Tutorial: Migrate SQL Server to Azure SQL Managed Instance offline in Azure Data Studio

You can use Azure Database Migration Service and the Azure SQL Migration extension in Azure Data Studio to migrate databases from an on-premises instance of SQL Server to Azure SQL Managed Instance offline and with minimal downtime.

For database migration methods that might require some manual configuration, see SQL Server instance migration to Azure SQL Managed Instance.

In this tutorial, learn how to migrate the AdventureWorks database from an on-premises instance of SQL Server to an instance of Azure SQL Managed Instance by using Azure Data Studio and Database Migration Service. This tutorial uses offline migration mode, which considers an acceptable downtime during the migration process.

In this tutorial, you learn how to:

This tutorial describes an offline migration from SQL Server to Azure SQL Managed Instance. For an online migration, see Migrate SQL Server to Azure SQL Managed Instance online in Azure Data Studio.

Prerequisites

Before you begin the tutorial:

• Download and install Azure Data Studio.

• Install the Azure SQL Migration extension from Azure Data Studio Marketplace.

• Have an Azure account that's assigned to one of the following built-in roles:

  • Contributor for the target instance of Azure SQL Managed Instance and for the storage account where you upload your database backup files from a Server Message Block (SMB) network share
  • Reader role for the Azure resource groups that contain the target instance of Azure SQL Managed Instance or your Azure storage account
  • Owner or Contributor role for the Azure subscription (required if you create a new Database Migration Service instance)

  As an alternative to using one of these built-in roles, you can assign a custom role.

  Important

  An Azure account is required only when you configure the migration steps. An Azure account isn't required for the assessment or to view Azure recommendations in the migration wizard in Azure Data Studio.

• Create a target instance of Azure SQL Managed Instance.

• Ensure that the logins that you use to connect the source SQL Server instance are members of the SYSADMIN server role or have CONTROL SERVER permission.

• Provide an SMB network share, Azure storage account file share, or Azure storage account blob container that contains your full database backup files and subsequent transaction log backup files. Database Migration Service uses the backup location during database migration.

  Important

  • The Azure SQL Migration extension for Azure Data Studio doesn't take database backups, or neither initiate any database backups on your behalf. Instead, the service uses existing database backup files for the migration.
  • If your database backup files are in an SMB network share, create an Azure storage account that Database Migration Service can use to upload database backup files to and to migrate databases. Make sure you create the Azure storage account in the same region where you create your instance of Database Migration Service.
  • You can write each backup to either a separate backup file or to multiple backup files. Appending multiple backups such as full and transaction logs into a single backup media isn't supported.
  • You can provide compressed backups to reduce the likelihood of experiencing potential issues associated with migrating large backups.

• Ensure that the service account that's running the source SQL Server instance has read and write permissions on the SMB network share that contains database backup files.

• If you're migrating a database that's protected by Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), the certificate from the source SQL Server instance must be migrated to your target managed instance before you restore the database. For more information about migrating TDE-enabled databases, see Tutorial: Migrate TDE-enabled databases (preview) to Azure SQL in Azure Data Studio.

  Tip

  If your database contains sensitive data that's protected by Always Encrypted, the migration process automatically migrates your Always Encrypted keys to your target managed instance.

• If your database backups are on a network file share, provide a computer on which you can install a self-hosted integration runtime to access and migrate database backups. The migration wizard gives you the download link and authentication keys to download and install your self-hosted integration runtime.

  In preparation for the migration, ensure that the computer on which you install the self-hosted integration runtime has the following outbound firewall rules and domain names enabled:

  Domain names	Outbound port	Description
  Public cloud: {datafactory}.{region}.datafactory.azure.net or *.frontend.clouddatahub.net Azure Government: {datafactory}.{region}.datafactory.azure.us Microsoft Azure operated by 21Vianet: {datafactory}.{region}.datafactory.azure.cn	443	Required by the self-hosted integration runtime to connect to Database Migration Service. For a newly created data factory in a public cloud, locate the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) from your self-hosted integration runtime key, in the format {datafactory}.{region}.datafactory.azure.net. For an existing data factory, if you don't see the FQDN in your self-hosted integration key, use *.frontend.clouddatahub.net instead.
  download.microsoft.com	443	Required by the self-hosted integration runtime for downloading the updates. If you have disabled autoupdate, you can skip configuring this domain.
  *.core.windows.net	443	Used by the self-hosted integration runtime that connects to the Azure storage account to upload database backups from your network share

  Tip

  If your database backup files are already provided in an Azure storage account, a self-hosted integration runtime isn't required during the migration process.

