Azure PostgreSQL Lesson Learned #2: Fixing Read Only Mode Storage Threshold Explained
Co-authored with angesalsaa The issue occurred when the server’s storage usage reached approximately 95% of the allocated capacity. Automatic storage scaling was disabled. Symptoms included: Server switching to read-only mode Application errors indicating write failures No prior alerts or warnings received by the customer Example error: ERROR: cannot execute %s in a read-only transaction Root Cause The root cause was the server hitting the configured storage usage threshold (95%), which triggered an automatic transition to read-only mode to prevent data corruption or loss. Storage options - Azure Database for PostgreSQL | Microsoft Learn If your Storage Usage is below 95% but you're still seeing the same error, please refer to this article for more information > Azure PostgreSQL Lesson Learned#1:Fix Cannot Execute in a Read-Only Transaction After HA Failover Contributing factors: Automatic storage scaling was disabled Lack of proactive monitoring on storage usage High data ingestion rate during peak hours Specific conditions: Customer had a custom workload with large batch inserts No alerts configured for storage usage thresholds Mitigation To resolve the issue: Increased the allocated storage manually via Azure Portal No restart is needed after you scale up the storage because it is an online operation but make sure If you grow the disk from any size between 32 GiB and 4 TiB, to any other size in the same range, the operation is performed without causing any server downtime. It's also the case if you grow the disk from any size between 8 TiB and 32 TiB. In all those cases, the operation is performed while the server is online. However, if you increase the size of disk from any value lower or equal to 4096 GiB, to any size higher than 4096 GiB, a server restart is required. In that case, you're required to confirm that you understand the consequences of performing the operation. Scale storage size - Azure Database for PostgreSQL | Microsoft Learn Verified server returned to read-write mode Steps: Navigate to Azure Portal > PostgreSQL Flexible Server > Compute & Storage Increase storage size (e.g., from 100 GB to 150 GB) Post-resolution: Server resumed normal operations Write operations were successful Prevention & Best Practices Enable automatic storage scaling to prevent hitting usage limits > Configure Storage Autogrow - Azure Database for PostgreSQL | Microsoft Learn Set up alerts for storage usage thresholds (e.g., 80%, 90%) Monitor storage metrics regularly using Azure Monitor or custom dashboards Why This Matters Failing to monitor storage and configure scaling can lead to: Application downtime Read-only errors impacting business-critical transactions By following these practices, customers can ensure seamless operations and avoid unexpected read-only transitions. Key Takeaways Symptom: Server switched to read-only mode, causing write failures (ERROR: cannot execute INSERT in a read-only transaction). Root Cause: Storage usage hit 95% threshold, triggering read-only mode to prevent corruption. Contributing Factors: Automatic storage scaling disabled. No alerts for storage thresholds. High ingestion during peak hours with large batch inserts. Mitigation: Increased storage manually via Azure Portal (online operation unless crossing 4 TiB → restart required). Server returned to read-write mode. Prevention & Best Practices: Enable automatic storage scaling. Configure alerts for storage usage (e.g., 80%, 90%). Monitor storage metrics regularly using Azure Monitor or dashboards.
Urgent: OneDrive Storage Discrepancy – Backend Audit Request
I’m the global admin and sole owner of the Microsoft 365 tenant for mailto:email address removed for privacy reasons. My OneDrive usage has jumped from 276 GB to nearly 1 TB in under 30 days, yet my visible files total only ~66.5 GB on my PC and in my web OneDrive. I’ve: Emptied the recycle bin Deleted version history Verified no shared libraries or backups Confirmed that local and cloud file views match Despite this, the Admin Center shows 0.9 TB used, and I’m unable to open a service request. The Support Assistant bot is the only option available, and it does not escalate to a live agent. I need a backend audit to identify any hidden, orphaned, or misreported data inflating my quota. Please escalate this to a support engineer who can investigate the issue.
Email Storage Not Updating
I deleted some items so that my Microsoft storage would be under 5GB (it's at 3.8 GB according to OneDrive), but I still can't receive emails because Outlook thinks I'm still at 5.6 GB/5 GB even though I'm actually at 3.8 (the bar doesn't reach the end). It's been three days since I deleted the files. What should I do?
Change Storage warning notification in bulk for all sites
Hi all, We received a question from our client that they want to get a notification when one of the sites reaches the 80% full mark on a SharePoint site. We have enabled the manual option in SharePoint admin center. There are around 1000 sites in the tenant. But not all have the notification on, or on the same level. The percentage varies with the site. Between 80% and 95%. Is there a way I can edit this in bulk for all sites within the tenant? So every site sends a notification when they hit 80% of total storage? I have searched but can only find PowerShell scripts that increase the storage quota.
