Migrate SQL Server to SQL Managed Instance offline with PowerShell & Azure Database Migration Service

In this article, you offline migrate the Adventureworks2016 database restored to an on-premises instance of SQL Server 2005 or above to an Azure SQL SQL Managed Instance by using Microsoft Azure PowerShell. You can migrate databases from a SQL Server instance to an SQL Managed Instance by using the Az.DataMigration module in Microsoft Azure PowerShell.

In this article, you learn how to:

  • Create a resource group.
  • Create an instance of Azure Database Migration Service.
  • Create a migration project in an instance of Azure Database Migration Service.
  • Run the migration offline.

Tip

In Azure Database Migration Service, you can migrate your databases offline or while they are online. In an offline migration, application downtime starts when the migration starts. To limit downtime to the time it takes you to cut over to the new environment after the migration, use an online migration. We recommend that you test an offline migration to determine whether the downtime is acceptable. If the expected downtime isn't acceptable, do an online migration.

This article provides steps for an offline migration, but it's also possible to migrate online.

Prerequisites

To complete these steps, you need:

  • SQL Server 2016 or above (any edition).
  • A local copy of the AdventureWorks2016 database, which is available for download here.
  • To enable the TCP/IP protocol, which is disabled by default with SQL Server Express installation. Enable the TCP/IP protocol by following the article Enable or Disable a Server Network Protocol.
  • To configure your Windows Firewall for database engine access.
  • An Azure subscription. If you don't have one, create a free account before you begin.
  • A SQL Managed Instance. You can create a SQL Managed Instance by following the detail in the article Create an Azure SQL Managed Instance.
  • To download and install Data Migration Assistant v3.3 or later.
  • A Microsoft Azure Virtual Network created using the Azure Resource Manager deployment model, which provides the Azure Database Migration Service with site-to-site connectivity to your on-premises source servers by using either ExpressRoute or VPN.
  • A completed assessment of your on-premises database and schema migration using Data Migration Assistant, as described in the article Performing a SQL Server migration assessment.
  • To download and install the Az.DataMigration module (version 0.7.2 or later) from the PowerShell Gallery by using Install-Module PowerShell cmdlet.
  • To ensure that the credentials used to connect to source SQL Server instance have the CONTROL SERVER permission.
  • To ensure that the credentials used to connect to target SQL Managed Instance has the CONTROL DATABASE permission on the target SQL Managed Instance databases.

Sign in to your Microsoft Azure subscription

Sign in to your Azure subscription by using PowerShell. For more information, see the article Sign in with Azure PowerShell.

Create a resource group

An Azure resource group is a logical container in which Azure resources are deployed and managed.

Create a resource group by using the New-AzResourceGroup command.

The following example creates a resource group named myResourceGroup in the East US region.

New-AzResourceGroup -ResourceGroupName myResourceGroup -Location EastUS

Create an instance of Azure Database Migration Service

You can create new instance of Azure Database Migration Service by using the New-AzDataMigrationService cmdlet. This cmdlet expects the following required parameters:

  • Azure Resource Group name. You can use New-AzResourceGroup command to create an Azure Resource group as previously shown and provide its name as a parameter.
  • Service name. String that corresponds to the desired unique service name for Azure Database Migration Service.
  • Location. Specifies the location of the service. Specify an Azure data center location, such as West US or Southeast Asia.
  • Sku. This parameter corresponds to DMS Sku name. Currently supported Sku names are Basic_1vCore, Basic_2vCores, GeneralPurpose_4vCores.
  • Virtual Subnet Identifier. You can use the cmdlet New-AzVirtualNetworkSubnetConfig to create a subnet.

The following example creates a service named MyDMS in the resource group MyDMSResourceGroup located in the East US region using a virtual network named MyVNET and a subnet named MySubnet.

$vNet = Get-AzVirtualNetwork -ResourceGroupName MyDMSResourceGroup -Name MyVNET

$vSubNet = Get-AzVirtualNetworkSubnetConfig -VirtualNetwork $vNet -Name MySubnet

$service = New-AzDms -ResourceGroupName myResourceGroup `
  -ServiceName MyDMS `
  -Location EastUS `
  -Sku Basic_2vCores `
  -VirtualSubnetId $vSubNet.Id`

Create a migration project

After creating an Azure Database Migration Service instance, create a migration project. An Azure Database Migration Service project requires connection information for both the source and target instances, as well as a list of databases that you want to migrate as part of the project.

Create a Database Connection Info object for the source and target connections

You can create a Database Connection Info object by using the New-AzDmsConnInfo cmdlet, which expects the following parameters:

  • ServerType. The type of database connection requested, for example, SQL, Oracle, or MySQL. Use SQL for SQL Server and Azure SQL.
  • DataSource. The name or IP of a SQL Server instance or Azure SQL Database instance.
  • AuthType. The authentication type for connection, which can be either SqlAuthentication or WindowsAuthentication.
  • TrustServerCertificate. This parameter sets a value that indicates whether the channel is encrypted while bypassing walking the certificate chain to validate trust. The value can be $true or $false.

