SQL Server Advice for an old hack Evening guys and gals, I am hoping some of you legends might be able to be help me out here :)

I last used SQL Server back on version 7 back in the dark ages (we rubbed two sticks together to get it going). Now here I am in in the 21st century and would like to come back to DBA work again.

I would like to setup a 'cheap' virtual machine &amp; instance to play with, then work towards the newest certification (I see the newest will commence April 2017 which is good timing for me I think). I am particularly interested in the BI side of things.

Can anyone recommend a good hosting provider for a virtual machine? Do I simply get a Windows Server and go from there or can I get a package somewhere? Azure I assume or elsewhere? I suspect there are a number of options, hoping you can share some good ones :)

Plus any other helpful tips are most welcome, cheers!
The easiest solution is actually free: Microsoft's Virtual Labs. You get access to SQL Servers in the cloud, plus step-by-step instructions on what to experiment with. (You aren't required to do their tutorials, either - you can use the VMs for anything you like.)

Keep in mind that there's a few restrictions: you can't surf the web from there, and you can't copy/paste things in. Because of that, it's a little limited - but you can't beat free.

If you're going to run your own SQL Server, I wouldn't recommend doing it in the cloud since you pay by the hour. You're better off using a free virtualization tool like Hyper-V, ESXi, or VirtualBox, and then installing the totally free SQL Server Developer Edition. Good luck on your learning journey!