SQL Azure isn’t SQL Server hosted on the internet. It’s a little bit different. After reading lots of printed words about Azure, I decided I wanted a simple visual overview of what it is and what it is not and I’m sharing it with you.
I started by connecting to my SQL Azure database using SQL Server 2008 R2 (the free Express edition will work just fine for this).
I used the Options button to assign azure as the color of my query window. The RGB values for azure are 240, 255, 255 in case you’re wondering.
I forgot to add my IP address to the Firewall Settings, so the connection failed:
I went back to the SQL Azure administration page and added an IP address range (fake IP addresses are shown).
I created an empty database named sqlblogdb on my local SQL Server and also on SQL Azure. I opened up each one in Object Explorer to see the differences in the schemas.
Subsequent posts will provide more detailed comparisons between SQL Server and SQL Azure.
Finally, I edited all of my screen captures for this post and changed server names, logins, guids, and IP addresses to totally fake values.