SQL Azure Bacpac - Local Restore

If you need to export a SQL Azure database and then import it into a local SQL 2008 R2 server (Note I am also using Visual Studio 2010). Microsoft certainly went out of their way to make this a painful task, however, I was able to do it by doing the following:

Goto this link http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/jj650014 and install the SQL Server Data Tools for Visual Studio 2010

This will install on your local drive. In my case here is where it put it: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\110\DAC\bin

Browse to this via the command line or powershell

You are going to want to execute the SqlPackage.exe

Open up this link to see a list of all the parameter options for SqlPackage.exe (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh550080(v=vs.103).aspx)

Here is my command line that I needed to execute to import a .bacpac file into my local SQL 2008 R2 server:

.\SqlPackage.exe /a:Import /sf:C:\mydatabasefile.bacpac /tdn:NorthWind /tsn:BINGBONG

/tdn is the name of the database you want your bacpac file to restore to. /tsn is the name of your SQL server.

You can see all these parameter descriptions on the link from #5.