How to choose the right reserved instance in Azure
Are you considering committing to a reserved instance in Azure? Our guide will help you make an informed decision by providing insights on the benefits, flexibility, and limitations of reserved instances. Learn about the steps to evaluate and purchase a reserved instance, the tools and services to optimize and manage them, and the alternative options available. Make the most of your investment with our comprehensive guide to Azure Reserved Instances.
Announcing savings plan for databases: flexible savings for modern, evolving workloads
As organizations modernize their data platforms, database environments are constantly changing. Teams migrate between services, scale across regions, and evolve architectures to support new applications and AI driven workloads. But optimizing costs in these environments can be challenging, especially when savings options require locking into specific services, regions, or configurations. To help with these challenges, we’re introducing savings plan for databases, a new way to save on eligible database services while maintaining the flexibility needed to modernize and grow your business. Savings plan for databases helps IT, engineering, and FinOps teams reduce database costs with a simple, spend based commitment—without slowing down architectural change. What is savings plan for databases? Savings plan for databases is a spend based pricing model that enables customers to save on eligible database services by committing to a fixed hourly spend for one year. In return, customers receive lower prices—up to 35% compared to pay-as-you go pricing on select services*. Instead of committing to a specific database service, region, or configuration, customers commit to an hourly dollar amount (for example, $5 per hour). The plan automatically applies savings to eligible database usage each hour, prioritizing the usage that delivers the greatest savings first—across services and regions—until the hourly commitment is met. Any usage beyond the commitment continues at pay-as-you go rates, ensuring flexibility as needs change. Benefits designed for modern database workloads Flexibility as environments evolve Savings plan for databases is designed for change. Savings continue to apply as workloads modernize or move across regions—without requiring customers to repurchase or reconfigure commitments. This makes it well suited for dynamic environments where architectures are expected to evolve over time. Automatic cost optimization With a single hourly commitment, customers unlock discounted prices on eligible database usage. Savings are applied automatically each hour, ensuring customers get the most value from their commitment without manual management or constant tuning. Predictable budgeting and forecasting A fixed hourly spend replaces variable pay-as-you-go costs with a predictable commitment, making it easier for FinOps and IT finance teams to forecast spend, plan budgets, and manage cloud investments with confidence. What services that are covered with the savings plan for databases: Savings plan for databases pricing Savings based on pay as you go list price. Savings calculated by comparing committed plan price to pay-as-you-go list price for the same usage. Savings calculations are based on list prices and do not vary by region. Pricing as of March 2026. Actual savings may vary based on usage. Pricing Calculator and Pricing Pages will be updated in future date to reflect savings plan for databases pricing and savings. How to purchase a savings plan for databases Getting started is simple: Review personalized recommendations in the Azure portal based on recent database usage. Choose an hourly commitment and scope it into a subscription, resource group, management group, or entire account. Select a payment option—pay monthly or upfront at no additional cost—and optionally enable auto‑renewal. Once purchased, savings are applied automatically to eligible database usage every hour. Learn more here on how to purchase a savings plans here. Example: saving while modernizing Consider a team running a global application that uses Azure SQL Database and Azure Database for PostgreSQL today, with plans to expand into additional regions over the next year. Instead of purchasing individual reservations tied to specific services or regions, the team purchases a 1‑year savings plan for databases with a $5/hour commitment. As usage shifts across database services and regions, Azure automatically applies discounted prices to eligible usage up to the hourly commitment. The team continues modernizing without disruption—while benefiting from predictable savings. Summary Savings plan for databases provides a new way to optimize database costs —without locking into fixed architectures. With