Start-AzureSqlDatabaseExport Object Reference not set to an instance of an object - azure

Question

I'm not sure how to debug this, assuming it's not a problem with the cmdlet. I'm trying to replace the automated SQL export with an automation workflow, but I can't seem to get Start-AzureSqlDatabaseExport to work -- it keeps getting the following warning and error messages.
d4fc0004-0c0b-443e-ad1b-310af7fd4e2a:[localhost]:Client Session Id: 'c12c92eb-acd5-424d-97dc-84c4e9c4f914-2017-01-04
19:00:23Z'
d4fc0004-0c0b-443e-ad1b-310af7fd4e2a:[localhost]:Client Request Id: 'd534f5fd-0fc0-4d68-8176-7508b35aa9d8-2017-01-04
19:00:33Z'
Start-AzureSqlDatabaseExport : Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
At DBBackup:11 char:11
+
+ CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (:) [Start-AzureSqlDatabaseExport], NullReferenceException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Commands.SqlDatabase.Database.Cmdlet.StartAzureSqlDatabaseExport
This seems similar to some other questions, but they seem to be unanswered or not applicable. I did have a similar procedure working in the Powershell environment. I replaced that procedure with the automated export from Azure, which seems like a poor choice now! I've tried a number of variations, using sqlcontext and databasename instead of database, for example.
Here's my code with sensitive parts replaced with ****:
workflow DBBackup {
param(
[parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
[string] $dbcode
)
$cred = Get-AutomationPSCredential -Name "admindbcredentials"
$VerbosePreference = "Continue"
inlineScript {
$dbcode = $using:dbcode
$cred = $using:cred
if ($dbcode -eq $null)
{
Write-Output "Database code must be specified"
}
Else
{
$dbcode = $dbcode.ToUpper()
$dbsize = 1
$dbrestorewait = 10
$dbserver = "kl8p7d444a"
$stacct = $dbcode.ToLower()
$stkey = "***storagekey***"
Write-Verbose "DB Server '$dbserver' DB Code '$dbcode'"
Write-Verbose "Storage Account '$stacct'"
$url = "https://$dbserver.database.windows.net"
$sqlctx = New-AzureSqlDatabaseServerContext -ManageUrl $url -Credential $cred
# $sqlctx = New-AzureSqlDatabaseServerContext -ManageUrl $url -Credential $cred
$stctx = New-AzureStorageContext -StorageAccountName $stacct -StorageAccountKey $stkey
$dbname = "FSUMS_" + $dbcode
$dt = Get-Date
$timestamp = $dt.ToString("yyyyMMdd") + "_" + $dt.ToString("HHmmss")
$bkupname = $dbname + "_" + $timestamp + ".bacpac"
$stcon = Get-AzureStorageContainer -Context $stctx -Name "backups"
$db = Get-AzureSqlDatabase -Context $sqlctx -DatabaseName $dbname
Write-Verbose "Backup $dbname to $bkupname in storage account $stacct"
Start-AzureSqlDatabaseExport $sqlctx -DatabaseName $dbname -StorageContainer $stcon -BlobName $bkupname
}
}
}

Answer 1

Try New-AzureRmSqlDatabaseExport instead. This command will return export status object. If you want a synchronous export you can check for "export status" in a loop.

Answer 2

Adding the following lines corrected the problem:
In the workflow before inlineScript:
$cred = Get-AutomationPSCredential -Name "admincredentials"
(where admincredentials was an asset with my admin login credentials)
and inside the inlineScript:
Add-AzureAccount $cred
Select-AzureSubscription "My subscription"
Some runbooks don't seem to need this, but probably best to always include it.