[This article was contributed by the SQL Azure team.] Once you have your server allocated via the SQL Azure Portal you can create and drop databases from your desktop’s command line using sqlcmd.exe. This can be handy for clean slate testing where you...

Siddharth Mehta does a good job of covering the basics of moving data from SQL Server to SQL Azure using ( Server Integration Services) SSIS. Included is a walk through, screen shots, and coverage of the new Bulk Insert feature. Find his article here...

Once you have your server allocated via the SQL Azure Portal you can create and drop databases from your desktop’s command line using sqlcmd.exe. This can be handy for clean slate testing where you want to create a database from scratch, unload a schema...

[This article was contributed by the SQL Azure team.] Looking for the free version of the SQL Server Management Studio that works directly with SQL Azure?  You need SQL Server Management Studio 2008 R2 Express Edition.  Use this link to download...

[This article was contributed by the SQL Azure team.] Before migrating your SQL Server schema to SQL Azure, you need to create a clustered index on every table. You can read about why in this blog post . In this post, we will show how to find all the...

Looking for the free version of the SQL Server Management Studio that works directly with SQL Azure?  You need SQL Server Management Studio 2008 R2 Express Edition.  Use this link to download and choose Management Tools only.

Before migrating your SQL Server schema to SQL Azure, you need to create a clustered index on every table. You can read about why in this blog post . In this post, we will show how to find all the tables that don’t have a clustered index. One of the techniques...

[This article was contributed by the SQL Azure team.] Now that you have decided to move your SQL Server data to SQL Azure, it is a good time to change your varchar(max) and text data types to nvarchar(max) . Changing your data types to Unicode will make...

[This article was contributed by the SQL Azure team.] This document provides guidelines on how to deploy an existing on-premise SQL Server database into SQL Azure. It also discusses best practices related to data migration. Click here to read it.

Now that you have decided to move your SQL Server data to SQL Azure, it is a good time to change your varchar(max) and text data types to nvarchar(max) . Changing your data types to Unicode will make your migration from SQL Server to SQL Azure easier...

This document provides guidelines on how to deploy an existing on-premise SQL Server database into SQL Azure. It also discusses best practices related to data migration. Click here to read it.

Steve Marx , Technical Strategist for Windows Azure, has a post on his blog today about combining the newly released PivotViewer Silverlight control with Windows Azure to create a visual way to browse Netflix Instant Watch movies. From Steve’s blog post...

Don't miss the latest session of the WIF Workshop recordings , which covers the use of Microsoft Windows Identity Foundation (WIF) in Windows Azure and provides practical advice on aspects of distributed development such as handling NLB sessions, certificate...

If you're interested in getting a great overview of Windows Azure diagnostics, you should make time to read a new article in MSDN Magazine by former Microsoft engineer Mike Kelly , which explains how Windows Azure diagnostics fit into the general System...

Want to know what's being announced about Windows Azure at TechEd 2010 this week in New Orleans? Here's the rundown: the Windows Azure team will discuss the release of the June 2010 version of the Windows Azure Tools + SDK, the production launch ...