hourly commitments, automatic optimization, and predictable costs, it’s designed to support modernization today and continued growth tomorrow. Get started You can begin saving today: View your recommendation in Azure Advisor Purchase a plan in Azure portal Visit the Savings plan homepage Review the Microsoft Documentation Watch demo videos at the Azure Essentials Show *Customers may see savings estimated to be between 0% and 35%. The 35% savings estimate is based on one Azure SQL Database serverless running for 12 months at a pay-as-you-go rate vs. a reduced rate for a 1-year savings plan. Based on Azure pricing as of March 2026. Prices are subject to change. Actual savings may vary based on location, database service, and/or usage. ** Note that savings plan for databases will also be consumed by SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines and SQL Server enabled by Azure Arc hourly license at the normal pay-go price.Streamline Analytics Spend on Microsoft Fabric with Azure Reservations
Introduction As organizations accelerate their cloud adoption, optimizing spend while maintaining performance and scalability is a top priority. Microsoft Fabric, our all-in-one, software-as-a-service data platform, is designed to help teams accomplish any data project. But how can you ensure your investment delivers maximum value? In this post, we’ll explore how Azure reservations for Microsoft Fabric can help you optimize costs, simplify purchasing, and streamline your data analytics spend. What Is Microsoft Fabric? Microsoft Fabric is an end-to-end data platform that brings together data orchestration, transformation, machine learning, real-time event processing, reporting, and databases in a single SaaS experience. It’s designed for data engineers, scientists, analysts, and business users, offering role-specific workloads and integrated AI experiences, all backed by a unified data lake—OneLake. Unlike traditional services that require managing different pricing and capacities for each workload, Fabric simplifies this with a single capacity model. You purchase Fabric Capacity Units (CUs), which power all workloads, and jobs consume CUs at different rates depending on your compute needs. How Azure reservations Work with Fabric Azure reservation is a pricing model that helps you save when you commit to a specific resource, region, and term - ideal for stable, predictable workloads. Reservations don’t affect capacity or runtime; they simply provide discount benefits. Azure analyzes your usage and recommends reservation options, and tools like Azure Advisor guide you toward the right purchase. You may be familiar with how reservations work with virtual machines, but Azure reservations can also apply to other services such as Microsoft Fabric. When purchasing Fabric, you can choose a pay-as-you-go model for flexible usage or save substantially with Azure reservations for consistent workloads. For example, if you deploy an F64 SKU in Fabric for ongoing reporting and analytics, buying an Azure reservation for this SKU ensures you pay the discounted rate for your consistent usage. How to Purchase a Reservation for Microsoft Fabric Let’s look at how you can purchase a reservation for Microsoft Fabric. Follow these steps below or watch this video: 1. Start in the Microsoft Marketplace or Azure Portal: Visit the Microsoft Marketplace and look up Microsoft Fabric. Click “Get it now” and it will take you to the Azure Portal. 2. Create Fabric Capacity: Select Configuration: In Azure Portal, on the Create Fabric Capacity page, select your subscription and resource group, name your capacity, and select your region. Select Size: Use the Fabric SKU estimator to determine the right capacity for your workloads, or start with a free trial and monitor usage with the capacity metrics app. You can always upgrade or create multiple capacities as needed. Organize with Tags: Use Azure tags to track costs and automate management across environments. 3. Buy Fabric Reservations: In the Azure portal, search for and select “Reservations.” On the Reservations page, click “Add” and select Microsoft Fabric. Choose your scope and subscription, select Fabric Capacity with upfront or monthly payments, and adjust the quantity as needed. Best Practices for Maximizing Savings To get the most value from your reservations, follow these best practices: Estimate Carefully: Avoid over-committing (which leads to wasted resources) or under-committing (which leads to higher costs). Understand your resource needs and usage and use Azure Advisor recommendations to make informed decisions. Enable Auto-Renew: Ensure your reservations automatically renew so you don’t lose the discount but adjust your reservation needs as workloads change. Monitor Usage: Use Azure Cost Management to