Microsoft recently published a new version of its service-level agreement (SLA) for Azure SQL Database, adding uptime perks for organizations that use the 'Business Critical' tier.

This excerpt from the upcoming book, SQL Server 2008 Administration in Action, introduces the role of service-level agreements (SLAs) as part of a DBA's overall strategy to maintaining reliable ...

Database revenue at Microsoft is alleged (by Gartner) to be around $14 billion a year, with SQL Server (and Azure SQL services) making up the vast majority of that revenue.