Adding SQL MI support (#34162)

* Adding SQL MI support

* Update optimized-locking.md

---------

Co-authored-by: Jill Grant <72043882+JillGrant615@users.noreply.github.com>

Author: MashaMSFT

azure-sql/database/doc-changes-updates-release-notes-whats-new.md

@@ -51,7 +51,6 @@ The following table lists the features of Azure SQL Database that are currently
 | **Import and export using Private Link** | You can [import or export an Azure SQL Database using private link](database-import-export-private-link.md). Leave *Allow Access to Azure Services* off when you import or export a database using a service-managed endpoint. |
 | **Microsoft Entra server principals** | The ability to [create server principals (logins) for Microsoft Entra identities](authentication-azure-ad-logins.md) in Azure SQL Database is in preview. |
 | **Network Security Perimeter** | [Azure Network Security Perimeter](network-security-perimeter.md) allows organizations to define a logical network isolation boundary for PaaS resources (for example, Azure Storage and SQL Database) that are deployed outside your organization's virtual networks. It restricts public network access to PaaS resources outside of the perimeter, and access can be exempted by using explicit access rules for public inbound and outbound. |
-| **Regular expression functions** | Regular expression (REGEX) functions return text based on values in a search pattern. [Regular expressions](/sql/relational-databases/regular-expressions/overview). |
 | **Query editor in the Azure portal** | The [query editor in the Azure portal](query-editor.md) allows you to run queries against your Azure SQL Database directly from a web browser. |
 | **Regular expression functions** | Regular expression (REGEX) functions return text based on values in a search pattern. [Regular expressions](/sql/relational-databases/regular-expressions/overview). |
 | **UNISTR (Transact-SQL)** | Azure SQL Database now supports the `UNISTR` T-SQL syntax for Unicode string literals. For more information, see [UNISTR (Transact-SQL)](/sql/t-sql/functions/unistr-transact-sql).|

azure-sql/managed-instance/doc-changes-updates-release-notes-whats-new.md

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ description: Learn about the new features and documentation improvements for Azu
 author: MashaMSFT
 ms.author: mathoma
 ms.reviewer: wiassaf, mathoma
-ms.date: 05/19/2025
+ms.date: 05/22/2025
 ms.service: azure-sql-managed-instance
 ms.subservice: service-overview
 ms.topic: whats-new
@@ -35,17 +35,22 @@ The following table lists the features of Azure SQL Managed Instance that are cu
 
