What is BACPAC and how to use it?

-

In the previous blog, we discussed what is DACPAC and how to use it?

In this blog, we will discuss what is BACPAC and its uses.

What is BACPAC?

BACPAC contains database's schema and data.

It is the same as DACPAC but the only difference is BACPAC encapsulates data and schema whereas DACPAC only contains schema.

The primary use case for a BACPAC is to move a database from one server to another - or to migrate a database from a local server to the cloud - and archiving an existing database in an open format. However, we cannot consider BACPAC as an option to database full backup.

There is a difference between BACPAC and .BAK file. 

BACPAC file is small in size as compare to database backup file. This is because the BAK file contains logs records. Also, the BACPAC file cannot be applied on existing database. 

The data in a BACPAC is stored in JSON format.

Let’s see how we can migrate the database using BACPAC package. 

In this POC we have used database Transaction_DB. We got a requirement to migrate the database with schema + data to another instance. We will do this task using BACPAC data driven method. 

Right-click on database which Schema and data need to migrate.

Task-->Export Data-tier Application

We will get the Introduction page of Export Data-tier Application wizard.

Click on Next

On next page, we can export logical contents of database with BACPAC extension on local or On Azure storage.

We can also select the tables from which data need to be exported. Click on the Advanced tab on the same page for the same. By default, all tables are selected.

Select the destination for BACPAC file and Click on Next

On the next page, review the summary of the task and Click on Next.

On the final window, we can see the result of the task.

Now we have exported BACPAC file lets import the same on the target instance.

Connect to Target Instance and follow the below steps.

Right-click on Databases-->Import Data-tier Application

This will open introduction page of Import Data-tier Application wizard

Click on Next

On next window, we have to specify the BACPAC package which we have to import.

Browse and Select BACPAC package and Click on Next

On next window, specify Database name and path for data and log file.Click on Next.

Note: As mentioned before, the BACPAC package can not be applied on existing database.

Verify the task on the summary page and click on Next.

We can review operation completion status on the final window.

After successful completion of the task, we can see the database is restored on target Instance.

Thank you. 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is DACPAC and how to use it?

-
Image
Few days before someone asked me a question about DACPAC and BACPAC. To be honest I was really not aware of it and I replied that I have heard these terms for the first time. That person replied DACPAC is used for deploying and upgrading database objects. Even after the clear statement, my reply was like developers would answer this better. Even though DBAs are responsible for migration and deployments. After few days, I got a requirement to migrate database schema (Only Schema) to another instance. In such a case most of us would have used the traditional way to script out the database objects and run the script on another instance. But what if there are many objects? I was exploring the easiest way to migrate the objects and got to know about DAC. After reading about DAC, I felt very sorry myself that I was not aware of such a simplest way of migrating and deploying database objects. I went to my friends who are senior developers and asked this question. None of them was aware ...
Read more

Backdoor in SQL server. Is this hacking, loop hole or Feature ?

-
Image
DBAs should always be ready to face any kind of disaster in SQL environment. That doesn't matter whether it is PROD or Non- PROD.  Recently I have been asked regarding recovering the sysadmin password. I couldn't understand the question hence investigated more to understand actual problem. Then I came to know that there is one SQL Server for which admin login and password is lost. I was Like seriously ? How one can be that much of irresponsible? But rather than getting into that kind of discussion I quickly got ready to help the team.  In SQL Server there is a way to access SQL Instance without login. Lets check that out. Steps : 1) Open SQL Server Configuration  Manager. 2) Right click on SQL Server service and go to Properties. 3) Go to "Startup Parameters" Tab and Add -m.   This will Start the server in Single user mode.  4) Click Apply and Ok. This change would require Service restart.  5) Once Service is restarted then, open CMD as Administrator. ...
Read more

Always on setup end to end - Part 1 || Pre-requisites

-
Image
Hello readers,  Welcome to the new blog after a long time. In this blog I would like to discuss complete end to end always on setup guide for beginners. I will be posting couple of blogs regarding always on in SQL server. I believe that would be helpful to understand Always on in SQL server in easy way. Always on setup involved multiple steps. Hence one may find it difficult. However, if you could plan it well then you may find that always on is much easier to configure and handle. So, without wasting the time lets proceed further. Firstly, we will see what is Always on in SQL Server ? Always on is the high availability and disaster recovery solution introduced in SQL server 2012. As the name suggest, Always on means availability of database all the time even in case of disaster. We can say it is the alternative of mirroring. Only thing is windows failover cluster service also required to be configured as a pre-requisite for always on. In this blog, we will only d...
Read more