Next-Gen High Availability with Contained Availability Groups

In this session, we’ll explore the game-changing concept of Contained Availability Groups (Contained AGs) in SQL Server. Learn how this feature simplifies high availability and disaster recovery by encapsulating databases, metadata, and dependencies within the availability group. Through live demos, we’ll showcase how to set up, manage, and migrate Contained AGs, demonstrating their benefits for on-premises, hybrid, and cloud environments. This session has been updated for SQL Server 2025, covering the new support for Distributed Availability Groups and the latest behavior changes for system database seeding.

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Note to Review Committee: I successfully delivered a version of this session at the EightKB conference in August 2025 (Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RICJEUoIZ30).

For SQLBits 2026, I have updated the content to include SQL Server 2025 features (Distributed AGs) and new demos. I believe the in-person format will allow for even better audience interaction on this complex topic.

1- Master the architecture: Understand how Contained AGs encapsulate metadata to eliminate object dependency issues. 2- Deployment & Migration: Watch live demos on setting up Contained AGs and migrating existing workloads. 3- Disaster Recovery: Gain practical skills for recovering contained system databases during a failure. 4- SQL Server 2025 Features: Explore the new support for Distributed Availability Groups and updated seeding behaviors. 5- Strategy & Limitations: Identify the "When to Use" scenarios and current limitations to avoid implementation pitfalls.