Linked Server Insert-Select Performance

Question

Assume that I have a table on my local which is Local_Table and I have another server and another db and table, which is Remote_Table (table struct

Answer 1

I've found a workaround. Since I'm not a big fun of GUI tools like SSIS, I've reused a bcp script to load table into csv and vice versa. Yeah, it's an odd case to have the bulk operation support for files, but tables. Feel free to edit the following script to fit your needs:

exec xp_cmdshell 'bcp "select * from YourLocalTable" queryout C:\CSVFolder\Load.csv -w -T -S .' 
exec xp_cmdshell 'bcp YourAzureDBName.dbo.YourAzureTable in C:\CSVFolder\Load.csv -S yourdb.database.windows.net -U youruser@yourdb.database.windows.net -P yourpass -q -w' 

Pros:

• No need to define table structures every time.
• I've tested and it worked way faster than inserting directly through the LinkedServer.
• It's easier to manage than XML (which is limited to varchar(max) length anyway).
• No need of an extra layout of abstraction (tools like SSIS).

Cons:

• Using the external tool bcp through the xp_cmdshell interface.
• Table properties will be lost after ex/im-poring csv (i.e. datatype, nulls,length, separator within value, etc).