• If you use a self-hosted integration runtime, make sure that the computer on which the runtime is installed can connect to the source SQL Server instance and the network file share where backup files are located.

• Enable outbound port 445 to allow access to the network file share. For more information, see recommendations for using a self-hosted integration runtime.

• If you're using Database Migration Service for the first time, make sure that the Microsoft.DataMigration resource provider is registered in your subscription. You can complete the steps to register the resource provider.

Open the Migrate to Azure SQL wizard in Azure Data Studio

To open the Migrate to Azure SQL wizard:

1. In Azure Data Studio, go to Connections. Select and connect to your on-premises instance of SQL Server. You also can connect to SQL Server on an Azure virtual machine.

2. Right-click the server connection and select Manage.

3. In the server menu, under General, select Azure SQL Migration.

4. In the Azure SQL Migration dashboard, select Migrate to Azure SQL to open the migration wizard.

   

5. On the first page of the wizard, start a new session or resume a previously saved session.

Run a database assessment, collect performance data, and get Azure recommendations

1. In Step 1: Databases for assessment in the Migrate to Azure SQL wizard, select the databases you want to assess. Then, select Next.

2. In Step 2: Assessment results and recommendations, complete the following steps:

   1. In Choose your Azure SQL target, select Azure SQL Managed Instance.

   

3. Select View/Select to view the assessment results.

4. In the assessment results, select the database, and then review the assessment report to make sure no issues were found.

   1. Select Get Azure recommendation to open the recommendations pane.

   2. Select Collect performance data now. Select a folder on your local computer to store the performance logs, and then select Start.

      Azure Data Studio collects performance data until you either stop data collection or you close Azure Data Studio.

      After 10 minutes, Azure Data Studio indicates that a recommendation is available for Azure SQL Managed Instance. After the first recommendation is generated, you can select Restart data collection to continue the data collection process and refine the SKU recommendation. An extended assessment is especially helpful if your usage patterns vary over time.

   3. In the selected Azure SQL Managed Instance target, select View details to open the detailed SKU recommendation report:

   4. In Review Azure SQL Managed Instance Recommendations, review the recommendation. To save a copy of the recommendation, select the Save recommendation report checkbox.

5. Select Close to close the recommendations pane.

6. Select Next to continue your database migration in the wizard.

Configure migration settings

1. In Step 3: Azure SQL target in the Migrate to Azure SQL wizard, select your Azure account, Azure subscription, the Azure region or location, and the resource group that contains the target instance of Azure SQL Managed Instance. Then, select Next.

2. In Step 4: Migration mode, select Offline migration, and then select Next.

   Note

   In offline migration mode, the source SQL Server database shouldn't be used for write activity while database backups are restored on a target instance of Azure SQL Managed Instance. Application downtime needs to be considered until the migration is finished.

3. In Step 5: Data source configuration, select the location of your database backups. Your database backups can be located either on an on-premises network share or in an Azure storage blob container.

• For backups that are located on a network share, enter or select the following information:

  Name	Description
  Source Credentials - Username	The credential (Windows and SQL authentication) to connect to the source SQL Server instance and validate the backup files.
  Source Credentials - Password	The credential (Windows and SQL authentication) to connect to the source SQL Server instance and validate the backup files.
  Network share location that contains backups	The network share location that contains the full and transaction log backup files. Any invalid files or backup files in the network share that don't belong to the valid backup set are automatically ignored during the migration process.
  Windows user account with read access to the network share location	The Windows credential (username) that has read access to the network share to retrieve the backup files.
  Password	The Windows credential (password) that has read access to the network share to retrieve the backup files.
  Target database name	You can modify the target database name during the migration process.
  Storage account details	The resource group and storage account where backup files are uploaded. You don't need to create a container. Database Migration Service automatically creates a blob container in the specified storage account during the upload process.