 | Feature | Details |
 | ---| --- |
-|[Database watcher for Azure SQL](../database-watcher-overview.md)|Database watcher is a managed monitoring solution for database services in the Azure SQL family. Database watcher collects in-depth workload monitoring data to give you a detailed view of database performance, configuration, and health. Learn more about [database watcher](https://aka.ms/dbwatcher-preview-announcement).|
+| [Approximate or fuzzy string matching](/sql/relational-databases/fuzzy-string-match/overview)| Check if two strings are similar, and calculate the difference between two strings. Use this capability to identify strings that might be different because of character corruption.|
+|[Database watcher for Azure SQL](../database-watcher-overview.md) | Database watcher is a managed monitoring solution for database services in the Azure SQL family. Database watcher collects in-depth workload monitoring data to give you a detailed view of database performance, configuration, and health. Learn more about [database watcher](https://aka.ms/dbwatcher-preview-announcement).|
+|[DATEADD number allows bigint](/sql/t-sql/functions/dateadd-transact-sql) | For `DATEADD (datepart , number , date )`, number can be expressed as a **bigint**.|
 |[Endpoint policies](./service-endpoint-policies-configure.md) | Configure which Azure Storage accounts can be accessed from a SQL Managed Instance subnet. Grants an extra layer of protection against inadvertent or malicious data exfiltration.|
+|[Invoke an HTTPS REST endpoint SP](/sql/relational-databases/system-stored-procedures/sp-invoke-external-rest-endpoint-transact-sql) | Use the `sp_invoke_external_rest_endpoint` stored procedure to invoke an HTTPS REST endpoint provided as an input argument to the procedure. | 
 |[Microsoft Entra nonunique name support](../database/authentication-microsoft-entra-create-users-with-nonunique-names.md) |  The [CREATE USER](/sql/t-sql/statements/create-user-transact-sql) Transact-SQL (T-SQL) syntax has been extended to include `WITH OBJECT_ID` to support creating Microsoft Entra logins and users in Azure SQL Managed Instance that have nonunique names. |
 |[Modernization Advisor](../virtual-machines/modernization-advisor.md) | Use the Modernization Advisor in the Azure portal to help you determine if migrating to Azure SQL Managed Instance from a SQL Server VM saves you money or optimizes performance. |
 |[Next-gen General Purpose](service-tiers-next-gen-general-purpose-use.md) | An architectural upgrade of the General Purpose service tier that uses managed disks for greater resource flexibility, and improved performance while maintaining the same baseline cost as the General Purpose service tier.  |
+ |[Regular expression functions](/sql/relational-databases/regular-expressions/overview) | Regular expression (REGEX) functions return text based on values in a search pattern. |
 |[SDK-style SQL project](/sql/azure-data-studio/extensions/sql-database-project-extension-sdk-style-projects) | Use [Microsoft.Build.Sql](https://www.nuget.org/packages/Microsoft.Build.Sql) for SDK-style SQL projects in the SQL Database Projects extension in Azure Data Studio or Visual Studio Code. SDK-style SQL projects are especially advantageous for applications shipped through pipelines or built in cross-platform environments.|
 |[Service Broker](/sql/database-engine/configure-windows/sql-server-service-broker) | Support for cross-instance message exchange using Service Broker between instances of Azure SQL Managed Instance, and between SQL Server and Azure SQL Managed Instance. |
-|[Invoke an HTTPS REST endpoint SP](/sql/relational-databases/system-stored-procedures/sp-invoke-external-rest-endpoint-transact-sql) | Use the `sp_invoke_external_rest_endpoint` stored procedure to invoke an HTTPS REST endpoint provided as an input argument to the procedure. | 
 |[Threat detection](threat-detection-configure.md) | Threat detection notifies you of security threats detected to your database. |
+|[UNISTR (Transact-SQL)](/sql/t-sql/functions/unistr-transact-sql)| Azure SQL Managed Instance now supports the `UNISTR` T-SQL syntax for Unicode string literals.|
 |[Vector data type and functions](/sql/t-sql/data-types/vector-data-type?view=azuresqldb-current&preserve-view=true) | Working with vector data is now easier in Azure SQL Managed Instance with the [Always-up-to-date update policy](update-policy.md#always-up-to-date-update-policy) with the introduction of a new [vector data type](/sql/t-sql/data-types/vector-data-type?view=azuresqlmi-current&preserve-view=true) and [vector functions](/sql/t-sql/functions/vector-functions-transact-sql?view=azuresqlmi-current&preserve-view=true). For more information, see [Intelligent applications with Azure SQL Managed Instance](ai-artificial-intelligence-intelligent-applications.md#vectors). |
 |[Zone redundancy for General Purpose](high-availability-sla-local-zone-redundancy.md#zone-redundant-availability) |  Deploy your General Purpose SQL Managed Instance to multiple availability zones to improve the availability of your instance in the event of a disaster. | 
+|[\|\| (String concatenation)](/sql/t-sql/language-elements/string-concatenation-pipes-transact-sql?view=azuresqldb-current&preserve-view=true) and [\|\|= (Compound assignment)](/sql/t-sql/language-elements/compound-assignment-pipes-transact-sql?view=azuresqldb-current&preserve-view=true) syntax support** | Azure SQL Managed Instance now supports [\|\| (String concatenation)](/sql/t-sql/language-elements/string-concatenation-pipes-transact-sql?view=azuresqldb-current&preserve-view=true) and [\|\|= (Compound assignment)](/sql/t-sql/language-elements/compound-assignment-pipes-transact-sql?view=azuresqldb-current&preserve-view=true) Transact-SQL syntax.|
 
