Using Identity Insert on a linked server - sql-server

Question

I have created a linked server object in SQL management studio on our on premise SQL box and I can insert into it as following syntax:
insert into [Azure].[budget].dbo.Bill
I want to set identity insert and have tried the following:
SET IDENTITY_INSERT [Azure].[budget].dbo.Bill ON
insert into [Azure].[budget].dbo.Bill
This is yielding the error that there are too many prefixes. Why can I insert into it without the identity insert and is it possible to do this any other way?
I have then changed the identity insert part to be SP as follows:
EXEC [Azure].[budget].dbo.sp_executesql N'SET IDENTITY_INSERT Bill ON'
insert into [Azure].[budget].dbo.Bill
But I am getting a warning about not having permission on the BillID field

Answer 1

You can't use SET IDENTITY INSERT directly in linked server.
You need to use dynamic SQL to SET IDENTITY_INSERT ON
sp_executesql N'SET IDENTITY_INSERT [Azure].[budgetenergy].dbo.Bill ON;insert into [Azure].[budget].dbo.Bill ....';

Answer 2

You can INSERT an identity value into a table with an identity column on a linked server with the "SWITCH TO" trick.
If you haven't used the "SWITCH TO" trick to add and remove identity on a column, it's very quick, even on large tables!
Conceptually you simply create a new SCHEMA exactly like the table you are wanting to INSERT to without the identity defined. Then switch the table to that SCHEMA and do your INSERT. Then switch back to the SCHEMA with the identity defined.
The sample below has been tested on a linked server in AZURE.
All the caveats of using "SWITCH TO" apply (indexes must be the same, drop and recreate foreign keys, etc)
To test, you can run the full script below on an Linked Azure SQL Server database. You'll need to do a find/replace with [LINKED_SERVER_NAME] and [DATABASE_NAME], replacing with your values. On a non-Azure DB you may need to add "ON PRIMARY" to the table creations.
--Let's setup the example by creating a table with an IDENTITY column on the Linked Server
EXEC('
CREATE TABLE [DATABASE_NAME].[dbo].[Example_Table](
[ID] [int] IDENTITY(1,1) NOT NULL,
[Name] [nchar](10) NULL
)
'
) AT [LINKED_SERVER_NAME]
--INSERT some data into the table
INSERT INTO [LINKED_SERVER_NAME].[DATABASE_NAME].[dbo].[Example_Table] ([Name]) VALUES ('Travis')
INSERT INTO [LINKED_SERVER_NAME].[DATABASE_NAME].[dbo].[Example_Table] ([Name]) VALUES ('Jay')
-- Looks good
SELECT * FROM [LINKED_SERVER_NAME].[DATABASE_NAME].[dbo].[Example_Table]
GO
-- Create a TABLE with an identical schema, without the identity defined
EXEC('
CREATE TABLE [DATABASE_NAME].[dbo].[Example_Table_temp](
[ID] [int] NOT NULL,
[Name] [nchar](10) NULL
)
'
) AT [LINKED_SERVER_NAME]
--Now Use the "SWITCH TO" to move the data to the new table
EXEC('
ALTER TABLE [DATABASE_NAME].[dbo].[Example_Table] SWITCH TO [DATABASE_NAME].[dbo].[Example_Table_temp]
'
) AT [LINKED_SERVER_NAME]
--Drop the old table (It should now be empty, but you may want to verify that if you are unsure here)
EXEC('
DROP TABLE [DATABASE_NAME].[dbo].[Example_Table]
'
) AT [LINKED_SERVER_NAME]
--Rename the new table back to the old table name
-- NOTE the lack of database and owner identifiers in the new name
-- NOTE the use of double single qoutes (ESCAPED single quotes)
EXEC('
EXEC sp_rename ''[DATABASE_NAME].[dbo].Example_Table_temp'',''Example_Table''
'
) AT [LINKED_SERVER_NAME]
-- Now do your IDENTITY INSERTs !!!!
INSERT INTO [LINKED_SERVER_NAME].[DATABASE_NAME].[dbo].[Example_Table] (ID,[Name]) VALUES (888,'Travis')
INSERT INTO [LINKED_SERVER_NAME].[DATABASE_NAME].[dbo].[Example_Table] (ID,[Name]) VALUES (999,'Jay')
--Verify they got put in
SELECT * FROM [LINKED_SERVER_NAME].[DATABASE_NAME].[dbo].[Example_Table]
--Now let's switch it back to our SCHEMA with an IDENTITY
EXEC('
CREATE TABLE [DATABASE_NAME].[dbo].[Example_Table_temp](
[ID] [int] IDENTITY(1,1) NOT NULL,
[Name] [nchar](10) NULL
)
ALTER TABLE [DATABASE_NAME].[dbo].[Example_Table] SWITCH TO [DATABASE_NAME].[dbo].[Example_Table_temp]
DROP TABLE [DATABASE_NAME].[dbo].[Example_Table]
EXEC sp_rename ''[DATABASE_NAME].[dbo].Example_Table_temp'',''Example_Table''
'
) AT [LINKED_SERVER_NAME]
--Data is still there
SELECT * FROM [LINKED_SERVER_NAME].[DATABASE_NAME].[dbo].[Example_Table]
GO
-- And note you can no longer INSERT the IDENTITY
INSERT INTO [LINKED_SERVER_NAME].[DATABASE_NAME].[dbo].[Example_Table] (ID,[Name]) VALUES (45,'Travis')
GO