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Archive for December, 2014

SQL SERVER 2014 – How to RESTORE backup from URL (Windows Azure Storage) – PowerShell

Posted in Backup & Restore, SQL SERVER, tagged PowerShell, raresql, restore from URL, SQL, SQL Server, Windows Azure Storage on December 31, 2014| Leave a Comment »

In my earlier articles, I explained, how to RESTORE the backup from URL using T-SQL, SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) from windows Azure storage and it was quite simple & easy to understand. In this article, I will explain how to RESTORE the backup from URL using PowerShell.

Pre-Requisite :

Let me now demonstrate in few easy steps how to RESTORE backup from URL using PowerShell.

Step 1 – Create Account, storage & container :
First of all, you need to create a windows Azure account, a storage and a container as explained in this article.

Step 2 – RESTORE backup to URL :
Once you created the the Azure account, a storage and container and made sure that your backup is available in the windows Azure storage, you can RESTORE the backup from URL using given below script. In this script, first of all I declared the variables , then created credentials. After that RESTORED the backup as shown below. Rest of the script is self explanatory. Make sure that you have downloaded PowerShell Extensions for SQL Server in case you are using Windows PowerShell ISE instead of Windows PowerShell.

#Import sql module
Import-Module sqlps

#Create & set variables
$serverPath = "SQLSERVER:\SQL\WIN-KK48BQM9IS0\DEFAULT"
$storageAccount = "raresql"
$storageKey = "/ByNUTZqJ6EcJR/VQcNmNj+zSu++iCfbcxlyWye6Ok9uhsd5jsd62sjhsd7ksdh7sksdsdlhsd4bsdhsd52ksd=="
$secureString = convertto-securestring $storageKey -asplaintext -force
$credentialName = "My_Credential"

# Create Credential
New-sqlcredential -Name $credentialName -Identity $storageAccount -Secret $secureString

# Set SQL Server instance Path
CD $serverPath

# Set the backup file name
$backupFile = "https://raresql.blob.core.windows.net/sql-backup/AdventureWorks2012_25_Dec_2014.bak"

# Restore Database and move files
$newDataFilePath = New-Object Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.RelocateFile ("AdventureWorks2012_Data","C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL12.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\DATA\AdventureWorks2012_Data.mdf")
$newLogFilePath = New-Object Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.RelocateFile("AdventureWorks2012_Log","C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL12.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\DATA\AdventureWorks2012_log.ldf")
Restore-SqlDatabase -Database "AdventureWorks2012" -SqlCredential $credentialName -BackupFile $backupFile -RelocateFile @($newDataFilePath,$newLogFilePath)

As you can see, the messages show that your backup has been restored successfully.

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SQL SERVER 2014 – How to take backup to URL (Windows Azure Storage) – SSMS

Posted in Solutions, SQL SERVER, tagged Download Publishing Profile, raresql, restore from URL, SQL, SQL Server, Windows Azure Storage on December 30, 2014| Leave a Comment »

In my earlier article, I explained, how to RESTORE the backup from URL using T-SQL and it was quite simple & easy to understand. In this article, I will explain how to how to RESTORE the backup from URL using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS). It would be the same configuration but with the different screens & steps.

Pre-Requisite :

Let me now demonstrate in few easy steps how to RESTORE backup from URL.

Step 1 – Create Account, storage & container :
First of all you need to create a windows Azure account, a storage and a container as explained in this article.

Step 2 – Create Credential :
Once you have the details of Azure account, you need to create the credential using given below script. But if you notice, this script requires two parameters namely IDENTITY & SECRET. So how will I get them? Actually IDENTITY is the storage name that we created in the Pre-Requisite article -1 (Step 4) namely ‘raresql‘ and SECRET is the primary access key that we also picked up in the Pre-Requisite article -1 (Step 5). Lets create a credential.

Note: Please skip this step if you have already created the credentials.

USE master
GO
CREATE CREDENTIAL [My_Credential]
WITH IDENTITY ='raresql'
,SECRET = '/ByNUTZqJ6EcJR/VQcNmNj+zSu++iCfbcxlyWye6Ok9uY3L5nw3XkndmAnDjiKn'
GO

Step 3 – Open Windows Azure Storage dialogue box :
Once you created the credentials, the next step is to right click on the particular database you want to restore the back up and select tasks, further you need to select Restore and Database … as shown below.