 ## General availability (GA)
 
@@ -54,7 +59,7 @@ The following table lists features of Azure SQL Managed Instance that have been
 | Feature | GA Month | Details |
 | ---| --- |--- |
 | [Free SQL Managed Instance](free-offer.md) | May 2025 | Try Azure SQL Managed Instance for free for the first 12 months after an instance is created.  |
-| [JSON native data type](/sql/t-sql/data-types/json-data-type?view=azuresqlmi-current&preserve-view=true) | May 2025 | The **json** data type provides new capabilities for handling semistructured data in Azure SQL Database. |
+| [JSON native data type](/sql/t-sql/data-types/json-data-type?view=azuresqlmi-current&preserve-view=true) | May 2025 | The **json** data type provides new capabilities for handling semistructured data in Azure SQL Managed Instance. |
 | [JSON aggregate functions](/sql/relational-databases/json/json-data-sql-server?view=azuresqlmi-current&preserve-view=true#json-data-from-aggregates) | May 2025 | Two **json** aggregate functions (`JSON_OBJECTAGG` and `JSON_ARRAYAGG`) enable construction of JSON objects or arrays based on an aggregate from SQL data. |
 |[MI link from SQL Server 2017](managed-instance-link-feature-overview.md#prerequisites) | March 2025 | Configure a link from SQL Server 2017 to Azure SQL Managed Instance. |
 |[Native Windows principals](native-windows-principals.md) | February 2025 | Use the new **Windows** authentication metadata mode to allow Windows authentication or Microsoft Entra authentication (using a Windows principal metadata) with Azure SQL Managed Instance. |
@@ -66,7 +71,6 @@ The following table lists features of Azure SQL Managed Instance that have been
 |[CURRENT_DATE Transact-SQL](/sql/t-sql/functions/current-date-transact-sql) | August 2024 |  A Transact-SQL (T-SQL) function that returns the current database system date as a date value, without the database time and time zone offset. |
 |[Maintenance window advance notifications](advance-notifications.md)| June 2024 | Advance notifications for SQL managed instance [maintenance window](maintenance-window.md) are now generally available.  |
 |[Update policy](update-policy.md) | May 2024 | Use the update policy to control your internal database format alignment and access to the latest SQL Database Engine features. You can choose to either limit the feature set to features that are available in SQL Server 2022, or ensure your instance takes advantage of all the latest features of Azure SQL Managed Instance.| 
-|[Azure SQL triggers for Azure Functions](/azure/azure-functions/functions-bindings-azure-sql) | March 2024 | Azure Functions supports function triggers for Azure SQL Managed Instance. | 
 
 ## Documentation changes
 
@@ -76,9 +80,14 @@ Learn about significant changes to the Azure SQL Managed Instance documentation.
 
