we have a database which is a SQL server PaaS offering, I would like to create a read only replica database which has a dedicated server behind it. The reason behind this is that I do not want to use the read scale out option, as this option requires the read intent to be specified. The users will be using SSMS and not a reporting application where the connection string can have the read intent string.
Data synch is one other option that I have explored, I have concerns with its restriction around every table having a primary key and what happens if during a release the schema is altered and the table involved in data synch.