• For backups that are stored in an Azure storage blob container, enter or select the following information:

  Name	Description
  Target database name	You can modify the target database name during the migration process.
  Storage account details	The resource group, storage account, and container where backup files are located.
  Last Backup File	The file name of the last backup of the database you're migrating.

  Important

  If loopback check functionality is enabled and the source SQL Server instance and file share are on the same computer, the source can't access the file share by using an FQDN. To fix this issue, disable loopback check functionality.

• The Azure SQL migration extension for Azure Data Studio no longer requires specific configurations on your Azure Storage account network settings to migrate your SQL Server databases to Azure. However, depending on your database backup location and desired storage account network settings, there are a few steps needed to ensure your resources can access the Azure Storage account. See the following table for the various migration scenarios and network configurations:

  Scenario	SMB network share	Azure Storage account container
  Enabled from all networks	No extra steps	No extra steps
  Enabled from selected virtual networks and IP addresses	See 1a	See 2a
  Enabled from selected virtual networks and IP addresses + private endpoint	See 1b	See 2b

  1a - Azure Blob storage network configuration

  If you have your Self-Hosted Integration Runtime (SHIR) installed on an Azure VM, see section 1b - Azure Blob storage network configuration. If you have your Self-Hosted Integration Runtime (SHIR) installed on your on-premises network, you need to add your client IP address of the hosting machine in your Azure Storage account as so:

  

  To apply this specific configuration, connect to the Azure portal from the SHIR machine, open the Azure Storage account configuration, select Networking, and then mark the Add your client IP address checkbox. Select Save to make the change persistent. See section 2a - Azure Blob storage network configuration (Private endpoint) for the remaining steps.

  1b - Azure Blob storage network configuration

  If your SHIR is hosted on an Azure VM, you need to add the virtual network of the VM to the Azure Storage account since the Virtual Machine has a nonpublic IP address that can't be added to the IP address range section.

  

  To apply this specific configuration, locate your Azure Storage account, from the Data storage panel select Networking, then mark the Add existing virtual network checkbox. A new panel opens up, select the subscription, virtual network, and subnet of the Azure VM hosting the Integration Runtime. This information can be found on the Overview page of the Azure Virtual Machine. The subnet may say Service endpoint required if so, select Enable. Once everything is ready, save the updates. Refer to section 2a - Azure Blob storage network configuration (Private endpoint)a for the remaining required steps.

  2a - Azure Blob storage network configuration (Private endpoint)

  If your backups are placed directly into an Azure Storage Container, all the above steps are unnecessary since there's no Integration Runtime communicating with the Azure Storage account. However, we still need to ensure that the target SQL Server instance can communicate with the Azure Storage account to restore the backups from the container. To apply this specific configuration, follow the instructions in section 1b - Azure Blob storage network configuration, specifying the target SQL instance Virtual Network when filling out the "Add existing virtual network" popup.

  2b - Azure Blob storage network configuration (Private endpoint)

  If you have a private endpoint set up on your Azure Storage account, follow the steps outlined in section 2a - Azure Blob storage network configuration (Private endpoint). However, you need to select the subnet of the private endpoint, not just the target SQL Server subnet. Ensure the private endpoint is hosted in the same VNet as the target SQL Server instance. If it isn't, create another private endpoint using the process in the Azure Storage account configuration section.

Create a Database Migration Service instance

In Step 6: Azure Database Migration Service in the Migrate to Azure SQL wizard, create a new instance of Azure Database Migration Service or reuse an existing instance that you created earlier.

Use an existing instance of Database Migration Service

To use an existing instance of Database Migration Service:

1. In Resource group, select the resource group that contains an existing instance of Database Migration Service.

2. In Azure Database Migration Service, select an existing instance of Database Migration Service that's in the selected resource group.

3. Select Next.

Create a new instance of Database Migration Service

To create a new instance of Database Migration Service:

1. In Resource group, create a new resource group to contain a new instance of Database Migration Service.

2. Under Azure Database Migration Service, select Create new.

3. In Create Azure Database Migration Service, enter a name for your Database Migration Service instance, and then select Create.