continuously track reservation usage. Choose the Right Scope: Align reservation benefits with your organizational structure to maximize savings. Conclusion: Microsoft Fabric and Azure reservations empower organizations to streamline analytics spend, simplify purchasing, and unlock significant savings without sacrificing performance or scalability. Following best practices and leveraging the right tools ensures your cloud investments deliver maximum value. Get started today by visiting the Microsoft Marketplace and Azure Portal to purchase Fabric Capacity units and reservations or read Save costs with Microsoft Fabric Capacity reservations - Microsoft Cost Management | Microsoft Learn to learn more.Smarter Cloud, Smarter Spend: How Azure Powers Cost-Efficient Innovation
In today’s dynamic business environment, organizations are under pressure to innovate rapidly while managing costs effectively. The cloud, especially with AI at the forefront, is driving transformation across industries. But with rising cloud spend and economic uncertainty, cost efficiency has become a top priority. To help customers navigate this challenge, Microsoft commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study. The study reveals how organizations can unlock significant financial and operational benefits by leveraging Microsoft Azure’s tools and strategic pricing offers, especially when migrating to the cloud and adopting AI. Cloud Migration: Accelerating Modernization with Azure Migrating to the cloud is a foundational step for digital transformation. But many organizations initially struggled with cost overruns, lack of visibility, and inefficient resource usage. The TEI study shows how Azure’s native tools and strategic pricing offers helped overcome these challenges. Key Enablers of Cost-Efficient Migration: Azure Hybrid Benefit: Allows organizations to optimize savings in their migration journey by giving a discount on server licenses and subscriptions and granting hosting and outsourcing benefits Azure reservations: A commitment model that enables customers to save on their spend when they commit to a specific resource, in a region, and for a specific term. Azure savings plan for compute: A flexible pricing model that enables customers to save on their cost when they commit to a spend a fixed hourly amount for a specific term. Microsoft Cost Management & Azure Advisor: Provide real-time insights and optimization recommendations. Azure Pricing Calculator: Accurately estimate migration costs and forecast budgets. “Azure reservations and Azure Hybrid Benefit facilitate moving to the cloud. With these offers and better cost management, we are saving 30% to 35%. Managing our costs without these tools would be an unpredictable nightmare.” — Senior IT Director, Manufacturing Quantified Impact*: 25% reduction in cloud spending in Year 1 using Microsoft tools. $4.9M in direct savings over three years from tool-based optimization. $3.8M in additional savings from strategic pricing offers. AI Adoption: Driving Innovation with Cost-Efficient Azure Solutions Once migrated, organizations are increasingly turning to AI to drive innovation and competitive advantage. Azure doesn’t just support AI workloads, it makes them more cost-effective and scalable. Key Enablers of AI Adoption: Azure AI Foundry Provisioned Throughput reservations: Get cost savings compared to provisioned throughput (PTU) hourly pricing. Microsoft Cost Management & Azure Advisor: Help forecast and optimize AI-related cloud spend. Strategic Pricing Offers: Enable predictable budgeting and reinvestment into AI initiatives. “Leveraging Microsoft tools and strategic pricing offers is not only increasing profitability but also putting those savings into more interesting projects like AI with fraud prevention work and the customer experience.” — VP of Analytics Engineering, Financial Services “Azure reservations for AI projects using PTUs has helped our AI initiatives. It has helped better predict costs.” — CIO, Healthcare Unquantified Benefits: Increased cloud insights and visibility. Improved governance and accountability. Enhanced productivity (24% by Year 3). The Bottom Line: Unified Transformation with Azure The TEI study concludes that Azure delivers a unified approach to cloud computing, enabling organizations to: Migrate to the cloud efficiently with cost control Adopt AI rapidly by reinvesting savings into innovation Achieve a net present value (NPV) of $8.7 million over three years Realize a 35% reduction in cloud spending in Year 1 “With Microsoft tools, we can focus on higher value projects. Instead of reviewing reports and conducting cost audits, we can build new tools and build with genAI. We can innovate faster.” — Vice President of Analytics Engineering, Financial Services Ready to Dive Deeper? This blog is just the beginning. The full Forrester TEI study is packed with insights, customer stories, and financial modeling to help you build your business case for Azure. Read the full study here *To understand benefits, costs, and risks, Forrester interviewed eight decision-makers with experience using the evaluated Azure solutions. For the purposes of this study, Forrester aggregated the results from these decision-makers into a single composite organization.August 2025 Recap: Azure Database for PostgreSQL
