Windows Azure - Connecting to SQL Azure using Management Studio

Another reusable tool for SQL Azure is Management Studio. In this article we are going to explore the aspects regarding SQL Server Management Studio 2008.


Version
 
We can use the Management Studio for SQL Server 2008 R2. If you do not have this version installed, you can download an express edition which is free. (Please note that this is a CTP version)
 
Note: The Enterprise Manager associated with SQL Server 2000 and the Management Studio of SQL Server 2005 cannot be used with SQL Azure.
 
Download
 
You can download the SQL Azure supported version of Management Studio below:
 
32 bit
64 bit
 
Based on your Processor Architecture, download the appropriate version. The setup file should be around 160 MB in size.
 
Running the Setup
 
After running the setup you can view the following screen.


 
Use the highlighted option to proceed. (There will be a series of pre-requisites for the installation)
 
Run the Management Studio
 
After installation open the management studio from the start menu.
 
Connecting to SQL Azure
 
Open the Management Studio and in the appearing login dialog enter your SQL Azure credentials.


 
You will be taken to the Explorer view after the successful login. Now you can create new database, table, run SQL queries in the management studio. These activities are familiar with almost all developers and so not worth depicting. In the next article we will discuss another replacement for Management Studio.
 
Note: The OData (OpenData) feature of SQL Azure allows us to read the data over the browser, write LINQ queries on it etc.
 
Summary
 
In this article we explored connecting to online SQL Azure database. This advantage allows us to reuse our familiarity with SQL Server Management Studio.