MySQL / MariaDB to Azure Migration Center¶

The definitive resource for migrating from MySQL and MariaDB to Microsoft Azure -- whether staying on the MySQL engine with Azure Database for MySQL Flexible Server, modernizing to PostgreSQL, or consolidating onto Azure SQL.

Who this is for¶

This migration center serves database administrators, data engineers, application developers, cloud architects, IT leadership, and federal program managers evaluating or executing a migration from self-hosted MySQL or MariaDB to Azure-native managed databases. Whether you are driven by Oracle's ownership of MySQL, the operational burden of self-managed databases, a cloud-first mandate, or the need for enterprise-grade security and compliance, these resources provide the evidence, patterns, and step-by-step guidance to execute confidently.

Audience by role¶

Quick-start decision matrix¶

Target platform comparison¶

The first decision is which Azure database platform to target. MySQL and MariaDB workloads typically land on one of three targets.

How CSA-in-a-Box fits¶

Regardless of which target database you choose, CSA-in-a-Box serves as the unified analytics, governance, and AI platform that consumes data from migrated MySQL/MariaDB workloads.

flowchart TB
    subgraph MySQL["MySQL / MariaDB Source Estate"]
        direction LR
        OLTP[OLTP Databases]
        WEB[Web Application DBs]
        APPS[Line-of-Business Apps]
    end

    subgraph Targets["Azure Database Tier"]
        direction LR
        MYFLEX[Azure MySQL Flexible Server]
        PGFLEX[Azure PostgreSQL Flexible Server]
        SQLDB[Azure SQL Database]
    end

    subgraph CSA["CSA-in-a-Box Platform"]
        direction TB
        subgraph Ingest["Ingestion Layer"]
            MIRROR[Fabric Mirroring]
            ADF_I[Azure Data Factory]
        end
        subgraph Lake["Lakehouse Layer"]
            ONELAKE[OneLake + Delta Lake]
            DBT[dbt Medallion Models]
        end
        subgraph Govern["Governance Layer"]
            PURVIEW[Microsoft Purview]
            CLASSIFY[Classifications + Lineage]
        end
        subgraph Serve["Serving Layer"]
            PBI[Power BI + Direct Lake]
            AIFD[Azure AI Foundry]
        end
    end

    OLTP --> MYFLEX
    WEB --> MYFLEX
    APPS --> PGFLEX
    OLTP --> PGFLEX
    APPS --> SQLDB

    MYFLEX -->|Fabric Mirroring for MySQL| MIRROR
    PGFLEX -->|ADF MySQL connector| ADF_I
    SQLDB -->|Fabric Mirroring| MIRROR
    ADF_I --> ONELAKE
    MIRROR --> ONELAKE
    ONELAKE --> DBT
    DBT --> PURVIEW
    DBT --> PBI
    DBT --> AIFD
    PURVIEW --> CLASSIFY

Integration patterns¶

Fabric Mirroring for Azure MySQL Flexible Server enables near-real-time replication of MySQL tables into OneLake without impacting OLTP performance. Once data lands in OneLake as Delta Lake tables, the full CSA-in-a-Box analytics stack is available -- dbt medallion models for transformation, Purview for governance and lineage, Power BI with Direct Lake for zero-copy reporting, and Azure AI Foundry for intelligent workloads.

Azure Data Factory MySQL connector provides batch and incremental data movement from MySQL sources (on-premises or Azure MySQL Flexible Server) into the CSA-in-a-Box medallion architecture. ADF supports both the MySQL native connector and the generic ODBC connector for MariaDB-specific deployments.

Microsoft Purview catalogs migrated databases, applies sensitivity labels and classifications (PII, CUI, PHI), scans Azure MySQL Flexible Server and PostgreSQL Flexible Server metadata, and maintains end-to-end data lineage from source MySQL through the OneLake analytics layer.

Migration timeline¶

Typical timeline by workload complexity¶

Phase overview¶

gantt
    title MySQL/MariaDB to Azure Migration
    dateFormat YYYY-MM-DD
    section Discovery
        Assessment & inventory     :a1, 2026-01-06, 2w
        Target platform decision   :a2, after a1, 1w
    section Foundation
        Landing zone deployment    :b1, after a2, 2w
        Network & security config  :b2, after a2, 2w
    section Schema
        Schema conversion          :c1, after b1, 3w
        Stored procedure migration :c2, after c1, 2w
    section Data
        Historical data migration  :d1, after c1, 4w
        Binlog replication setup   :d2, after d1, 1w
        Validation                 :d3, after d2, 1w
    section Cutover
        Application testing        :e1, after d3, 2w
        Parallel run               :e2, after e1, 2w
        Final cutover              :e3, after e2, 1w
    section Optimize
        Performance tuning         :f1, after e3, 2w
        Analytics integration      :f2, after e3, 2w
        Decommission source        :f3, after f1, 1w

Guides¶

Core migration guides¶

Reference materials¶

Tutorials¶

MySQL vs MariaDB -- migration differences¶

While MySQL and MariaDB share a common heritage, their divergence since the MariaDB 10.x series creates specific migration considerations.

Common migration blockers and solutions¶

Getting started¶

1. Read the executive brief: Why Azure Database to understand the strategic case
2. Run the TCO analysis: TCO Analysis with your specific MySQL estate data
3. Choose your target: Use the decision matrix above to select Azure MySQL, PostgreSQL, or Azure SQL
4. Follow the appropriate guide: Flexible Server Migration or PostgreSQL Migration
5. Execute a tutorial: DMS Online Migration for hands-on experience
6. Plan the full migration: Migration Playbook for the complete lifecycle

Maintainers: csa-inabox core team Last updated: 2026-04-30