 | Changes | Details |
 | --- | --- |
+| **Approximate or fuzzy string matching preview**| Check if two strings are similar, and calculate the difference between two strings. Use this capability to identify strings that might be different because of character corruption. This capability is currently in preview for Azure SQL Managed Instance. [What is fuzzy string matching?](/sql/relational-databases/fuzzy-string-match/overview)|
+| **DATEADD number allows bigint preview** | For `DATEADD (datepart , number , date )`, number can be expressed as a **bigint**. This capability is currently in preview for Azure SQL Managed Instance. For more information, see [DATEADD (Transact-SQL)](/sql/t-sql/functions/dateadd-transact-sql).|
+| **Free instance GA** | The free Azure SQL Managed Instance offer is now generally available (GA), allowing you to try SQL managed instance for free, for the first 12 months after you create your instance. Review [Free SQL Managed Instance](free-offer.md) to learn more. |
 | **JSON native data type GA** |  The  [**json** data type](/sql/t-sql/data-types/json-data-type?view=azuresqlmi-current&preserve-view=true) provides new capabilities for handling semistructured data in Azure SQL Managed Instance. This data type is now generally available. |
 | **JSON aggregate functions GA** | Two [**json** aggregate functions `JSON_OBJECTAGG` and `JSON_ARRAYAGG`](/sql/relational-databases/json/json-data-sql-server?view=azuresqlmi-current&preserve-view=true#json-data-from-aggregates) enable construction of JSON objects or arrays based on an aggregate from SQL data. These JSON functions are now generally available. |
-| **Free instance GA** | The free Azure SQL Managed Instance offer is now generally available (GA), allowing you to try SQL managed instance for free, for the first 12 months after you create your instance. Review [Free SQL Managed Instance](free-offer.md) to learn more. |
+| **Regular expression functions preview** | Regular expression (REGEX) functions return text based on values in a search pattern. This capability is currently in preview for Azure SQL Managed Instance. For more information, see [Regular expressions](/sql/relational-databases/regular-expressions/overview). |
+| **UNISTR (Transact-SQL) preview** | Azure SQL Managed Instance now supports the `UNISTR` T-SQL syntax for Unicode string literals. This capability is currently in preview. For more information, see [UNISTR (Transact-SQL)](/sql/t-sql/functions/unistr-transact-sql).|
+| **\|\| (String concatenation) and \|\|= (Compound assignment) syntax support preview** | Azure SQL Managed Instance now supports [\|\| (String concatenation)](/sql/t-sql/language-elements/string-concatenation-pipes-transact-sql) and [\|\|= (Compound assignment)](/sql/t-sql/language-elements/compound-assignment-pipes-transact-sql) Transact-SQL syntax. This capability is currently in preview.|
 
 ### April 2025
 
@@ -109,7 +118,6 @@ Learn about significant changes to the Azure SQL Managed Instance documentation.
 | **Modernization Advisor preview** | Use the **Modernization Advisor** in the Azure portal for your SQL Server on Azure VM to determine if you can save on cost or optimize your performance by migrating your workload to Azure SQL Managed Instance. This feature is currently in preview. Review [Modernization Advisor](../virtual-machines/modernization-advisor.md) to learn more. |
 
 
-
 ### November 2024
 
 | Changes | Details |

azure-sql/managed-instance/update-policy.md

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ description: Use the update policy setting in Azure SQL Managed Instance to cont
 author: MladjoA
 ms.author: mlandzic
 ms.reviewer: mathoma
-ms.date: 04/18/2025
+ms.date: 05/20/2025
 ms.service: azure-sql-managed-instance
 ms.subservice: deployment-configuration
 ms.topic: how-to
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ When using the SQL Server 2022 update policy, consider the following:
 - You can [restore your database](restore-database-to-sql-server.md) to SQL Server 2022 from Azure SQL Managed Instance. 
 - You can configure a [link](managed-instance-link-disaster-recovery.md) for real-time data replication, bidirectional failover, and disaster recovery between SQL Server 2022 and Azure SQL Managed Instance. 
 - You might not have access to some of the latest SQL engine features and benefits available to Azure SQL Managed Instance with the **Always-up-to-date** update policy. 
-- The **SQL Server 2022** update policy is available until the [end of mainstream support of SQL Server 2022](/lifecycle/products/sql-server-2022), at which point, the update policy for instances using the **SQL Server 2022** update policy are automatically updated to the update policy that corresponds to the latest SQL Server major release available at that time. 
+- The **SQL Server 2022** update policy is available until the [end of mainstream support of SQL Server 2022](/lifecycle/products/sql-server-2022), at which point, the update policy for instances using the **SQL Server 2022** update policy are automatically updated to the update policy that corresponds to the latest major SQL Server release available at that time. 
 
