Create and manage elastic pools in Azure SQL

Database
With an elastic pool, you determine the amount of resources that the elastic pool requires to handle
the workload of its databases, and the amount of resources for each pooled database.

Azure portal: Manage elastic pools and pooled databases

All pool settings can be found in one place: the Configure pool blade. To get here, find an elastic
pool in the portal and click Configure pool either from the top of the blade or from the resource
menu on the left.
From here you can make any combination of the following changes and save them all in one batch:
1. Change the service tier of the pool
2. Scale the performance (DTU or vCores) and storage up or down
3. Add or remove databases to/from the pool
4. Set a min (guaranteed) and max performance limit for the databases in the pools
5. Review the cost summary to view any changes to your bill as a result of your new selections
PowerShell: Manage elastic pools and pooled databases
Note
This article has been updated to use the new Azure PowerShell Az module. To learn more about the
new Az module and AzureRM compatibility, see Introducing the new Azure PowerShell Az module.
For installation instructions, see Install Azure PowerShell.
To create and manage SQL Database elastic pools and pooled databases with Azure PowerShell, use
the following PowerShell cmdlets. If you need to install or upgrade PowerShell, see Install Azure
PowerShell module. To create and manage the SQL Database servers for an elastic pool, see Create
and manage SQL Database servers. To create and manage firewall rules, see Create and manage
firewall rules using PowerShell.
Tip
For PowerShell example scripts, see Create elastic pools and move databases between pools and out
of a pool using PowerShell and Use PowerShell to monitor and scale a SQL elastic pool in Azure
SQL Database.

Cmdlet Description
New-AzSqlElasticPool Creates an elastic pool.
Get-AzSqlElasticPool Gets elastic pools and their property values.
Modifies properties of an elastic pool For example, use the
Set-AzSqlElasticPool
StorageMB property to modify the max storage of an elastic pool.
Remove-AzSqlElasticPool Deletes an elastic pool.
Get-AzSqlElasticPoolActivity Gets the status of operations on an elastic pool
New-AzSqlDatabase Creates a new database in an existing pool or as a single database.
Get-AzSqlDatabase Gets one or more databases.
Sets properties for a database, or moves an existing database into,
Set-AzSqlDatabase
out of, or between elastic pools.
Remove-AzSqlDatabase Removes a database.
Tip
Creation of many databases in an elastic pool can take time when done using the portal or
PowerShell cmdlets that create only a single database at a time. To automate creation into an elastic
pool, see CreateOrUpdateElasticPoolAndPopulate.
Azure CLI: Manage elastic pools and pooled databases
To create and manage SQL Database elastic pools with the Azure CLI, use the following Azure CLI
SQL Database commands. Use the Cloud Shell to run the CLI in your browser, or install it on
macOS, Linux, or Windows.
Tip
For Azure CLI example scripts, see Use CLI to move an Azure SQL database in a SQL elastic pool
and Use Azure CLI to scale a SQL elastic pool in Azure SQL Database.

Cmdlet Description
az sql elastic-pool
Creates an elastic pool.
create
az sql elastic-pool
Returns a list of elastic pools in a server.
list
az sql elastic-pool
Returns a list of databases in an elastic pool.
list-dbs
Also includes available pool DTU settings, storage limits, and per database
az sql elastic-pool
settings. In order to reduce verbosity, additional storage limits and per database
list-editions
settings are hidden by default.
az sql elastic-pool
Updates an elastic pool.
update
az sql elastic-pool
Deletes the elastic pool.
delete

Transact-SQL: Manage pooled databases

To create and move databases within existing elastic pools or to return information about an SQL
Database elastic pool with Transact-SQL, use the following T-SQL commands. You can issue these
commands using the Azure portal, SQL Server Management Studio, Visual Studio Code, or any
other program that can connect to an Azure SQL Database server and pass Transact-SQL
commands. To create and manage firewall rules using T-SQL, see Manage firewall rules using
Transact-SQL.
Important
You cannot create, update, or delete an Azure SQL Database elastic pool using Transact-SQL. You
can add or remove databases from an elastic pool, and you can use DMVs to return information
about existing elastic pools.

Command Description
CREATE DATABASE Creates a new database in an existing pool or as a single database. You
(Azure SQL Database) must be connected to the master database to create a new database.
ALTER DATABASE Move a database into, out of, or between elastic pools.
 Command Description
(Azure SQL Database)
DROP DATABASE
Deletes a database.
(Transact-SQL)
Returns resource usage statistics for all the elastic pools in a SQL Database
sys.elastic_pool_resou server. For each elastic pool, there is one row for each 15 second reporting
rce_stats (Azure SQL window (four rows per minute). This includes CPU, IO, Log, storage
Database) consumption and concurrent request/session utilization by all databases in
the pool.
Returns the edition (service tier), service objective (pricing tier), and elastic
sys.database_service_ pool name, if any, for an Azure SQL database or an Azure SQL Data
objectives (Azure SQL Warehouse. If logged on to the master database in an Azure SQL Database
Database) server, returns information on all databases. For Azure SQL Data
Warehouse, you must be connected to the master database.

REST API: Manage elastic pools and pooled databases

To create and manage SQL Database elastic pools and pooled databases, use these REST API
requests.

Command
Elastic pools - Create or update
Elastic pools - Delete
Elastic pools - Get
Elastic pools - List by server
Elastic pools - Update
Elastic pool activities
Elastic pool database activities
Databases - Create or update
Databases - Get
Databases - List by elastic pool
Databases - List by server
Databases - Update
Description
Creates a new elastic pool or updates an existing elastic pool.
Deletes the elastic pool.
Gets an elastic pool.
Returns a list of elastic pools in a server.
Updates an existing elastic pool.
Returns elastic pool activities.
Returns activity on databases inside of an elastic pool.
Creates a new database or updates an existing database.
Gets a database.
Returns a list of databases in an elastic pool.
Returns a list of databases in a server.
Updates an existing database.

Next steps
• For a video, see Microsoft Virtual Academy video course on Azure SQL Database elastic
capabilities
• To learn more about design patterns for SaaS applications using elastic pools, see Design
Patterns for Multi-tenant SaaS Applications with Azure SQL Database.
• For a SaaS tutorial using elastic pools, see Introduction to the Wingtip SaaS application.