Manage Connections

• You must have an active Fabric Trial capacity (F4 or F64) during setup—this is required for Managed Private Endpoints (MPEs) and workloads like Data Engineering and pipelines. 

2. Managed Private Endpoints Configuration

• Fabric supports Managed Private Endpoints in Trial capacities (F64 and Trial) to securely connect to services blocked from public internet access.
• You'll need to create an MPE in the Fabric Workspace to connect to the SQL Server VM’s private endpoint.
• Use the Fabric workspace’s Network security settings to define the MPE, specifying the target resource ID and subresource.

3. Private Endpoint or Gateway in Azure VM’s VNet

• Ensure the SQL Server VM is either:
  • Exposed via an Azure Private Endpoint within its VNet (recommended), or
  • Or make it reachable by deploying an On‑Premises Data Gateway installed on an Azure VM or another VM in the same VNet. 
• The VM/gateway must allow inbound connections from the Fabric-managed virtual network.

4. Networking and Firewall Rules

• The Azure VM’s VNet and firewall must allow traffic from Fabric’s Managed VNet through private endpoints.
• If not using a Private Endpoint, configure firewall rules to permit the IP range of Fabric's managed VNet.

5. Authentication and SQL Permissions

• Create a dedicated SQL login + user in the MSSQL instance for Fabric access.
• Grant at minimum SELECT permissions (and any additional rights required for pipelines or mirroring scenarios) to this login.

6. Workspace and Tenant Permission Settings

• Fabric workspace must be assigned to the Trial capacity.
• Ensure tenant-level settings are enabled:
  • Service principals can use Fabric APIs
  • Users can access OneLake data externally
• Ensure you have a Workspace admin/member role to create connections and endpoints.

7. Client Tooling & Fabric Workloads

• Install SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) or Visual Studio Code with MSSQL extension to test connectivity.
• Use Fabric Data Factory pipelines or Spark workloads (via MPE) to connect.
• For mirroring, ensure Pipeline workloads have controller rights, or mirroring-specific permissions if using that feature. 

Step-by-Step Setup Overview

1. Activate Fabric Trial capacity.
2. Create Workspace and assign Trial capacity.
3. Enable tenant settings.
4. Configure Azure:
   • Deploy SQL Server VM with Private Endpoint OR Data Gateway in same VNet.
   • Adjust firewall/VNet rules for Fabric’s managed network.
5. Install gateway if needed.
6. Define Managed Private Endpoint from Fabric Workspace Network settings.
7. Create a SQL login/user with appropriate rights.
8. Use pipelines or Spark notebooks in Fabric jobs to connect via private endpoint or gateway.

By following these steps, you’ll ensure Microsoft Fabric (Trial capacity) can securely connect to your non-publicly accessible SQL Server VM in Azure via private networking. KIndly accept this as a solution if that helped!