MySQL is an open-source relational database that is widely used for web applications, it’s easy to use, reliable, secure, and fast.
Recently Microsoft have announced a new deployment option, Flexible Server, that is now generally available.
If we have a quick look at the available options, we now have Single Server and Flexible server deployment options.
Flexible Server provides much better performance, running a community version of MySQL on containerized Linux OS (Single Server is running on a top of windows VM) and it’s designed for granular control of the database management functions and configuration settings.
With the announcement of Flexible Server option, Microsoft have emphasized, that it should be the only option for all new developments. Single Server should be used only for existing applications that were already using Single Server deployment option.
There is no out-of-the-box, one-click migration from Single Server to Flexible Server. We can use Azure Database Migration Service or mysqldump or similar offline tools.
More information on Azure Database for MySQL Flexible Server: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/mysql/flexible-server/overview