Hello Azure Community, August was an exciting month for Azure Database for PostgreSQL! We have introduced updates that make your experience smarter and more secure. From simplified Entra ID group login to integrations with LangChain and LangGraph, these updates help with improving access control and seamless integration for your AI agents and applications. Stay tuned as we dive deeper into each of these feature updates. Feature Highlights Enhanced Performance recommendations for Azure Advisor - Generally Available Entra-ID group login using user credentials - Public Preview New Region Buildout: Austria East LangChain and LangGraph connector Active-Active Replication Guide Enhanced Performance recommendations for Azure Advisor - Generally Available Azure Advisor now offers enhanced recommendations to further optimize PostgreSQL server performance, security, and resource management. These key updates are as follows: Index Scan Insights: Detection and recommendations for disabled index and index-only scans to improve query efficiency. Audit Logging Review: Identification of excessive logging via the pgaudit.log parameter, with guidance to reduce overhead. Statistics Monitoring: Alerts on server statistics resets and suggestions to restore accurate performance tracking. Storage Optimization: Analysis of storage usage with recommendations to enable the Storage Autogrow feature for seamless scaling. Connection Management: Evaluation of workloads for short-lived connections and frequent connectivity errors, with recommendations to implement PgBouncer for efficient connection pooling. These enhancements aim to provide deeper operational insights and support proactive performance tuning for PostgreSQL workloads. For more details read the Performance recommendations documentation. Entra-ID group login using user credentials - Public Preview The public preview for Entra-ID group login using user credentials is now available. This feature simplifies user management and improves security within the Azure Database for PostgreSQL. This allows administrators and users to benefit from a more streamlined process like: Changes in Entra-ID group memberships are synchronized on a periodic 30min basis. This scheduled syncing ensures that access controls are kept up to date, simplifying user management and maintaining current permissions. Users can log in with their own credentials, streamlining authentication, and improving auditing and access management for PostgreSQL environments. As organizations continue to adopt cloud-native identity solutions, this update represents a major improvement in operational efficiency and security for PostgreSQL database environments. For more details read the documentation on Entra-ID group login. New Region Buildout: Austria East New region rollout! Azure Database for PostgreSQL flexible server is now available in Austria East, giving customers in and around the region lower latency and data residency options. This continues our mission to bring Azure PostgreSQL closer to where you build and run your apps. For the full list of regions visit: Azure Database for PostgreSQL Regions. LangChain and LangGraph connector We are excited to announce that native LangChain & LangGraph support is now available for Azure Database for PostgreSQL! This integration brings native support for Azure Database for PostgreSQL into LangChain or LangGraph workflows, enabling developers to use Azure PostgreSQL as a secure and high-performance vector store and memory store for their AI agents and applications. Specifically, this package adds support for: Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) authentication when connecting to your Azure Database for PostgreSQL instances, and, DiskANN indexing algorithm when indexing your (semantic) vectors. This package makes it easy to connect LangChain to your Azure-hosted PostgreSQL instances whether you're building intelligent agents, semantic search, or retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems. Read more at https://aka.ms/azpg-agent-frameworks Active-Active Replication Guide We have published a new blog article that guides you through setting up active-active replication in Azure Database for PostgreSQL using the pglogical extension. This walkthrough covers the