Step 4 – Connect to Windows Azure Storage :
Now, SSMS opened the Connect Windows Azure Storage dialogue box, here you need to enter storage account (Pre-Requisite article -1 (Step 4)), account key (Pre-Requisite article -1 (Step 5)) & select / create the credentials. As we have already created the credentials in the above step, we will just select the credentials and click on Connect button as shown below.

Step 5 – RESTORE the backup from URL :
Once you click on the Connect button, it will authenticate your account with Azure, once it will be authenticated, it will open the restore dialogue box and shows your back up. Now, you can select the back and restore it as shown below.

As you can see, the messages show that your backup has been restored successfully.

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2014 in review

Posted in Raresql News, SQL SERVER on December 30, 2014| Leave a Comment »

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 370,000 times in 2014. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 16 days for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

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SQL SERVER 2014 – How to RESTORE backup from URL (Windows Azure Storage) – TSQL

Posted in Solutions, SQL SERVER, tagged raresql, restore from URL, SQL, SQL Server, Windows Azure Storage on December 28, 2014| Leave a Comment »

In my earlier articles, I explained, how to take SQL Server backup to URL using T-SQL, SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) & PowerShell. In this article, I will explain how to RESTORE the backup from URL using T-SQL.

Pre-Requisite :

Let me now demonstrate in few easy steps how to RESTORE backup from URL.

Step 1 – Create Account, storage & container :
First of all you need to create a windows Azure account, a storage and a container as explained in this article.

Step 2 – Create Credential :
Once you have the details, you need to create the credential using given below script. But if you notice, this script requires two parameters namely IDENTITY & SECRET. So how will I get them? Actually IDENTITY is the storage name that we created in the Pre-Requisite article -1 (Step 4) namely ‘raresql‘ and SECRET is the primary access key that we also picked up in the Pre-Requisite article -1 (Step 5). Lets create a credential.

Note: Please skip this step if you have already created the credentials.

USE master
GO
CREATE CREDENTIAL [My_Credential]
WITH IDENTITY ='raresql'
,SECRET = '/ByNUTZqJ6EcJR/VQcNmNj+zSu++iCfbcxlyWye6Ok9uY3L5nw3XkndmAnDjiKn'
GO

Step 3 – RESTORE the backup from URL :
Once you created the credential, lets RESTORE the backup on URL using given below script, which requires two parameters, one is credential that we created in the above step and the second is the URL of the backup that we created in the Pre-Requisite article -2 (Step 3).

Note: Before proceeding with the Backup restore, kindly log in to your Azure account and verify the existence of the backup which URL you will mention in the below script.

USE [master]
ALTER DATABASE [AdventureWorks2012] SET SINGLE_USER WITH ROLLBACK IMMEDIATE
RESTORE DATABASE [AdventureWorks2012] FROM  URL = N'https://raresql.blob.core.windows.net/sql-backup/AdventureWorks2012_25_Dec_2014.bak'
WITH  CREDENTIAL = N'My_Credential'
,  FILE = 1,  NOUNLOAD,  STATS = 5
ALTER DATABASE [AdventureWorks2012] SET MULTI_USER
GO
--OUTPUT

As you can see, the messages show that your backup has been restored successfully.

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SQL SERVER 2014 – How to take backup to URL (Windows Azure Storage) – PowerShell

Posted in Solutions, SQL SERVER, tagged backup to URL, PowerShell, raresql, SQL, SQL Server, Windows Azure Storage on December 27, 2014| 2 Comments »

SQL Server backup to URL is a new feature shipped with SQL Server 2014. I explained how to take backup via SSMS (SQL Server Management Studio) in my earlier article. Today, I will demonstrate how to take SQL Server backup to URL via PowerShell.

Pre-Requisite :

Microsoft Azure – How to create storage and container

Let me now demonstrate in few easy steps how to take backup to URL via PowerShell.

Step 1 – Create Account, storage & container :
First of all, you need to create a windows Azure account, a storage and a container as explained in this article.

Step 2 – Take backup to URL :
Once you created the the Azure account, a storage and container, you can take a backup on URL using given below script. In this script, first of all I declared the variables , then created credentials. After that take the backup as shown below. Rest of the script is self explanatory. Make sure that you have downloaded PowerShell Extensions for SQL Server in case you are using Windows PowerShell ISE instead of Windows PowerShell.