The following example creates a Connection Info object for a source SQL Server called MySourceSQLServer using sql authentication:

$sourceConnInfo = New-AzDmsConnInfo -ServerType SQL `
  -DataSource MySourceSQLServer `
  -AuthType SqlAuthentication `
  -TrustServerCertificate:$true

The next example shows creation of Connection Info for an Azure SQL Managed Instance named ‘targetmanagedinstance’:

$targetResourceId = (Get-AzSqlInstance -Name "targetmanagedinstance").Id
$targetConnInfo = New-AzDmsConnInfo -ServerType SQLMI -MiResourceId $targetResourceId

Provide databases for the migration project

Create a list of AzDataMigrationDatabaseInfo objects that specifies databases as part of the Azure Database Migration Service project, which can be provided as parameter for creation of the project. You can use the cmdlet New-AzDataMigrationDatabaseInfo to create AzDataMigrationDatabaseInfo.

The following example creates the AzDataMigrationDatabaseInfo project for the AdventureWorks2016 database and adds it to the list to be provided as parameter for project creation.

$dbInfo1 = New-AzDataMigrationDatabaseInfo -SourceDatabaseName AdventureWorks
$dbList = @($dbInfo1)

Create a project object

Finally, you can create an Azure Database Migration Service project called MyDMSProject located in East US using New-AzDataMigrationProject and add the previously created source and target connections and the list of databases to migrate.

$project = New-AzDataMigrationProject -ResourceGroupName myResourceGroup `
  -ServiceName $service.Name `
  -ProjectName MyDMSProject `
  -Location EastUS `
  -SourceType SQL `
  -TargetType SQLMI `
  -SourceConnection $sourceConnInfo `
  -TargetConnection $targetConnInfo `
  -DatabaseInfo $dbList

Create and start a migration task

Next, create and start an Azure Database Migration Service task. This task requires connection credential information for both the source and target, as well as the list of database tables to be migrated and the information already provided with the project created as a prerequisite.

Create credential parameters for source and target

Create connection security credentials as a PSCredential object.

The following example shows the creation of PSCredential objects for both the source and target connections, providing passwords as string variables $sourcePassword and $targetPassword.

$secpasswd = ConvertTo-SecureString -String $sourcePassword -AsPlainText -Force
$sourceCred = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential ($sourceUserName, $secpasswd)
$secpasswd = ConvertTo-SecureString -String $targetPassword -AsPlainText -Force
$targetCred = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential ($targetUserName, $secpasswd)

Create a backup FileShare object

Now create a FileShare object representing the local SMB network share to which Azure Database Migration Service can take the source database backups using the New-AzDmsFileShare cmdlet.

$backupPassword = ConvertTo-SecureString -String $password -AsPlainText -Force
$backupCred = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential ($backupUserName, $backupPassword)

$backupFileSharePath="\\10.0.0.76\SharedBackup"
$backupFileShare = New-AzDmsFileShare -Path $backupFileSharePath -Credential $backupCred

Create selected database object

The next step is to select the source and target databases by using the New-AzDmsSelectedDB cmdlet.

The following example is for migrating a single database from SQL Server to an Azure SQL Managed Instance:

$selectedDbs = @()
$selectedDbs += New-AzDmsSelectedDB -MigrateSqlServerSqlDbMi `
  -Name AdventureWorks2016 `
  -TargetDatabaseName AdventureWorks2016 `
  -BackupFileShare $backupFileShare `

If an entire SQL Server instance needs a lift-and-shift into an Azure SQL Managed Instance, then a loop to take all databases from the source is provided below. In the following example, for $Server, $SourceUserName, and $SourcePassword, provide your source SQL Server details.

$Query = "(select name as Database_Name from master.sys.databases where Database_id>4)";
$Databases= (Invoke-Sqlcmd -ServerInstance "$Server" -Username $SourceUserName
-Password $SourcePassword -database master -Query $Query)
$selectedDbs=@()
foreach($DataBase in $Databases.Database_Name)
    {
      $SourceDB=$DataBase
      $TargetDB=$DataBase

$selectedDbs += New-AzureRmDmsSelectedDB -MigrateSqlServerSqlDbMi `
                                              -Name $SourceDB `
                                              -TargetDatabaseName $TargetDB `
                                              -BackupFileShare $backupFileShare
      }

SAS URI for Azure Storage Container

Create variable containing the SAS URI that provides the Azure Database Migration Service with access to the storage account container to which the service uploads the backup files.

