Backup and restore your SQL Azure database using PowerShell

Today there are a few good options to backup from SQL Azure, restore to SQL Azure or even migrate to SQL Azure: •Announcing SQL Azure Import/Export Service Now in Production (with client) •Enzo Backup for SQL Azure •Red-Gate SQL Azure Backup Now when I want to try something very quicky or with small databases I often use SQL Management Studio 2012 to import and export databases. Although this might not work with those huge 100 GB databases, it’s still a nice solution. If you right click on a database you can choose to export this database as a Data-tier application (which creates a bakpac file, often referred to as an ‘MSI’ containing the logical contents of your database).