#Import sql module
Import-Module sqlps

#Create & set variables
$serverPath = "SQLSERVER:\SQL\WIN-KK48BQM9IS0\DEFAULT"
$storageAccount = "raresql"
$storageKey = "/ByNUTZqJ6EcJR/VQcNmNj+zSu++iCfbcxlyWye6Ok9uhsd5jsd62sjhsd7ksdh7sksdsdlhsd4bsdhsd52ksd=="
$secureString = convertto-securestring $storageKey -asplaintext -force
$credentialName = "My_Credential"

# Create Credentials
New-sqlcredential -Name $credentialName -Identity $storageAccount -Secret $secureString

# Set SQL Server instance Path
CD $serverPath

# Set the backup file name
$backupFile = "https://raresql.blob.core.windows.net/sql-backup/AdventureWorks2012_25_Dec_2014.bak"

# Take Backup Database to URL
Backup-SqlDatabase -Database "AdventureWorks2012" -backupFile $backupFile -SqlCredential $credentialName -CompressionOption On

Step 3 – Verify backup to URL :
Lets go to the container inside the storage and check if the backup is available there or NOT because we saw the confirmation report in the above step.

Now, you can see above that your backup is available on Azure, what you have taken in the above step.

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SQL SERVER 2014 – How to take backup to URL (Windows Azure Storage) – SSMS

Posted in Solutions, tagged backup to URL, Download Publishing Profile, raresql, SQL, SQL Server, Windows Azure Storage on December 26, 2014| Leave a Comment »

In my earlier article, I explained how to take SQL Server backup to URL in SQL Server 2014 using T-SQL. In this article, I will explain how to take SQL Server backup to URL using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS).

Pre-Requisite :

Microsoft Azure – How to create storage and container

Let me demonstrate in few easy steps how to take backup to URL using SSMS.

Step 1 – Create Account, storage & container :
First of all, you need to create a windows Azure account, a storage and a container as explained in this article. This step is mandatory to move forward.

Step 2 – Download Publishing Profile :
Once you have the details, you need to download the publishing profile. We will use this publishing profile in the next step to create credentials. Given below is the URL that will take you to your Microsoft Azure account, and once you log in your account, it will download the publishing profile having extension of .publishsettings.

https://manage.windowsazure.com/publishsettings/

Step 3 – Open Backup dialogue Box :
The next step is to take the backup of any database on Microsoft Azure. In order to do it, first of all select that database, right click on it, go to tasks and further select backup as shown below. This is the same procedure we follow to take the traditional backup.

Step 4 – Open Credential Dialogue box :
Once you selected the backup option, it will open the backup dialogue box. Here, you need to select the Back up to is URL. Here you see few backup options but for now you need to ignore these options and create credentials. Click the Create credential button as shown below.

Step 5 – Create Credential :
Now, you are in the credential creation screen, here you need to BROWSE the file which you have downloaded in Step 2. Then SELECT the CERTIFICATE, it will automatically populate the STORAGE(s) after AZURE account verification. Then you need to select the STORAGE. Once you are done with all selections, you need to give a NAME to the credential and press Create button.

Note : If you have already created the credentials, you do not need to follow this step.

Step 6 – Setup Backup options :
Once you created the credential, you will revert to back up dialogue box and your created credential will be selected automatically. Now you need to enter the FILE NAME of the backup as well as the AZURE STORAGE CONTAINER NAME that we have created in earlier article at Step 9 as shown below. Press OK button.

Step 7 – Back Up in Progress :
Once you pressed OK button, the back up operation will start, however as compared to local, this back up operation will be slow. Be patient and wait for it to finish the operation as shown below.

Step 8 – Verify backup to URL :
The back up is done now, lets go to the container inside the storage in Windows Azure and check if the backup is available there or NOT because we saw the confirmation report in the above step.

As you can see above, the Back up is available in Azure. Isn’t it cool 😉 ?

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SQL SERVER 2014 – How to take backup to URL (Windows Azure Storage) – TSQL

Posted in Solutions, SQL SERVER, tagged backup to URL, raresql, SQL, SQL Server, Windows Azure Storage on December 6, 2014| Leave a Comment »

SQL Server backup to URL is a new feature shipped with SQL Server 2014. Now, you do not need to manage backup tapes, tape drives, storage etc etc. All you need to do is to create a Windows Azure account, a storage and a container, remaining stuff Azure will handle your backup 😉

Pre-Requisite :

Microsoft Azure – How to create storage and container

Let me now demonstrate in few easy steps how to take backup to URL.