fundamentals of active-active replication, key prerequisites for enabling bi-directional replication, and step-by-step demo scripts for the setup. It also compares native and pglogical approaches helping you choose the right strategy for high availability, and multi-region resilience in production environments. Read more about the active-active replication guide on this blog. Azure Postgres Learning Bytes 🎓 Enabling Zone-Redundant High Availability for Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server Using APIs. High availability (HA) is essential for ensuring business continuity and minimizing downtime in production workloads. With Zone-Redundant HA, Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server automatically provisions a standby replica in a different availability zone, providing stronger fault tolerance against zone-level failures. This section will guide you on how to enable Zone-Redundant HA using REST APIs. Using REST APIs gives you clear visibility into the exact requests and responses, making it easier to debug issues and validate configurations as you go. You can use any REST API client tool of your choice to perform these operations including Postman, Thunder Client (VS Code extension), curl, etc. to send requests and inspect the results directly. Before enabling Zone-Redundant HA, make sure your server is on the General Purpose or Memory Optimized tier and deployed in a region that supports it. If your server is currently using Same-Zone HA, you must first disable it before switching to Zone-Redundant. Steps to Enable Zone-Redundant HA: Get an ARM Bearer token: Run this in a terminal where Azure CLI is signed in (or use Azure Cloud Shell) az account get-access-token --resource https://management.azure.com --query accessToken -o tsv Paste token in your API client tool Authorization: `Bearer <token>` </token> Inspect the server (GET) using the following URL: https://management.azure.com/subscriptions/{{subscriptionId}}/resourceGroups/{{resourceGroup}}/providers/Microsoft.DBforPostgreSQL/flexibleServers/{{serverName}}?api-version={{apiVersion}} In the JSON response, note: sku.tier → must be 'GeneralPurpose' or 'MemoryOptimized' properties.availabilityZone → '1' or '2' or '3' (depends which availability zone that was specified while creating the primary server, it will be selected by system if the availability zone is not specified) properties.highAvailability.mode → 'Disabled', 'SameZone', or 'ZoneRedundant' properties.highAvailability.state → e.g. 'NotEnabled','CreatingStandby', 'Healthy' If HA is currently SameZone, disable it first (PATCH) using API. Use the same URL in Step 3, in the Body header insert: { "properties": { "highAvailability": { "mode": "Disabled" } } } Enable Zone Redundant HA (PATCH) using API: Use the same URL in Step 3, in the Body header insert: { "properties": { "highAvailability": { "mode": "ZoneRedundant" } } } Monitor until HA is Healthy: Re-run the GET from Step 3 every 30-60 seconds until you see: "highAvailability": { "mode": "ZoneRedundant", "state": "Healthy" } Conclusion That’s all for our August 2025 feature updates! We’re committed to making Azure Database for PostgreSQL better with every release, and your feedback plays a key role in shaping what’s next. 💬 Have ideas, questions, or suggestions? Share them with us: https://aka.ms/pgfeedback 📢 Want to stay informed about the latest features and best practices? Follow us here for the latest announcements, feature releases, and best practices: Azure Database for PostgreSQL Blog More exciting improvements are on the way—stay tuned for what’s coming next!News and updates from FinOps X 2024: How Microsoft is empowering organizations
Last year, I shared a broad set of updates that showcased how Microsoft is embracing FinOps practitioners through education, product improvements, and innovative solutions that help organizations achieve more. with AI-powered experiences like Copilot and Microsoft Fabric. Whether you’re an engineer working in the Azure portal or part of a business or finance team collaborating in Microsoft 365 or analyzing data in Power BI, Microsoft Cloud has the tools you need to accelerate business value for your cloud investments.Microsoft at FinOps X 2025: Embracing FinOps in the era of AI
