Description

Sitecore focuses its SQL Server testing efforts on the self-hosted version of Microsoft SQL Server and Azure SQL. There are a number of vendors other than Microsoft that provide a hosted version of Microsoft SQL Server (for example, Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)). Before you choose one of these vendors we recommend you to go through a due diligence exercise:

1. To ensure that the version(s) of Microsoft SQL Server used by a vendor is also supported by the Sitecore XP version you plan to use.
2. To understand any limitations enforced by the vendor that might affect how Sitecore XP operates.

If you choose a third-party vendor to host Microsoft SQL Server, Sitecore Support will still assist you with any Sitecore product issues that are not unique to that third-party vendor, that is to say, a Sitecore product issue that can also be replicated in a standalone SQL Server instance. Occasionally Sitecore Support might ask you to replicate an issue outside of the third-party to validate an issue, although they will try to avoid this.

While Sitecore does support the use of third-party hosting vendors, Sitecore cannot at this time provide guidance on these vendors. Instead, we recommend you to consult with your partner or another subject matter expert.