By David Postlethwaite
Once you have logged in to the Azure Management Portal you can start to create an Azure SQL Database.
Azure SQL Database is an example of Platform as a Service (PaaS), we don’t have to build a Windows server or install the SQL software or configure the SQL instance. We don’t have to worry about software upgrades or the disc configuration Microsoft have done all of that for us. Azure simply provides us with a platform where we can place our data.Once we have created a database we can connect to it from our pc using SQL Server Management Studio or connect our applications to the database by using ADO or ODBC.
From the management console click on the database icon 
on the left hand side of the screen then select +New from the grey section at the bottom.
We have the option of quick create, custom create or import.
Quick Create just asks for a database name and a server put it on and it then creates a standard database. You can then configure the size and performance level afterwards from the Management Portal.
Otherwise use Custom Create so you can also configure the size and performance level at the same time.
It usually takes less than a minute for the system to create the database for you.
The import option allows you can load a special type of backup file called a BACPAC file from Azure blob storage which we will discuss in a later article.
An Azure SQL database must be placed on an Azure SQL server. This server is simply a container to place your databases. There is very little that can be configured for a server other than its location. Importantly an Azure SQL server can host a maximum of 150 databases and has a maximum amount of power available to it (2000 DTUs which we’ll discuss in a later article)
