Exporting tables from a SQL Server backup (.bak) to Parquet without restoring it

FastBCP 1.6 enables direct export of SQL Server tables from backup files (.bak) to Parquet format without requiring a restore or SQL Server instance, achieving rapid performance with a 175-million-row table exported in under 30 seconds using 24 threads. The exported Parquet files can then be loaded into SQL Server (including older versions) or PostgreSQL via FastTransfer, offering flexibility that traditional RESTORE commands cannot provide. The tool supports full and copy-only backups, various compression methods, striped backups, and most SQL Server data types, with the ArpeMSBackup driver handling the backup file reading independently.