Can you restore a legacy database to SQL Server 2017 using Azure Data Studio?

The short answer is, Yes.

Azure Data Studio (ADS) is a cross-platform database management tool for managing SQL Servers and it was previously named SQL Operations Studio.

If you do not know what Azure Data Studio, Please review this.

If you want to install Azure Data Studio, Please review this.

In what follows, just follow the indicated steps after launching Azure Data Studio. As a preparation you need to:

• Connect to SQL Server 2017 from within ADS
• Have in hand the backup file (*.bak)
• Make sure you place the above in the Public folder

I am connected to SQL Server 2017 which is installed on my desktop (laptop). It is a default installation as described in the links above.

After I launch ADS and connecting to SQL Server 2017 (default instance), this is what I see. I have no User Database. You are seeing only the System Databases,

I click on the Restore in Tasks and the following page opens. I am restoring from a File and use the handle for Restore from and change it to file and then browse for the backup file which is in my case,

Northwnd.bak.

I browse my computer for the legacy database file (Northwind.bak) and browse to its location in the Public folder as shown.

 The rest of the fields you can accept the defaults unless you want to change, as shown. As soon as you indicate the file, it gets displayed as shown.

Click Restore and it gets restored. You see it in the ADS user interface as shown.

Before Restore

After the restore operation

It took ridiculously three steps to restore.

You can verify it in SSMS version 17.9.1

You need to Restore before you see the new object in Object Explorer.