 ## Always-up-to-date update policy 
 
@@ -48,16 +48,16 @@ The **Always-up-to-date** update policy configures your instance to receive all
 When using the **Always-up-to-date** update policy, consider the following:
 
 - You're able to use all the new features and benefits available to Azure SQL Managed Instance. 
-- Once the **Always-up-to-date** policy is enabled, you can't go back to the **SQL Server 2022** update policy.
+- Once the **Always-up-to-date** policy is enabled, you can't go back to the **SQL Server 2022** update policy for that instance.
 - You lose some of the benefits provided by database format alignment with SQL Server 2022, such as the ability to restore your database to SQL Server 2022, and bidirectional failover between your instance and SQL Server 2022 with the [link](managed-instance-link-disaster-recovery.md) feature. 
 
 ## Feature comparison
 
 The following table lists all the features that are only available to instances with the designated update policy:
 
-|SQL Server 2022 update policy  |Always-up-to-date update policy  |
+|*Always-up-to-date* update policy  |*SQL Server 2022* update policy  |
 |---------|---------|
-|- [Restore database to SQL Server 2022](restore-database-to-sql-server.md)  <br /> - [Link with bidirectional failover and disaster recovery](managed-instance-link-disaster-recovery.md)   | - [JSON data type](/sql/t-sql/data-types/json-data-type) <br /> - [Invoke an HTTPS REST endpoint SP](/sql/relational-databases/system-stored-procedures/sp-invoke-external-rest-endpoint-transact-sql) <br /> - [Azure SQL Managed Instance Mirroring in Fabric](/fabric/database/mirrored-database/azure-sql-managed-instance) <br /> - [Vector functions](/sql/t-sql/functions/vector-functions-transact-sql?view=azuresqlmi-current&preserve-view=true) <br /> - [Vector data type](/sql/t-sql/data-types/vector-data-type?view=azuresqlmi-current&preserve-view=true) |
+|- [JSON data type](/sql/t-sql/data-types/json-data-type) <br /> - [Invoke an HTTPS REST endpoint SP](/sql/relational-databases/system-stored-procedures/sp-invoke-external-rest-endpoint-transact-sql) <br /> - [Azure SQL Managed Instance Mirroring in Fabric](/fabric/database/mirrored-database/azure-sql-managed-instance) <br /> - [Vector functions](/sql/t-sql/functions/vector-functions-transact-sql?view=azuresqlmi-current&preserve-view=true) <br /> - [Vector data type](/sql/t-sql/data-types/vector-data-type?view=azuresqlmi-current&preserve-view=true) <br /> - [Fuzzy string matching?](/sql/relational-databases/fuzzy-string-match/overview)  <br /> - [DATEADD (Transact-SQL)](/sql/t-sql/functions/dateadd-transact-sql).  <br /> - [UNISTR (Transact-SQL)](/sql/t-sql/functions/unistr-transact-sql) <br /> - [Regular expression functions](/sql/relational-databases/regular-expressions/overview) <br /> - [\|\| (String concatenation)](/sql/t-sql/language-elements/string-concatenation-pipes-transact-sql) <br /> - [\|\|= (Compound assignment)](/sql/t-sql/language-elements/compound-assignment-pipes-transact-sql)  | - [Restore database to SQL Server 2022](restore-database-to-sql-server.md)  <br /> - [Link with bidirectional failover and disaster recovery](managed-instance-link-disaster-recovery.md)   |
 
 The following features are impacted by the configured update policy: 
 
@@ -66,6 +66,8 @@ The following features are impacted by the configured update policy:
 - [Database copy and move](database-copy-move-how-to.md#limitations): A database from an instance configured with the **Always-up-to-date** update policy can't be copied or moved to an instance configured with the **SQL Server 2022** update policy. 
 - [Failover groups](failover-group-configure-sql-mi.md#change-update-policy): Instances in a failover group must have matching update policies. 
 
+
+
 ## Which update policy to choose?
 
 Unless you're relying on a specific feature that requires the **SQL Server 2022** update policy, we recommend using the **Always-up-to-date** update policy. The **Always-up-to-date** update policy provides you with the latest features and benefits available to Azure SQL Managed Instance. While the latest features may not be directly relevant to you, there are still  often improvements to performance, security, and reliability that can benefit your workload.