I want to add some of my websites to Azure, however they rely upon SQL Server's full text search which currently isn't supported in SQL Azure.
Is there any way to create a VM in Azure, install SQL Server and then change the website connection string to use that SQL Server instance? I would obviously want to do this securely, and with the least possible network latency.
I want to use the Azure websites functionality and have those websites access a SQL Server instance running inside an Azure VM.
Azure SQL Databases doesn't support Full Text Search yet.
With Azure's new release of Azure Virtual Machines, you may take Windows Server (either 2008 Rs or 2012) and then install your full fledged SQL Server 2008 R2 or 2012 (with full text search - i.e. regular / non cloud SQL Server).
Once you have deployed the SQL Server, it is almost like your traditional SQL Server running in your own Server. You manage all the incoming ports, firewall rules etc. Use the connection string to integrate the db in your website.
Naveen is right. You need to open up the endpoints the VM to allow SQL traffic to flow through. You can do this either using the portal or using our command line tools.
