What you will need

• Administrative access to Azure and a valid subscription
• Access to your current SQL Server and Silverback database
• Administrative privileges on your current Silverback Server
• Domain administrative privileges may be required if Windows Authentication is currently used and changes to service accounts or permissions are necessary
• An Administrator account for the Silverback Management Console
• A Settings Administrator account for the Silverback Management Console
• An Azure SQL Server login with sufficient permissions to deploy databases
• Network connectivity and firewall access to the target Azure SQL Server from the machine running SQL Server Management Studio
• A maintenance window depending on the database size and expected migration duration

Review Database Authentication

Before starting the migration, you should verify which authentication method is currently configured for Silverback. Azure SQL Database does not support Windows-based SQL Server logins originating from an On-Premise environment. If Windows Authentication is currently used, the authentication method must be switched to SQL Server Authentication before the migration can continue.

Verify Current Authentication Method

• Open your Silverback Management Console.
• Login as Settings Administrator
• Navigate to Connection String
• Verify whether Use SQL Authentication is enabled or disabled
  • If Use SQL Authentication is unchecked, you are using Windows Authentication and you need to switch to SQL Server Authentication first, otherwise a failure will appear during the Database Deployment to Microsoft Azure SQL Database:

  • One or more unsupported elements were found in the schema used as part of a data package.
    Error SQL71627: The element User: [IV\Silverback Enterprise Device Management] has property AuthenticationType set to a value that is not supported in Microsoft Azure SQL Database v12.
    Error SQL71627: The element Login: [IV\Silverback Enterprise Device Management] has property IsMappedToWindowsLogin set to a value that is not supported in Microsoft Azure SQL Database v12.
    (Microsoft.SqlServer.Dac)

  • If Use SQL Authentication is enabled, you can proceed with the Database Migration chapter

Switch from Windows to SQL Authentication

If your current Silverback installation uses Windows Authentication, you must switch to SQL Server Authentication before migrating the database to Azure SQL Database. The following steps describe how to create a SQL login, assign the required permissions and update the Silverback connection string. If SQL Authentication is already enabled, you can proceed directly with the Database Migration chapter.

Create new Login 

• Open SQL Server Management Studio
• Connect to your SQL Server 
• Navigate to Security
• Right-Click Logins
• Select New Login
• Enter a Login Name, e.g. Migrator
• Select SQL Authentication 
• Enter a Password, e.g., Pa$$w0rd 
• Enter the password again to confirm
• Disable User must change password at next login
• Select your current Silverback Database as default database
• Confirm with OK

Grant Database Permissions

• Navigate to Databases
• Expand the Silverback database
• Expand Security and then Users
• Right-click Users and select New User
• Enter the username, for example Migrator
• Click ... next to Login name
• Enter the name of the prevously created login, for example Migrator
• Select Check Names
• Select the previously created SQL login
• Press OK
• Leave the default schema empty
• Open the Membership page
• Enable db_owner
• Confirm with OK

Stop Services

• On the Silverback server, start a CMD or PowerShell Command
• Type: stop-service w3svc,silv*,epic*,mat* 
• Press enter
• Wait until the Services are stopped

Connection String Backup and Reset

• On your Silverback Server, right-click the Search Icon and open the Registry Editor
• Confirm with Yes
• Expand to Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MATRIX42\
• Right Click Silverback
• Select Export
• Enter a file name, e.g. Silverback Registry Backup
• Click Save or save the backup to a different location

• Now right click SilverbackConnection 
• Select Delete
• Confirm with Yes

Start IIS

• Restart Internet Information Services
• Open Internet Information Services Manager
• Select your Server
• Click in the right pane under Actions Restart
• Wait until the restart process is finished

Create your new Connection String

• Open your Browser
• Open localhost/admin
• Ignore the certificate warning message and continue with access to Silverback Website
• Re-Enter now your current SQL Database settings, but ensure to Enable Use SQL Authentication and Enter your recently created Login
• Press Save
• Wait Until the the Management Console will appear again
• Now you have verified that the SQL Authentication is working successfully. 

Remove Windows Authenticated Database User

Perform this step only after verifying that Silverback is successfully using SQL Server Authentication

• Open your SQL Server Management Studio
• Expand Databases > Silverback > Security > Users.
• Locate the Windows user, for example IV\Silverback Enterprise Device Management.
• Right-click the user and select Delete.
• Confirm with OK
• Wait until the deletion is done

Database Migration

This section describes how to perform a database migration from an On-Premise scenario to an Azure SQL based database with the SQL Server Management Studio. Please note that the database deployment may take a lot of time. During testing, the migration of a 4 GB database took approximately 1 hour using a Standard S0: 10 DTUs Azure SQL Database configuration. In this example, SQL Server Management Studio is executed directly on the Silverback Server.

Server=tcp:imagoverum-sql.database.windows.net,1433;Initial Catalog=Silverback;Persist Security Info=False;User ID=azuresqladmin;Password={your_password};MultipleActiveResultSets=False;Encrypt=True;TrustServerCertificate=False;Connection Timeout=30;