>SQL Azure simply doesn't have the normal Backup/Restore option. You hear lots of complaints so may they will eventually implement it.
>For the moment there are a couple of options:
>You can create a copy of the database to a regular SQL instance on your local machine.

I meant I am doing it from VB.NET with the SQL Server .NET objects. Are you saying this is not even supported.

>Backups as protection against hardware failure should be unneccessary - but still needed to cope with incidents like accidental table deletion :-}

I duplicate everything on another drive, another location, 1000 km away on two other PCs and somewhere where safes are. So, I can see several reasons to do backups. lol