Building Apps Using SQL Azure and SQL Azure Reporting (Content)

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Thanks to all who attended my webcast on "Building Apps Using SQL Azure and SQL Azure Reporting”. You can download the presentation here. Also, you can get Windows Azure SDK, Free Trial Account, InfoKit.

Below is my response to some questions.

Q: I have set up an SQL Azure database, but cannot connect from SMS. Please walk through connecting from SQL Management studio again.

A: Make sure you add a firewall rule to allow the IP address (or a range of IPs) from which you are connecting to the SQL Azure database. For more info on troubleshooting the firewalls, click here. Also, make sure you are using the user credentials that have permissions to access the SQL Azure server and database.

Q: Why is it not a native connection to the DB, why ODBC?

A: When writing applications for SQL Azure Database, you can use the following drivers and libraries:

  • .NET Framework Data Provider for SQL Server (System.Data.SqlClient) from the .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 or later.
  • Entity Framework from the .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 or later.
  • SQL Server 2008 R2 Native Client ODBC driver. SQL Server 2008 Native Client ODBC driver is also supported, but has less functionality.
  • SQL Server 2008 Driver for PHP version 1.1 or later.
  • An updated version of SQL Server JDBC Driver 3.0 that supports SQL Azure Database.

* Note: SQL Azure Database supports tabular data stream (TDS) protocol client version 7.3 or later. Earlier versions of TDS protocol are not supported. Connecting to SQL Azure Database by using OLE DB is not supported. For more info on SQL Azure Driver, Library, and Protocol Support, click here.

Q: Does Azure SRS work with Report Builder 3.0?

A: Creating reports from Report Builder 1.0, Report Builder 2.0, and Report Builder 3.0 is not supported. More info here.

However, you can create reports using Report Builder 3.0 and then deploy the reports by adding them to BI Development Studio report projects. For more information, see How to: Deploy a Report Project (SQL Azure Reporting).

Use SQL Server 2008 R2 BI Development Studio as the client authoring environment. For more information, see Getting Started with SQL Azure Reporting Preview.