How to Use SQL Azure Compatibility Assessment Service?

On January 3rd, a new Microsoft Codename "SQL Azure Compatibility Assessment" lab went live, and helps in getting your SQL Server database cloud-ready by pointing out schema objects which are not supported in SQL Azure and need to be changed prior to the migration process, announces SQL Server team.

"The lab, is an experimental cloud service targeted at database developers and admins who are considering migrating existing SQL Azure databases and want to know how easy or hard this process is going to be. SQL Azure, as you may already know, is a highly available and scalable cloud database service delivered from Microsoft's datacenters," the team said

The lab involves following two steps:

1. You first need to generate a .dacpac file from the database you'd like to check on with SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) CTP4. SQL Server 2005, 2008, 2008 R2, 2012 (CTP or RC0) are supported.
2. Next, you upload your .dacpac to the lab cloud service, which returns an assessment report, listing the schema objects that need to change before you can move that database to SQL Azure.

For a step-by-step walkthrough, watch the video embedded below:

For more information on the lab, visti this project page and the online documentation.