Introduction

We are excited to announce the General Availability Refresh of Mirroring Azure Database for PostgreSQL in Microsoft Fabric. This update introduces several new capabilities designed to reduce friction, improve transparency, and increase trust in PostgreSQL data for analytics and AI workloads. Database professionals, DBAs, and developers can now leverage a more robust, flexible, and transparent solution for integrating PostgreSQL data in Microsoft Fabric.

Mirroring Azure Database for PostgreSQL enables seamless integration of transactional data into Microsoft Fabric, supporting advanced analytics and AI scenarios. Previously, users faced limitations in data type support, operational requirements, and troubleshooting transparency. The General Availability Refresh directly addresses these challenges, delivering a more reliable and user-friendly experience.

Native Data Type Support

One of the most significant enhancements is support for PostgreSQL native data types, including JSON and JSONB. Users can now mirror complex, semi-structured data without conversion, preserving the full fidelity of source data. Additionally, transparent replication to varchar(max) or varbinary is now supported, ensuring that even custom or less common types can be accurately mirrored in Fabric.

Previously, data type limitations often required workarounds or manual transformations, introducing complexity and risk. With this update, data flows more naturally from PostgreSQL to Fabric, streamlining analytics and AI pipelines and reducing the time spent on data preparation.

Mirroring now preserves PostgreSQL-native types—including JSON and JSONB—without requiring schema transformations or type coercion. This ensures:

• Full fidelity replication of semi-structured data
• Elimination of intermediate serialization (e.g., string encoding)

Tables containing JSON/JSONB columns are mirrored into Fabric with their structure intact, enabling:

• Direct querying of nested JSON fields
• Consistent schema representation across source and analytical layers

Once mirrored, JSON content can be queried natively within Fabric workloads, allowing:

• Hybrid analytical scenarios (relational + semi-structured)
• Use of familiar SQL patterns for JSON traversal and extraction

Flexible Server High Availability Support for PG versions earlier than 17

The refresh expands support for Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server with high availability enabled on versions earlier than 17. This means organizations can leverage mirroring with HA configurations without needing to upgrade their database engine, improving operational flexibility and minimizing disruption.

In the past, mirroring required specific PostgreSQL versions, limiting adoption for organizations with established HA deployments. Now, the broader compatibility allows teams to maintain their preferred configurations and benefit from seamless data integration in Fabric.

Improved Transparency: Enhanced Error Messaging and Dedicated PostgreSQL UDFs

Transparency is critical for troubleshooting and maintaining trust in data pipelines. The General Availability Refresh introduces enhanced error messaging, providing clear and actionable insights into replication issues. Dedicated PostgreSQL user-defined functions (UDFs) further support monitoring and diagnostics, enabling users to quickly identify and resolve problems.

--Validates that all system and configuration requirements are met before starting CDC mirroring. 
SELECT * FROM azure_cdc.check_prerequisites(); 

-- Quickly verify which extension version is deployed — critical for troubleshooting 
SELECT azure_cdc.azure_cdc_version(); 

-- Returns a detailed list of errors and issues detected during CDC operations 
SELECT * FROM azure_cdc.get_health_status('', ''); 

-- Scans every eligible user table in the database and returns the mirroring readiness status for each 
SELECT * FROM azure_cdc.get_all_tables_mirror_status();

These features streamline troubleshooting, reduce downtime, and empower teams to maintain robust mirroring operations. The improvements are a substantial step forward from previous releases, which offered limited visibility into replication health and errors.

Unblocking Mirroring for servers with Read Replica enables

We also removed existing block for creating Mirrored databases on Flexible Servers with Read Replicas created. Now primary servers with one or more Read Replicas can serve as source for Mirroring their databases in Fabric with no limitations.

Conclusion

The new capabilities significantly reduce friction for analytics and AI workloads in Microsoft Fabric. By removing technical barriers and increasing operational simplicity, the General Availability Refresh empowers organizations to unlock the full potential of their PostgreSQL data for advanced analytics and AI applications.

The General Availability Refresh of Mirroring Azure Database for PostgreSQL in Microsoft Fabric delivers critical enhancements: native data type support, expanded Flexible Server HA compatibility, replication identity improvements, and better transparency. Together, these features make mirroring more robust, flexible, and trustworthy for analytics and AI workloads.

We encourage technical professionals, DBAs, and developers to adopt these new capabilities and explore how they can transform data integration in Microsoft Fabric. For more information, visit the official documentation and resources:

• Azure Database for PostgreSQL Documentation
• Microsoft Fabric Documentation