Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 4
Data Migration and Backup Strategies
When companies talk about their research into or experiences with the Azure technology—specifically the SQL side
of Azure—two of their most frequent concerns (aside from security) are migrating local databases and data into the
cloud, and backup strategies. Until Azure came around, databases were housed locally (and they still are): they're
contained within the walls of the company or in a data center. Moving to the Azure platform and SQL Azure means
moving all or a portion of your data into the cloud and storing it there.
Chapter 3 talked at length about security concerns, considerations, and best practices for storing your precious
data in the cloud. Moving data into the cloud is a decision that you shouldn't and can't take lightly. But after you make
the decision to utilize SQL Azure, the question becomes, how do you get your data into the cloud? As nice as it would
be if moving your local database into SQL Azure was seamless, it isn't as cut-and-dried as you may think. You do have
several viable options available; but you must consider things beyond just moving the data, such as costs from data
transfers.
After your data is in the cloud, further questions arise regarding the backup strategies that are common with
local databases. In SQL Azure, gone are the concepts of backup devices and backing up and restoring databases. As
shocking as this may sound, remember that Microsoft is managing the hardware behind the scenes. For now, there are
no such things as drives, devices, and so on.
In this chapter we will discuss the different migration tools, strategies, and concepts for moving your database
and data into the cloud. You'll see examples illustrating how these tools are used. We'll finish the chapter off by
spending a page or two on backup strategies and tools that help provide SQL Database backup capabilities.
Migrating Databases and Data to SQL Azure
So you want to move one or more of your applications and its databases to the cloud. It's a noble idea. More than
likely, you're in the same category as countless others who are looking into moving applications into the cloud: you
don't want to start from scratch. You'd rather migrate an existing application to the cloud, but you aren't sure about
the steps necessary to do so, or the technologies available to help in the process. This section discusses three tools
from Microsoft that come as part of SQL Server:
•
The Import/Export Service
•
The Generate and Publish Scripts Wizard
bcp
utility
•
The
In addition to these three tools, we will also briefly mention a free utility found on CodePlex called the SQL Azure
Migration Wizard, which provides a wizard-driven interface to walk you through migrating your database and data to
SQL Azure.
The examples in this chapter use SQL Server 2012, which is available from Microsoft's MSDN site. These
examples also work with SQL Server 2008, although some the screens may be a bit different.
