Access Database Migration to Azure SQL Help (AutoCAD Electrical 2023)

[Jeffrey_S_Arant]

We're looking to migrate a Microsoft Access Database to an Azure SQL instance (for AutoCAD Electrical 2023), and are running into errors. Here is what we tried:

1. Initially, the original Access database was backed up.
2. The database was "restored" in a local instance of SQL since Azure SQL databases cannot be "restored" from local backups.
3. The full database schema with tables, views, permissions, users, etc. was generated in a SQL script.
4. We then Create an Azure SQL database called "default_cat" and another called "footprint_lookup". 
5. The full script was run on each respective Azure SQL database.
6. We then tried connecting to the database through SQL Authentication (username / password) from AutoCAD Electrical and got the following message: 
   

7. We tried troubleshooting a few items here and nothing worked (there were no extra tables created by us, and the Access database was not modified in any way from creation)

8. We then fully wiped the Azure SQL databases and then tried to "Migrate" the Access databases to Azure SQL and got the following error message:
   

These issues do not happen on local instances of SQL, but each local instance of SQL does not get us the scalability that we need (since it's still relegated to only that user on that machine). Is there no compatibility with Azure SQL? Is there something we're doing incorrectly?

[Jeffrey_S_Arant]

We have yet to find a solution, so we opened a ticket with our provider. I'll notate here what the remedy is (or if it's not possible with Azure SQL) when we figure it out.

[Jeffrey_S_Arant · Accepted solution]

Per AutoDesk, using a cloud instance of SQL server is 100% not supported. AutoCAD Electrical cannot create a new database on an Azure SQL Server, and it also cannot migrate an existing database to an existing Azure SQL server. The only other possibility would be to allow remote connections to a local instance of SQL on a VM, and there are significant security concerns there. To my knowledge, no current solution exists for using a cloud instance of SQL as a back end to AutoCAD Electrical.

[jseefdrumr]

I think we all err in thinking of ACADE as 'modern'.

It was made in the nineties and never left, even after Autodesk purchased it.