4. Under Set up integration runtime, complete the following steps:

   1. Select the Download and install integration runtime link to open the download link in a web browser. Download the integration runtime, and then install it on a computer that meets the prerequisites to connect to the source SQL Server instance.

      When installation is finished, Microsoft Integration Runtime Configuration Manager automatically opens to begin the registration process.

   2. In the Authentication key table, copy one of the authentication keys that are provided in the wizard and paste it in Azure Data Studio. If the authentication key is valid, a green check icon appears in Integration Runtime Configuration Manager. A green check indicates that you can continue to Register.

      After you register the self-hosted integration runtime, close Microsoft Integration Runtime Configuration Manager.

      Note

      For more information about how to use the self-hosted integration runtime, see Create and configure a self-hosted integration runtime.

5. In Create Azure Database Migration Service in Azure Data Studio, select Test connection to validate that the newly created Database Migration Service instance is connected to the newly registered self-hosted integration runtime.

   

6. Return to the migration wizard in Azure Data Studio.

Start the database migration

In Step 7: Summary in the Migrate to Azure SQL wizard, review the configuration you created, and then select Start migration to start the database migration.

Monitor the database migration

1. In Azure Data Studio, in the server menu, under General, select Azure SQL Migration to go to the dashboard for your Azure SQL migrations.

   Under Database migration status, you can track migrations that are in progress, completed, and failed (if any), or you can view all database migrations.

   

2. Select Database migrations in progress to view active migrations.

   To get more information about a specific migration, select the database name.

   The migration details pane displays the backup files and their corresponding status:

   Status	Description
   Arrived	The backup file arrived in the source backup location and was validated.
   Uploading	The integration runtime is uploading the backup file to the Azure storage account.
   Uploaded	The backup file was uploaded to the Azure storage account.
   Restoring	The service is restoring the backup file to Azure SQL Managed Instance.
   Restored	The backup file is successfully restored in Azure SQL Managed Instance.
   Canceled	The migration process was canceled.
   Ignored	The backup file was ignored because it doesn't belong to a valid database backup chain.

After all database backups are restored on the instance of Azure SQL Managed Instance, an automatic migration cutover is initiated by Database Migration Service to ensure that the migrated database is ready to use. The migration status changes from In progress to Succeeded.

Limitations

Migrating to Azure SQL Managed Instance by using the Azure SQL extension for Azure Data Studio has the following limitations:

• If migrating a single database, the database backups must be placed in a flat-file structure inside a database folder (including the container root folder), and the folders can't be nested, as it's not supported.
• If migrating multiple databases using the same Azure Blob Storage container, you must place backup files for different databases in separate folders inside the container.
• Overwriting existing databases using DMS in your target Azure SQL Managed Instance isn't supported.
• DMS doesn't support configuring high availability and disaster recovery on your target to match the source topology.
• The following server objects aren't supported:
  • SQL Server Agent jobs
  • Credentials
  • SSIS packages
  • Server audit
• You can't use an existing self-hosted integration runtime created from Azure Data Factory for database migrations with DMS. Initially, the self-hosted integration runtime should be created using the Azure SQL migration extension in Azure Data Studio and can be reused for further database migrations.
• A single LRS job (created by DMS) can run for a maximum of 30 days. When this period expires, the job is automatically canceled thus your target database gets automatically deleted.
• If you received the following error: Memory-optimized filegroup must be empty in order to be restored on General Purpose tier of SQL Database Managed Instance. This issue is by design, Hekaton (also known as SQL Server In-Memory OLTP) isn't supported on General Purpose tier of Azure SQL Managed Instance. To continue migration, one way is to upgrade to Business Critical tier, which supports Hekaton. Another way is to make sure the source database isn't using it while the Azure SQL Managed Instance is General Purpose.

Next steps

• Complete a quickstart to migrate a database to SQL Managed Instance by using the T-SQL RESTORE command.
• Learn more about SQL Managed Instance.
• Learn how to connect apps to SQL Managed Instance.
• To troubleshoot, review Known issues.