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Early Alpha • Limited Access
/solutions/ ❯ mssql-on-kubernetes

Run Microsoft SQL Server
on Kubernetes. For Real.

Break free from Windows-only licensing traps and cloud vendor lock-in. Solanica Platform brings production-grade MSSQL to any Kubernetes cluster — with automated Day-2 operations, built on OpenEverest.

Join the Alpha Program → See the Numbers ↓
KUBERNETES CLUSTER (any cloud / on-prem) MSSQL Primary Engine: SQL Server 2022 Mode: Linux Container Status: PRIMARY ✓ CPU RAM I/O PVC: mssql-data (500Gi) StorageClass: fast-ssd AG SYNC MSSQL Replica Engine: SQL Server 2022 Mode: Linux Container Status: STANDBY ● CPU RAM I/O PVC: mssql-data (500Gi) StorageClass: fast-ssd Solanica Operator Automated Failover Backup & Restore Rolling Upgrades Monitoring & Alerts Scaling (Up & Out) AG Configuration TDE Key Management
💰 Up to 60% TCO reduction vs. Azure SQL
🔓 No vendor lock-in — run anywhere
⚡ Automated Day-2 operations
$ kubectl get pods -l app=mssql | wc -l

The Real Cost of Running MSSQL

Microsoft SQL Server licensing on managed cloud services is a margin machine — for the cloud provider. Here's what happens when you take control.

● SCENARIO: AZURE_SQL_MANAGED

Azure SQL Managed Instance

Typical enterprise setup — 16 vCores, 64 GB RAM, 1 TB storage, HA enabled

Compute (General Purpose) $2,880/mo
SQL Server License (included) $1,920/mo
Storage (1 TB Premium) $460/mo
HA Replica $2,400/mo
Backup Storage $230/mo
Monitoring & Insights $150/mo
Monthly Total ~$8,040/mo
Annual Total ~$96,480/yr
⚠ Prices based on Azure East US region, pay-as-you-go. Actual costs may vary.
● SCENARIO: SOLANICA_K8S

MSSQL on Kubernetes + Solanica

Same specs — 16 vCPU, 64 GB RAM, 1 TB NVMe, HA with auto-failover

Compute (K8s worker nodes) $960/mo
SQL Server License (BYOL / Dev) $420/mo
Storage (CSI NVMe) $180/mo
HA Replica (same cluster) $640/mo
Backup (S3-compatible) $45/mo
Solanica Platform License $500/mo
Monthly Total ~$2,745/mo
Annual Total ~$32,940/yr
$ 66% TCO Reduction — Save ~$63,540/yr
WHERE_THE_SAVINGS_COME_FROM
📜
BYOL Licensing
Bring your existing SQL Server licenses or use Developer Edition for non-prod. Avoid the cloud markup on licensing that can be 2-4x retail.
Up to 70% on license costs
⚡
Right-Sized Compute
Kubernetes lets you allocate exactly the CPU and memory your MSSQL instances need. No paying for fixed tiers. VPA adjusts resources in real time.
40-60% on compute
💾
Flexible Storage
Use CSI drivers to mount NVMe, local SSD, or network storage. Stop paying premium IOPS rates when your workload doesn't need them 24/7.
50-70% on storage
🌙
Scale-to-Zero Dev/Test
Non-production MSSQL instances hibernate when idle. No more paying for dev databases that sit unused 16 hours a day.
80% on non-prod environments
Calculate your savings with us →
NOTE: All figures are estimates based on publicly available pricing as of March 2026. Actual savings depend on workload, region, and licensing agreements. We recommend running a detailed TCO analysis for your specific environment.
$ helm install mssql --set cloud=any

Escape the Vendor Lock-In Trap

Azure SQL, AWS RDS for SQL Server, Google Cloud SQL — they all want you locked into their ecosystem. Solanica gives you MSSQL that runs identically everywhere.

❌ VENDOR LOCKED Azure SQL MI Azure-only APIs RDS SQL Server AWS-only APIs 🔒 Proprietary backup format 🔒 Vendor-specific HA 🔒 Non-portable monitoring 🔒 Locked pricing tiers Migration cost: $50K–$500K+ 3-12 months of engineering time ✓ CLOUD PORTABLE AKS Azure EKS AWS GKE Google ✓ Standard K8s APIs ✓ S3-compatible backups ✓ Prometheus monitoring ✓ Portable across clouds Migration cost: kubectl apply Same manifests, any Kubernetes cluster
● MULTI_CLOUD

Run Anywhere Kubernetes Runs

AKS, EKS, GKE, on-prem (OpenShift, Rancher, vanilla K8s) — your MSSQL deployment is the same YAML manifest. Switch clouds without rewriting a single line of application code or ops tooling.

▸ Same Helm chart across all environments
▸ Disaster recovery across cloud providers
▸ Cloud negotiation leverage
● DATA_SOVEREIGNTY

Own Your Data Stack

No proprietary backup formats. No vendor-specific monitoring APIs. Your backups go to S3-compatible storage you control. Your metrics flow to standard Prometheus. Your data stays sovereign.

