Learn How to Upload MDF File to Azure Cloud

  author
Written By Andrew Jackson
Anuraag Singh
Approved By Anuraag Singh
Published On August 11th, 2022
Reading Time 5 Minutes Reading

“Are you also among those users who is searching for the solution for moving sql server database files to azure? Want to upload MDF to Azure? The, read the blog & get your query resolved.”

Almost all organizations or companies need a system to store & retrieve the information. The information could be anything, it could be account information, customer data, market research, etc. But, where do their organizations save their data or how they retrieve it? Any guess? Well, they use the database for the same.

Microsoft SQL Server is mainly used by these companies for storing and managing the data. It has 3 types of files i.e. MDF, NDF, and LDF. Master database files (MDF) contains the main information of the database. NDF files are optional, user-defined, and stores the user’s data. While LDF contains the information related to transaction logs for the main data file.

However, due to the improved agility and advanced security of Azure, many companies are finding a simple way to migrate / upload MDF file to Azure SQL. Basically, this migration of SQL server data files in azure keeps the entire data safe and secure in the cloud.

Therefore, considering this we come up with this blog and presented the best solution to move SQL server DB files to Azure cloud. But, before knowing the solution learn what all data get stored in the MDF file.

Quick Glance At MDF Files

MDF files are the primary database files which store all the database information. Every database has one primary data file. It contains database objects like tables, keys, indices, views, functions, columns, triggers, etc.

Why Users Wants to Upload MDF File to Azure

“Hi, guys does anyone have a simple and reliable solution for my query. Actually, I want to migrate an existing SQL Server 2008 .mdf database files to SQL Azure. However, in the Azure portal, there is an “Import Option” that select bacpac file. However, I am unaware of these bacpac files can anyone help me to get rid of this problem. It is very urgent for me to migrate MDF to Azure. Please suggest if any?”

“Hello everyone, I have been working on a project from scratch a few months ago on SQL Server. Now, I am having my own remote server in Azure where I want to deploy my project. But, I don’t know how can I upload MDF file to Azure SQL Server. I tried to move SQL server DB files to azure using Export Data-tier Application but it takes long hours to perform the migration process. Can anyone tell me a simple solution than can import MDF to Azure in a very short time?

Perfect Solution to Migrate SQL Server Data Files in Azure

SQL Server to Azure Migrator Tool is a perfect tool to migrate MDF to Azure. The software is capable to migrate all SQL Server database objects like rules, triggers, tables, function, views, primary keys, indexes, unique keys, stored procedures, foreign keys, default values, checks, and user data type to Azure. The utility provides the preview facility that will allow the viewing of SQL database objects before migration. Also, users can select the database objects that have to be migrated to Azure. Another great feature offered by the software is that users can migrate selected data items ‘With Schema’ or ‘With Schema & Data’.

Steps to Upload MDF File to Azure Cloud?

Follow these steps to export SQL server data files in azure:

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Step 1: Launch the SQL to Azure Migrator tool and click on the Open button.

tool

Step 2: Now, select the MDF file that you want to upload and click Open.

Step 3: If the MDF file contains corruption issues, choose Advance Scan.

scan
Step 4: Select the SQL Server version. If Unknown, select the Auto-detect option for MDF file.

Step 5: Click OK and the software will scan the database file.

Step 6: When prompted, click OK if you wish to save the scan result.

Step 7: Complete data of the MDF and NDF file will be available for preview.

preview
Step 8: Click on Migrate button to upload MDF file to Azure Cloud

Step 9: In the Migration Options window, fill in all the required fields like Azure Server name, database name, login credentials.

Step 10: Choose which database elements to be uploaded and whether to migrate only schema or schema & data.

Step 11: Click on Migrate button and all the selected components of SQL Server will get uploaded into Azure.

migrate mdf to azure

Conclusion

In this blog, we have seen a simple and reliable way to upload MDF file to Azure. The software mentioned here provides the functionality to migrate both MDF and NDF files. Users can also select particular database objects for the migration process. Overall it is a simple and fast solution to migrate MDF to Azure.

Frequently Asked Questions

What all MDF file data can be migrated to Azure?

Tables, Triggers, Views, Stored Procedures, XML Data types, Indexes, Rules, Functions, etc., can be migrated to Azure Cloud.

Is it possible to export selective MDF data?

Yes, of course, the software described here provides the functionality to migrate selective database objects to Microsoft Azure SQL Database. Along with this, it also provides the feature to export selected data ‘With Schema’ or ‘With Schema & Data’ option.

Is it possible to migrate NDF data to Azure?

Yes, this tool is capable enough to export NDF data to Azure SQL database. It provides two options to choose NDF file i.e Auto-Detect & Manual Selection.

How to migrate MDF file triggers to Azure?

The software provides the functionality to migrate MDF files triggers to Microsoft Azure SQL Server.

  author

By Andrew Jackson

I am SQL DBA and SQL Server blogger too. I like to share about SQL Server and the problems related to it as well as their solution and also I do handle database related user queries, server or database maintenance, database management, etc. I love to share my knowledge with SQL Geeks.