A healthcare company stores full and differential .bak files from its SQL Server estate in a blob container. It wants to restore those backup files into a managed platform with the fewest format changes. Which target supports this?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B
Managed Instance can restore native SQL Server backup files, including ones stored in Azure Blob Storage, which keeps the backup-based migration close to what the team already uses. Single databases, pools and serverless tiers do not offer native restore from .bak files and need BACPAC or migration tooling instead.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Serverless is a compute tier in Azure SQL Database and does not add native .bak restore. The team would have to convert the backups to another format first.
- C. Elastic pools are a resource-sharing construct and do not change which restore methods the databases support. Native .bak restore is still unavailable for Azure SQL Database.
- D. Azure SQL Database does not accept native SQL Server backup restores. Migrating would require exporting a BACPAC or using migration tools, which changes the workflow.