$blobSasUri="https://mystorage.blob.core.windows.net/test?st=2018-07-13T18%3A10%3A33Z&se=2019-07-14T18%3A10%3A00Z&sp=rwdl&sv=2018-03-28&sr=c&sig=qKlSA512EVtest3xYjvUg139tYSDrasbftY%3D"

Note

Azure Database Migration Service does not support using an account level SAS token. You must use a SAS URI for the storage account container. Learn how to get the SAS URI for blob container.

Additional configuration requirements

There are a few additional requirements you need to address:

  • Select logins. Create a list of logins to be migrated as shown in the following example:

    $selectedLogins = @("user1", "user2")
    

    Important

    Currently, Azure Database Migration Service only supports migrating SQL logins.

  • Select agent jobs. Create list of agent jobs to be migrated as shown in the following example:

    $selectedAgentJobs = @("agentJob1", "agentJob2")
    

    Important

    Currently, Azure Database Migration Service only supports jobs with T-SQL subsystem job steps.

Create and start the migration task

Use the New-AzDataMigrationTask cmdlet to create and start a migration task.

Specify parameters

The New-AzDataMigrationTask cmdlet expects the following parameters:

  • TaskType. Type of migration task to create for SQL Server to Azure SQL Managed Instance migration type MigrateSqlServerSqlDbMi is expected.
  • Resource Group Name. Name of Azure resource group in which to create the task.
  • ServiceName. Azure Database Migration Service instance in which to create the task.
  • ProjectName. Name of Azure Database Migration Service project in which to create the task.
  • TaskName. Name of task to be created.
  • SourceConnection. AzDmsConnInfo object representing source SQL Server connection.
  • TargetConnection. AzDmsConnInfo object representing target Azure SQL Managed Instance connection.
  • SourceCred. PSCredential object for connecting to source server.
  • TargetCred. PSCredential object for connecting to target server.
  • SelectedDatabase. AzDataMigrationSelectedDB object representing the source and target database mapping.
  • BackupFileShare. FileShare object representing the local network share that the Azure Database Migration Service can take the source database backups to.
  • BackupBlobSasUri. The SAS URI that provides the Azure Database Migration Service with access to the storage account container to which the service uploads the backup files. Learn how to get the SAS URI for blob container.
  • SelectedLogins. List of selected logins to migrate.
  • SelectedAgentJobs. List of selected agent jobs to migrate.
  • SelectedLogins. List of selected logins to migrate.
  • SelectedAgentJobs. List of selected agent jobs to migrate.

Create and start a migration task

The following example creates and starts an offline migration task named myDMSTask:

$migTask = New-AzDataMigrationTask -TaskType MigrateSqlServerSqlDbMi `
  -ResourceGroupName myResourceGroup `
  -ServiceName $service.Name `
  -ProjectName $project.Name `
  -TaskName myDMSTask `
  -SourceConnection $sourceConnInfo `
  -SourceCred $sourceCred `
  -TargetConnection $targetConnInfo `
  -TargetCred $targetCred `
  -SelectedDatabase  $selectedDbs `
  -BackupFileShare $backupFileShare `
  -BackupBlobSasUri $blobSasUri `
  -SelectedLogins $selectedLogins `
  -SelectedAgentJobs $selectedJobs `

Monitor the migration

To monitor the migration, perform the following tasks.

  1. Consolidate all the migration details into a variable called $CheckTask.

    To combine migration details such as properties, state, and database information associated with the migration, use the following code snippet:

    $CheckTask = Get-AzDataMigrationTask -ResourceGroupName myResourceGroup `
                                         -ServiceName $service.Name `
                                         -ProjectName $project.Name `
                                         -Name myDMSTask `
                                         -ResultType DatabaseLevelOutput `
                                         -Expand
    Write-Host ‘$CheckTask.ProjectTask.Properties.Output’
    
  2. Use the $CheckTask variable to get the current state of the migration task.

    To use the $CheckTask variable to get the current state of the migration task, you can monitor the migration task running by querying the state property of the task, as shown in the following example:

    if (($CheckTask.ProjectTask.Properties.State -eq "Running") -or ($CheckTask.ProjectTask.Properties.State -eq "Queued"))
    {
      Write-Host "migration task running"
    }
    else if($CheckTask.ProjectTask.Properties.State -eq "Succeeded")
    {
      Write-Host "Migration task is completed Successfully"
    }
    else if($CheckTask.ProjectTask.Properties.State -eq "Failed" -or $CheckTask.ProjectTask.Properties.State -eq "FailedInputValidation" -or $CheckTask.ProjectTask.Properties.State -eq "Faulted")
    {
      Write-Host "Migration Task Failed"
    }
    

Delete the instance of Azure Database Migration Service

After the migration is complete, you can delete the Azure Database Migration Service instance:

Remove-AzDms -ResourceGroupName myResourceGroup -ServiceName MyDMS

Next steps

Find out more about Azure Database Migration Service in the article What is the Azure Database Migration Service?.

For information about additional migrating scenarios (source/target pairs), see the Microsoft Database Migration Guide.