Step 1 – Create Account, storage & container :
First of all you need to create a windows Azure account, a storage and a container as explained in this article.

Step 2 – Create Credential :
Once you have the details, you need to create the credential using given below script. But if you notice, this script requires two parameters namely IDENTITY & SECRET. So how will I get them? Actually IDENTITY is the storage name that we created in the previous article (Step 4) namely ‘raresql‘ and SECRET is the primary access key that we also picked up in the previous article (Step 5). Lets create a credential.

USE master
GO
CREATE CREDENTIAL [My_Credential]
WITH IDENTITY ='raresql'
,SECRET = '/ByNUTZqJ6EcJR/VQcNmNj+zSu++iCfbcxlyWye6Ok9uY3L5nw3XkndmAnDjiKn'
GO

Step 3 – Take backup to URL :
Once you created the credential, lets take a backup on URL using given below script, which requires two parameters, one is credential that we created in the above step and the second is the URL that we created in the previous article (Step 10).

BACKUP DATABASE AdventureWorks2012
TO URL = 'https://raresql.blob.core.windows.net/sql-backup/AdventureWorks2012.bak'
WITH CREDENTIAL = 'My_Credential'
,STATS = 5;
GO
--OUTPUT

Step 4 – Verify backup to URL :
Lets go to the container inside the storage and check if the backup is available there or NOT. Because, we saw the confirmation report in the above step.

I am sure, you will be more than excited to try this solution, as this will eliminate your headache of maintaining the tape, its drives and last but not the least, its issues.

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Microsoft Azure – How to create storage and container

Posted in Solutions, SQL SERVER, tagged Container, Microsoft Azure, raresql, SQL, SQL Server, Storage on December 5, 2014| 2 Comments »

Recently, I came across a situation, where I had to place my SQL Server back on Microsoft Azure. Before placing the backup on Azure, there are some pre-requisites required, for example a valid account, a storage and a container on Azure. Given below is a step by step approach, demonstrating how to create them using simple steps.

Step 1 :
First of all, you need to create a Microsoft Azure account (It is free for one month ONLY, however it asks the credit card details for verification ONLY).

Step 2 :
Once you create the account and Sign in to Microsoft Azure, you will be in the Microsoft Azure portal as shown below. Here you can see a lot of different exciting features, however, you need to select storage to create a NEW storage.

Step 3 :
Now you are in the storage screen and Azure is showing that you have no storage because you have a new account, so you should create a storage as shown below. If you already have a storage you can utilize it.

Step 4 :
Once you click on the new storage account, Azure will take you to the storage creation screen and require a unique URL name that you can reference later. You should leave the remaining info as it is and click on create storage account button at the bottom as shown below. In my case I named the storage as ‘raresql‘.

Once your storage has been created, it would look like this :

Step 5 :
Now, you have created the storage. The next step is to take the access keys that you require later to keep anything in this particular storage. In order to get the access keys, you need to click on the manage access keys button as shown below.

Once you click on manage access keys, it will show the storage name, primary and secondary access keys.

Step 6 :
The next step is to create the container, where you can keep your backups. Just click on raresql (storage) in order to create container as shown below.

Step 7 :

Once you click on the storage, it will take the storage dashboard and you will find a lot of exciting features here as well, however, you just need to select the container tab as shown below.

Step 8 :
Once you click on the container tab, it will take you to the container creation screen as shown below. Here you need to click on create a container to proceed.

Step 9 :
Once you click on create a container button, it will pop up the container creation screen. Here you need to enter the container name and its security and click the tick button at the right bottom. By default the security is private as shown below.

Step 10 :
Once you click the tick, your container will be created as shown below. However, please make a note of your container name and its URL. This will help you to reference your container back.

Let me know your comments if you face any problem during the creation of storage and container.

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Archive for December, 2014

SQL SERVER 2014 – How to RESTORE backup from URL (Windows Azure Storage) – PowerShell

SQL SERVER 2014 – How to take backup to URL (Windows Azure Storage) – SSMS

2014 in review

SQL SERVER 2014 – How to RESTORE backup from URL (Windows Azure Storage) – TSQL

SQL SERVER 2014 – How to take backup to URL (Windows Azure Storage) – PowerShell

SQL SERVER 2014 – How to take backup to URL (Windows Azure Storage) – SSMS

SQL SERVER 2014 – How to take backup to URL (Windows Azure Storage) – TSQL

Microsoft Azure – How to create storage and container

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