AWS Quick Starts

SQL Server on AWS

Using AlwaysOn Availability Groups and Windows Server Failover Clustering

Deploy on AWS into a new VPC

(or deploy into an existing VPC)

View guide  — HTML | PDF

Quick Start architecture for SQL Server with WSFC on the AWS Cloud

To deploy SQL Server with WSFC on AWS, view the Quick Start deployment guide. To install SQL Server with other Windows servers on AWS in a single deployment, see the Quick Start for Microsoft servers, or view our complete Quick Start catalog.

SQL-Server_Logo


This Quick Start implements a high availability solution built with Microsoft Windows Server and SQL Server running on Amazon EC2, using the AlwaysOn Availability Groups feature of SQL Server Enterprise edition.

The deployment includes Windows Server Active Directory with Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC) and clustered SQL Server 2012 or 2014 instances on the AWS Cloud. This infrastructure provides the underpinnings for many Microsoft technology-based solutions for the enterprise, including Microsoft SharePoint and .NET Framework applications.

The Quick Start includes AWS CloudFormation templates that automate the deployment. The deployment guide provides details on running WSFC clusters in the AWS Cloud, and instructions for configuring and testing the WSFC cluster and SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Groups.

  • What you'll build

    • A virtual private cloud (VPC) configured with public and private subnets across two Availability Zones. This provides the network infrastructure for your SQL Server deployment.*
    • An Internet gateway to provide access to the Internet.*
    • In the public subnets, Windows Server 2012–based Remote Desktop Gateway (RDGW) instances and Linux-based network address translation (NAT) instances to enable administrative ingress and egress.*
    • Elastic IP addresses associated with the NAT and RDGW instances.*
    • In the private subnets, Active Directory domain controllers.*
    • Windows Server 2012-based instances as WSFC nodes.
    • SQL Server 2012 or 2014 Enterprise Edition with SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Groups on each WSFC node.
    • Your choice to create a new VPC or deploy into your existing VPC and AD DS environment on AWS. The template that deploys the Quick Start into an existing VPC skips the components marked by asterisks above.


    For details, see the Quick Start deployment guide.

  • Deployment details

    Build your highly available Exchange Server environment in a few simple steps:

    1. Sign up for an AWS account at https://aws.amazon.com.
    2. Launch the Quick Start into a new VPC, if you want to build a new AWS infrastructure. (View template)
      -or-
      Launch the Quick Start into an existing VPC that has AD DS and RDGW installed, if you've already set up this environment on AWS. (View template)
      The deployment takes approximately 3 hours.
    3. Configure the WSFC nodes.
    4. Test the deployment.


    To customize your deployment, you can choose different instance types for your resources, configure CIDR blocks and IP addresses, and choose the version of SQL Server (2012 or 2014) to install on the WSFC nodes.  

    For detailed deployment and configuration instructions, see the Quick Start deployment guide.

  • Cost and licenses

    You are responsible for the cost of the AWS services used while running this Quick Start reference deployment. There is no additional cost for using the Quick Start.

    The AWS CloudFormation template for this Quick Start includes configuration parameters that you can customize. Some of these settings, such as instance type, will affect the cost of deployment. See the pricing pages for each AWS service you will be using or the AWS Simple Monthly Calculator for cost estimates.

    The Quick Start will install a trial version of SQL Server 2012 or 2014 Enterprise Edition from the Microsoft download site. For a production environment, we recommend that you use your volume licensing software and mobilize the license. For details, see the Microsoft License Mobility through Software Assurance program.