Stop/start functionality for Azure Database for MariaDB is now in public preview

The ability to [stop/start](https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/mariadb/concepts-servers) in Azure Database for MariaDB server is now available in preview support. This feature allows you the ability to **stop** your Azure Database for MariaDB server when not in use and **start** the server when you resume activity. This functionality can enable cost savings on your database servers, and you will only pay for the compute resources when in use. This becomes even more important for dev-test workloads and when you are only using the server for part of the day. When you stop the server, all active connections will be dropped. When the server is in the **stopped** state, the server's compute is not billed. However, storage continues to be billed as the server's storage remains to ensure that data files are available when the server is started again. [Learn more](https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/mariadb/concepts-servers). * Azure Database for MariaDB * Features * [ Azure Database for MariaDB](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/services/mariadb/)