Azure SQL Database is Microsoft’s hosted database service. This article will show you how to create a connection string in order to connect your Visual Studio Code project, then run it and see the result on Azure SQL Database 。
The “how to connect to azure sql database from visual studio 2019” is an article that will show you how to connect to Azure SQL Database.
Azure SQL Database is a managed SQL database service that eliminates the need for developers and administrators to install SQL server or spend hours configuring failover clusters.
Because Microsoft Azure has done the hard work in terms of setting up the database tier, all that’s required is to connect to it, which is what this post will discuss. Here are a few options for connecting to an Azure SQL database.
Prerequisites
If you want to connect to an Azure SQL database, you must first fulfill a few requirements.
- Access to an Azure account or an Azure account
- A SQL Database in Azure (You are welcome to use your own, but I will be using the example.)
- PowerShell, Code in Visual Studio, and Management Studio for SQL Server are installed on a Windows 10, Mac OS, or Linux laptop or desktop. All of the images are from Windows 10.
There are hundreds of various methods to connect to Azure SQL, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to cover them all in this article, but the ones I will cover are:
- The Microsoft Azure Portal
- Management Studio for SQL Server
- Code in Visual Studio
- PowerShell
Setting Up an Azure SQL Database
Before you begin, make sure you have a database and the ability to connect to it. I created an example database named ata-demo using the quickstart document’s recommendations. The password for the SQL admin (sa) user AtaAdmin in this database is Admin123.
I’m not using the most secure password, but it’ll do for demonstration reasons. Please, for the love of Equifax, use standard password procedures when setting up anything like this in QA or Production!
Next, you’ll need to login to The Microsoft Azure Portal to make sure that your device can to connect to the database. You can connect this to an existing Azure virtual network, or define an IP range that can access the database, which is what is done in the demos below. Go to the resource page of the SQL Database you want to connect to and look for an option called Set Server Firewall.
Creating a firewall rule for Azure SQL Server
You’ll be able to choose an IP range after you’ve arrived. This website also displays your device’s IP address, which I’ll use in the demonstration. In reality, this will be your application tier’s subnet range or virtual network. You’re now ready to go on to the first demonstration!
Connecting to an Azure SQL Database with The Microsoft Azure Portal
Since you’re already on The Microsoft Azure Portal, you can stay right here for the first demo.
Return to the Overview page and search for Query Editor in the left-hand navigation menu. You’ll be asked to login using a Microsoft account or SQL Credentials after you’ve arrived. To log in, use the SA account you created previously (AtaAdmin:Admin123).
On the left side of Query Editor, you’ll find a panel featuring Tables, Views, and Stored Procedures after you’ve signed in. Because there is no right-click capability in this UI as of this writing, the Query Editor is your sole way to interact with the database. You may use the example query below if you’re using the sample database.
SELECT a computer. FROM [SalesLT], name as CategoryName, p.name as ProductName. pc JOIN [SalesLT] [ProductCategory]. p ON pc.productcategoryid = p.productcategoryid; [Product]
Querying the SQL server database on Azure
We may now attempt this from different platforms now that the firewall rules have been put up.
Connecting to an Azure SQL Database with Management Studio for SQL Server (SSMS)
SSMS is by far the most powerful tool for operating a SQL Database server. For almost a decade, SQL server database administrators have relied on this time-tested and battle-tested utility.
Azure SQL databases are also completely compatible with SSMS. If you don’t already have it, you may get the newest version from Microsoft or use a package manager to install it.
Go back to your SQL Database resource page and copy the Server Name. The server name will be <Your Database Name>.database.windows.net.
Open Management Studio for SQL Server to connect to the database name using SQL Server authentication and the SA user you set up earlier. If you haven’t setup the firewall rule already, you will be prompted by SSMS to authenticate with your Azure account.
Now that you have authenticated to the database and the firewall is set up, you can start running your queries by going to <ServerName> –> Databases, right-clicking on your database, and selecting New Query. Now run the query you used earlier and watch the magic happen.
Using SSMS to connect to an Azure SQL Database
Connecting to an Azure SQL Database with Code in Visual Studio (Code)
To connect to an Azure SQL database with Code in Visual Studio, you’ll need to install the mssql extension for Code in Visual Studio. Once installed, press Ctrl + Shift + P to open the dialog box and search for MS SQL: Connect.
Using the MSSql extension in Code in Visual Studio
Once you select that, Code in Visual Studio will run you through a wizard prompting you to enter the information of the database to connect to. You’ll be prompted for the server name, database name, username and password. Once you supply all this, it will be saved into a connection profile which can be used to execute queries against that database.
In the editor box, type a SQL query to execute against your database. Press Ctrl + Shift + E while the query is open. You’ll be asked which connection you wish to use to conduct the query. Choose the one you made, and Code will display the results in a new panel without leaving the screen!
Connecting to mySql in Code in Visual Studio
Using PowerShell to connect to an Azure SQL Database
The Az PowerShell module is required to connect to an Azure SQL database using PowerShell. This module may be found in the PowerShell Gallery. Run the command Install-Module Az to download and install the module. The module is currently at version 2.5 as of this writing.
On the system where you wish to execute your script, the module only has to be installed once. After that, run Connect-AzAccount to connect to Azure. If you want to learn more about the Connect-AzAccount cmdlet, go here.
To verify everything works, you can find the database by running Get-AzSqlServer -ResourceGroupName <Your Resource Group>. If that returns the database you wanted to connect to, you are ready to run the script.
You may query the database now that you’ve authenticated and can see it by executing the script below. This code will load the Azure SQL module, configure the parameters (database, username, credentials, and query), and then call Invoke-SqlCmd to start the transact SQL query.
# Import the module Import-Module Az.Sql -Force # Setup your parameters $Params = @{ ‘ServerInstance’ = ‘atademo.database.windows.net’; ‘Database’ = ‘ata-demo’; ‘Username’ = ‘ataadmin’; ‘Password’ = ‘Admin123’; ‘Query’ = ‘SELECT a computer. FROM [SalesLT], name as CategoryName, p.name as ProductName. pc JOIN [SalesLT] [ProductCategory]. p ON pc.productcategoryid = p.productcategoryid; [Product]’ } # Splat Invoke-Sqlcmd @Params
You may also access the Azure SQL server and database using PowerShell and provide that information to the query, as shown below. There is no practical difference between the first and second scripts assuming you have $rgName configured and are giving the password as a safe string.
Import-Module Az.Sql -Force $rgName = ‘<Resource Group Name>’ $sqlServer = Get-AzSqlServer -ResourceGroupName $rgName $sqlDatabase = Get-AzSqlDatabase -ServerName $sqlServer.ServerName -ResourceGroupName $rgName $Params = @{ ‘ServerInstance’ = $sqlServer.FullyQualifiedDomainName; ‘Database’ = $sqlDatabase.DatabaseName[0]; ‘Username’ = $sqlServer.SqlAdministratorLogin; ‘Password’ = ‘<Password>’; ‘Query’ = ‘SELECT a computer. FROM [SalesLT], name as CategoryName, p.name as ProductName. pc JOIN [SalesLT] [ProductCategory]. p ON pc.productcategoryid = p.productcategoryid; [Product]’ } Invoke-Sqlcmd @Params
Final Thoughts
Now that you’ve tried a few different methods to connect to an Azure SQL Database, you should be able to use it alongside or instead of a standard SQL Server installation!
Additional Reading
The “connect to azure sql database python” is a command-line tool that allows users to connect to an Azure SQL Database.
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