Install, tune, secure, and back up SQL Server on Windows — editions, sizing, TempDB, and memory tuning.
SQL Server is one of the most common reasons teams move to a Windows VPS, and one of the easiest to misconfigure. Edition choice, memory limits, TempDB layout, and storage shape performance far more than raw CPU, and the defaults are rarely tuned for production. These guides walk through deploying, sizing, tuning, securing, and backing up SQL Server on a Windows VPS, from a clean install to high availability.
Work through them in order, or jump straight to what you need.
Set up basic Always On Availability Groups across two Raff Windows VPSes for automatic MSSQL failover. WSFC, listener, sync vs async commit.
Eliminate TempDB allocation contention with multiple equal-sized data files. Min(8, vCPU) files, fixed autogrowth, optional separate disk.
Compare SQL Server Standard and Enterprise for Windows VPS workloads, including SQL Server 2025 limits, licensing, high availability, and when Enterprise is worth paying for.
Back up SQL Server on a Windows VPS with a practical strategy for full, differential, and log backups, off-server copies, retention, and restore testing.
Learn how to set SQL Server max server memory on a Windows VPS, reserve RAM for Windows, and verify the setting with sqlcmd.
Step-by-step SQL Server 2025 hardening on a Windows Server VPS: disable sa, least-privilege app logins, SQL Server Audit, TCP/IP enable, firewall scoping, and Let's Encrypt cert replacement. End-to-end MSP guide tested on Raff.
End-to-end install guide for SQL Server 2025 Standard Developer on a Windows Server VPS. Covers winget setup, Custom wizard, tempdb, firewall, and post-install CU application.
Deploy your first Windows Server, connect over RDP, and get the basics set up — plans, versions, users, and first-day configuration.
BrowseSet up and scale remote desktop — RDP, multi-user RDS, RemoteApp — plus how Windows Server and RDS CAL licensing actually works on a VPS.
BrowseSPLA, BYOL, RDS CALs, M365 Shared Computer Activation. What to buy, how to activate, how to stay compliant.
BrowseRun a domain on your VPS — domain controllers, users and groups, Group Policy, and DNS.
BrowseGenuine, fully-licensed Windows with full admin and RDP. We handle the Microsoft licensing, billed monthly with nothing upfront. On NVMe SSD, backed by a 14-day money-back guarantee.