SQL Azure team announced today about the release of a new experimental cloud service, "SQL Azure Compatibility Assessment”. This tool is a created by SQL Azure Labs and if you are considering moving your SQL Server databases to SQL Azure, you can use this assessment service to check if your database schema is compatible with SQL Azure grammar. This service is very easy to use and does not require Azure account. 


"SQL Azure Compatibility Assessment" is an experimental cloud service. It’s aimed at database administrators who are considering migrating their existing SQL Server databases to SQL Azure. This service is super easy to use with just a Windows Live ID. Here are the steps:

  • Generate a .dacpac file from your database using SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) CTP4. You can either run SqlPackage.exe or import the database into an SSDT project and then build it to generate a .dacpac. SQL Server 2005, 2008, 2008 R2, 2012 (CTP or RC0) are all supported.
  • Upload your .dacpac to the "SQL Azure Compatibility Assessment" cloud service and receive an assessment report, which lists the schema objects that are not supported in SQL Azure and that need to be fixed prior to migration.

Learn more about Microsoft Codename "SQL Azure Compatibility Assessment" in this great video:

 

Learn Technical details about "SQL Azure Compatibility Assessment" tool:

SqlPackage.exe is a command line utility that automates the following database development tasks:

  • Extraction: creating a database snapshot (.dacpac) file from a live SQL Azure database
  • Publishing: incrementally updates a database schema to match the schema of a source database
  • Report: creates reports of the changes that result from publishing a database schema
  • Script: creates a Transact-SQL script that publishes a database schema