How to Upload Large Amounts of Sql Data to Azure

Data imports represent some of the more commonly performed database direction tasks. When importing data into Azure SQL Database, you lot tin can leverage a number of traditional SQL Server information import techniques. In this article, you will go an overview of these techniques and learn most the cloud-specific aspects of importing.

The most straightforward methods that you can use in guild to import information into tables hosted by an instance of Azure SQL Database include:

• Transact-SQL statements: Yous have the option of invoking import directly from the target Azure SQL Database example by running either of the following:
• BULK INSERT: loads raw data into a target table from a designated flat file. You can, for example, import content of a blob residing in an Azure Storage business relationship (constituting an external data source). Note that in order to provide security context in such scenario (bold that the hulk is not attainable anonymously), you lot need to create a new or use an existing database master key (for encrypting secrets necessary to qualify access to the storage business relationship) and a database scoped credential (for authenticating Azure SQL Database to the external data source). When importing data from Azure Storage, such credential would include the target storage account cardinal or a Shared Access Signature token. The credential is part of the external information source definition (which, in this case, would include as well the URI representing the location of the Azure Storage hulk container).
• OPENROWSET(BULK...): offers more advanced capabilities (comparison with Bulk INSERT), which let for parsing content of a information source (such equally a blob residing in an Azure Storage business relationship) and executing T-SQL statements on returned rows earlier initiating the load (when implementing the BULK INSERT-based approach, you could use for this purpose a temporary table). Merely every bit with Bulk INSERT, you take to define an external data source, including credentials necessary for authorization purposes.
• The bcp utility: This control line utility facilitates importing large volumes of information into Azure SQL Database. The bcp utility is part of the package of Microsoft Command Line Utilities for SQL Server, available from Microsoft Download Eye and uniform with every current version of 32-bit and 64-bit Windows operating organisation. It is also included in Microsoft SQL Server 2017 tools. The latest versions of the bcp utility back up Azure Advertizing authentication (including its Multi-Factor Authentication functionality), in addition to SQL Server authentication.

  When performing data import, you either need to ensure that data residing in a source file matches the construction of the target tabular array or yous take the selection of defining this structure in an auxiliary format file that yous reference during import. You should also go along in heed that the bcp utility does not support UTF-viii format (data must exist in formatted as ASCII or UTF-16).

• Azure Data Factory:This cloud-based, managed data integration service facilitates data movement and transformation. In lodge to take advantage of its capabilities, you implement pipelines that represent data-drive workflows, consisting primarily of linked services and activities. Linked services represent data stores (containing datasets that are used as inputs or outputs of activities) and external compute resources (handling data transformation). Azure Information Manufactory also relies on Integration Runtime that constitutes its own compute infrastructure, responsible for data movement and dispatch of activities to other compute services. In improver, Integration Runtime makes possible to execute SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) packages. When dealing with publicly accessible data stores, you can use the managed, Azure-resident Integration Runtime. In order to handle information residing inside boundaries of a private network (on-premises or in the cloud), you need to implement cocky-hosted Integration Runtime.

  One of the simplest scenarios that illustrates the process of importing data into Azure SQL Database past using Azure Data Manufacturing plant leverages Copy Activity, which executes exclusively in Integration Runtime. To account for possible discrepancies betwixt the information source and its destination, you need to configure schema and data type mapping. Re-create Activity also allows for incremental copies, reading and writing partitioned data, too as interactive and programmatic monitoring.

  Azure Data Mill offers a high caste of flexibility, with a wide range of supported data stores, including:

  • Azure data services: Azure Blob, Table, and File storage, Azure Cosmos DB with SQL and MongoDB APIs, Azure Data Lake Storage Gen1 and Gen2, Azure Database for MySQL, MariaDB, and PostgresSQL, Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Information Warehouse, and Azure Search Alphabetize
  • Relational databases: Amazon Redshift, DB2, Google BigQuery, Greenplum, HBase, Hive, Informix, MySQL, MariaDB, PostresSQL, Oracle, SAP HANA, Spark, Sybase, Teradata, SQL Server, Microsoft Access
  • Non-relational databases: Cassandra and MongoDB
  • Flat files: Amazon S3, file arrangement, FTP, Google Cloud Storage, hDFS, SFTP
  • Services and applications: Dynamics 365, Dynamics CRM, Office 365, QuickBooks, Salesforce, SAP ECC, ServiceNow.
• SQL Server Management Studio: This primary SQL Server management tool bachelor from Microsoft Downloads simplifies imports into Azure SQL Database by offering wizard-driven interface:
  • Import Apartment File Wizard: (included in SQL Server Management Studio starting with v17.3) copies information from a apartment file in a delimited format. It leverages an intelligent framework chosen PROSE (an acronym representing the term Program Synthesis using Examples), which analyzes the input file in society to determine with loftier degree of probability the intended data format.
  • SQL Server Import and Export Wizard: supports a number of dissimilar information sources, including .Internet Framework Data Provider for ODBC, .NET Framework Data provider for Oracle, .NET Framework Information Provider for SQLServer, Flat File Source, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft OLE DB Provider for Analysis Services fourteen.0, Microsoft OLE DB Provider for Oracle, Microsoft OLE DB Provider for Search, OLE DB Provider for SQL Server Integration Services, SQL Server Native Client 11.0, and Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server (which besides allows you to configure Azure SQL Database equally the destination of the import process). The wizard relies on SQL Server Integration Services to perform the data copy (information technology automatically generates a SSIS bundle, which yous can optionally shop for time to come utilize).

This concludes our overview of different methods that can exist used to import data into Azure SQL Database. In the upcoming articles published on this site, I will cover in more details the process of importing information into Azure SQL Database by using Azure Data Manufacturing plant.

See All Articles by Marcin Policht

Marcin Policht

Being a long fourth dimension reader, I'm proud to join the crowd of engineering gurus gathered here. I have a fair share of Microsoft exams behind me, a couple of acronyms later my proper name - MCSE, MCSD, and MCT, decent familiarity with bulk of MS BackOffice products (SMS, SQL, Exchange, IIS), programming and scripting languages (VB, C++, VBScript with wsh) and several years of practical experience with Windows surroundings assistants and engineering. My focus these days is on SQL Server and Windows 2000, and I'll effort to share the most interesting experiences with these products.

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Source: https://www.databasejournal.com/ms-sql/importing-data-into-azure-sql-database/

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