▸ S3-compatible backups (MinIO, Ceph, AWS S3)
▸ Prometheus + Grafana monitoring
▸ Standard SQL Server native tools
● LICENSE_FLEXIBILITY

Your License, Your Terms

Bring your own SQL Server licenses through Software Assurance, use Developer Edition for non-prod, or run SQL Server Express for lightweight workloads. You choose the licensing model that makes financial sense.

▸ BYOL through Software Assurance
▸ Developer Edition for dev/test (free)
▸ Express Edition for lightweight use
● OPEN_STANDARDS

Built on Open Source

Solanica Platform is powered by OpenEverest — open-source Kubernetes operators for databases. No black boxes. Audit the code, fork it, contribute to it. Your infrastructure runs on standards, not SaaS lock-in.

▸ OpenEverest: fully open-source operator
▸ Kubernetes-native CRDs
▸ Community-driven roadmap
$ kubectl describe solanicamssql mssql-prod

How It Works Under the Hood

Solanica Platform deploys SQL Server as a Kubernetes-native workload with automated Day-2 operations. No manual intervention, no scripts duct-taped together.

Solanica MSSQL on Kubernetes — Architecture kubectl / Helm / GitOps Declarative database configuration Kubernetes API Server — CRD: DatabaseCluster Solanica Operator Watches CRDs → Reconciles desired state Pod: mssql-primary-0 SQL Server Exporter PVC: mssql-data-0 PRIMARY Pod: mssql-replica-0 SQL Server Exporter PVC: mssql-data-1 STANDBY AG Services Backup → S3 Prometheus Metrics Alertmanager Rules TDE Key Rotation ♻ Continuous Reconciliation: desired state == actual state → self-healing Operator detects drift, pod failures, or config changes and reconciles automatically
01

Automated Failover

When the primary pod fails, the operator promotes the standby replica within seconds. Availability Groups ensure zero data loss. Your application reconnects via the Kubernetes Service — no DNS changes needed.

# Failover is automatic, but you can trigger manually: $ kubectl patch solanicamssql mssql-prod \ --type merge -p '{"spec":{"primaryNode":"mssql-replica-0"}}'
02

Backup & Point-in-Time Recovery

Scheduled full and incremental backups to any S3-compatible storage. Restore to any point in time with a single command. Backups are encrypted and compressed by default.

# Restore to a specific point in time: $ kubectl apply -f restore-pit.yaml # restoreTarget: "2026-03-17T02:30:00Z"
03

Rolling Upgrades

Upgrade SQL Server versions with zero downtime. The operator drains the standby replica, upgrades it, syncs, then performs a controlled failover and upgrades the former primary.

# Upgrade SQL Server version: $ kubectl patch solanicamssql mssql-prod \ --type merge -p '{"spec":{"engine":{"version":"2025"}}}'
04

Scaling & Resource Management

Scale vertically (more CPU/RAM) or horizontally (add read replicas) through declarative YAML changes. VPA integration automatically right-sizes your instances based on actual usage.

# Add a read replica: $ kubectl patch solanicamssql mssql-prod \ --type merge -p '{"spec":{"replicas":3}}'
$ cat /etc/solanica/features.yaml

Enterprise Features, Kubernetes Native

Everything you expect from a managed SQL Server service — without the managed service price tag or the vendor handcuffs.

Early Alpha — Feature Roadmap

MSSQL on Kubernetes is currently in early alpha. Features marked with ALPHA are available today. Features marked with PLANNED are on our near-term roadmap. Your feedback shapes what ships next.

High Availability

ALPHA

Always-On Availability Groups managed by the operator. Automatic failover with sub-30-second recovery. Zero data loss in synchronous mode.

✓ Synchronous & async AG modes
✓ Automatic primary election
✓ K8s Service-based endpoint routing

Backup & Restore

ALPHA

Scheduled full and differential backups to S3-compatible storage. Point-in-time recovery. Encrypted and compressed by default.

✓ Automated backup schedules (cron)
✓ S3/MinIO/GCS backup targets
✓ Point-in-time restore (PITR)

Monitoring & Alerting

ALPHA

Built-in Prometheus exporter for SQL Server metrics. Pre-configured Grafana dashboards. Alertmanager rules for critical database events.

✓ MSSQL-specific Prometheus metrics
✓ Pre-built Grafana dashboards
✓ Alert rules for replication lag, CPU, I/O

Security & Encryption

ALPHA

TLS encryption for all connections. Kubernetes RBAC integration. Namespace isolation. Secrets management via Kubernetes Secrets or external vaults.

✓ TLS 1.3 for all connections
✓ K8s RBAC & NetworkPolicy
✓ Vault integration for credentials

TDE Key Management

PLANNED

Transparent Data Encryption with automated key rotation. Integration with HashiCorp Vault, AWS KMS, and Azure Key Vault for enterprise key management.

○ Automated TDE key rotation
○ External KMS integration
○ Compliance-ready audit trails

Performance Auto-Tuning

PLANNED

AI-powered query analysis and automatic index recommendations via Solanica AI Copilot integration. Automatic tempdb configuration and memory optimization.

○ AI Copilot index suggestions
○ Automatic tempdb optimization
○ Query Store analysis & recommendations

Early access - Alpha feature
Ready to Run MSSQL on Your Terms?

Join the alpha program and get early access to Solanica Platform for MSSQL. Help us to help you to reduce TCO.
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