diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index d03ac5b..cb7683f 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -3,12 +3,15 @@ FROM python:3.12-slim
 
 WORKDIR /app
 
-# Install dependencies (no build tools needed for current deps)
+# Install system deps for ODBC/SQL Server (unixODBC, msodbcsql18) and Python requirements
 COPY requirements.txt .
-RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y curl gnupg unixodbc unixodbc-dev && \
-    curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | apt-key add - && \
-    curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/debian/12/prod.list > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mssql-release.list && \
-    apt-get update && ACCEPT_EULA=Y apt-get install -y msodbcsql18 && \
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends curl gnupg ca-certificates unixodbc unixodbc-dev && \
+    mkdir -p /etc/apt/keyrings && \
+    curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/microsoft.gpg && \
+    chmod 644 /etc/apt/keyrings/microsoft.gpg && \
+    curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/debian/12/prod.list | sed 's|^deb |deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/microsoft.gpg] |' > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mssql-release.list && \
+    apt-get update && ACCEPT_EULA=Y apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends msodbcsql18 && \
+    rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* && \
     pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
 
 # Application
diff --git a/main.py b/main.py
index 2222200..dd53580 100644
--- a/main.py
+++ b/main.py
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@
 
 import json
 import os
-import pyodbc
 from collections import Counter
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -22,6 +21,10 @@
 # _blob_container_client: container client if connected, False if init failed, None if not tried
 _blob_container_client: Any = None
 
+# Optional Azure SQL connection cache.
+# None = not yet attempted, False = permanently disabled (misconfiguration or import error), object = live connection
+_sql_connection: Any = None
+
 
 def _get_blob_container():
     """Lazy-init Azure Blob container client from env. Returns None if not configured or init failed."""
@@ -320,18 +323,41 @@ def convert_numpy_types(obj: Any) -> Any:
     return obj
 
 def _get_sql_connection():
-    """Create Azure SQL connection. Returns None if not configured."""
+    """Return a cached Azure SQL connection. Returns None if not configured or permanently disabled."""
+    global _sql_connection
+    if _sql_connection is False:
+        return None  # permanently disabled after earlier failure
+    if _sql_connection is not None:
+        try:
+            # Lightweight connectivity check at the ODBC driver level (no query sent to server).
+            _sql_connection.getinfo(2)  # SQL_DATA_SOURCE_NAME
+            return _sql_connection
+        except Exception:
+            _sql_connection = None  # stale, attempt to reconnect below
+
     if not SQL_CONNECTION_STRING:
         return None
+
+    try:
+        import pyodbc  # noqa: PLC0415 – intentionally deferred for optional dependency
+    except ImportError:
+        print("pyodbc is not installed; Azure SQL saving disabled.")
+        _sql_connection = False
+        return None
+
     try:
-        return pyodbc.connect(SQL_CONNECTION_STRING, timeout=10)
+        conn = pyodbc.connect(SQL_CONNECTION_STRING, timeout=10)
+        _sql_connection = conn
+        return _sql_connection
     except Exception as e:
-        print(f"Azure SQL connection failed: {e}")
+        print(f"Azure SQL connection failed ({type(e).__name__}); SQL saving disabled.")
+        _sql_connection = False
         return None
 
 
 def save_occupancy_data_sql(occupancy_result: dict, timestamp_iso: Optional[str] = None) -> None:
     """Save occupancy estimation to Azure SQL."""
+    global _sql_connection
     if not SAVE_TO_SQL:
         return
 
@@ -339,6 +365,7 @@ def save_occupancy_data_sql(occupancy_result: dict, timestamp_iso: Optional[str]
     if conn is None:
         return
 
+    cursor = None
     try:
         sid = occupancy_result.get("sensor_id") or "unknown"
         ts = timestamp_iso or datetime.now().isoformat()
@@ -376,14 +403,20 @@ def save_occupancy_data_sql(occupancy_result: dict, timestamp_iso: Optional[str]
             1 if entry["any_fever"] else 0,
         )
         conn.commit()
-        cursor.close()
-        conn.close()
     except Exception as e:
-        print(f"Error saving occupancy data to Azure SQL: {e}")
+        print(f"Error saving occupancy data to Azure SQL ({type(e).__name__}); will retry on next call.")
         try:
-            conn.close()
+            conn.rollback()
         except Exception:
             pass
+        # Invalidate the cached connection so the next call will reconnect
+        _sql_connection = None
+    finally:
+        if cursor is not None:
+            try:
+                cursor.close()
+            except Exception:
+                pass
 
 
 def save_thermal_data(