch the Migrate to Azure SQL wizard in the extension in Azure Data Studio.

1. Select databases for assessment and view migration readiness or issues (if any). Additionally, collect performance data and get right-sized Azure recommendation.

1. Select your Azure account and your target SQL Server on Azure Machine from your subscription.