It’s that time of year again! June 2 nd is quickly approaching, and Microsoft is set to make a bold impact at FinOps X 2025, continuing our mission to empower organizations with financial discipline, cost optimization, and AI-driven efficiency in the cloud. As artificial intelligence reshapes the industry, we’re excited to showcase how Microsoft’s FinOps tools and services can help you boost productivity, streamline automation, and maximize cloud investments with innovative AI-powered capabilities. Our presence at FinOps X goes beyond standard conference participation, it’s an immersive experience designed to engage, inspire, and equip FinOps practitioners with actionable strategies. Here’s what to expect: Evening by the bay: A Microsoft experience 📍 Roy’s restaurant 📅 June 2 🕖 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM Back by popular demand, we hope you can join us where networking meets relaxation at Microsoft’s signature welcome reception, an unforgettable evening at Roy’s Restaurant. Enjoy handcrafted cocktails, live music, and gourmet food while mingling with FinOps leaders, practitioners, and Microsoft experts. Immersive exhibit: FinOps in the era of AI 📍 Microsoft stage room 📅 June 3-4 🕘 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM On June 3 rd and 4 th , we encourage you to step into the Microsoft stage room, where we’re debuting an interactive exhibit that explores the AI adoption journey. Participants will navigate through key phases, from foundations to design, management, and best practices, all rooted in the FinOps Framework. Gain insights into how Microsoft solutions can help drive cost efficiency and deliver value throughout your AI transformation. Microsoft sessions: Insights and innovation Microsoft will host 10 dedicated sessions throughout the conference, offering a mix of breakout sessions, expert Q&As, and, for the first time, a partner-focused discussion. Our sessions will explore a wide range of topics including: Best practices for maximizing cloud investments FinOps for AI and AI for FinOps FinOps strategies for SaaS and sustainability Governance, forecasting, benchmarking, and rate optimization Deep dives into Microsoft tools: Microsoft Cost Management Microsoft Fabric Microsoft Copilot in Azure GitHub Copilot Azure AI Foundry Azure Marketplace Pricing offers Azure Carbon Optimization FinOps toolkit Each session is designed to provide proven frameworks, real-world insights, and practical guidance to help organizations integrate financial discipline into their cloud and AI projects. Join us at FinOps X 2025 Ready to dive into the latest FinOps strategies and AI-driven efficiencies? Register today to secure your spot at Microsoft’s sessions and experiences! Space is limited, so don’t miss this opportunity to connect, learn, and innovate with peers and experts. 👉 Explore and register for Microsoft sessions (https://aka.ms/finops/x) Stay tuned for more updates as we gear up for an exciting week of learning, networking, and innovation with the FinOps community. We hope you can join us in San Diego from June 2-5, where the future of FinOps meets the limitless possibilities of AI. Microsoft is all in, and we can’t wait to see you there!News and updates from FinOps X 2025: Transforming FinOps in the era of AI
AI is central to nearly every corner of business and technology. It's no surprise that FinOps X 2025 was loaded with news about how AI is changing everything. Learn about how FinOps tools and solutions are evolving in the era of AI!Boost Your Postgres Server on Azure with Enhanced Azure Advisor Performance Recommendations!
Are you puzzled about why your server or database performance has suddenly degraded or become slow? This can be quite frustrating, especially when you are trying to maintain optimal performance for your applications. There could be numerous reasons behind this issue. It is essential to identify the root cause to implement the right solution and get your server back to its peak performance. Let us dive deeper into this and explore potential solutions together. In this blog post, I will take you on a journey through the comprehensive Azure Advisor performance recommendations specifically tailored for Azure Database for PostgreSQL flexible server. These insights will not only alert you to potential root causes but also guide you in resolving the server issues you are facing. We have you covered from hardware optimizations and logging enhancements to workload management, autovacuum tuning, bloat reduction, and managing inactive replication slots. Let's dive in and unlock the full potential of your server using the performance recommendations provided here. To ensure you receive proactive notifications regarding Azure Advisor recommendations at the server or subscription level, you have the option to configure alerts to be received via email or text message. Setting up Alerts for Recommendations Stay ahead of the game by setting alerts for Azure Advisor recommendations for your Azure Database for PostgreSQL flexible server! Whenever a recommendation is made for one of your resources, an event is triggered, ensuring you are always in the loop. You can customize these alerts to be recommendation-specific, targeting types of recommendations, or set them up at the Azure subscription level to receive notifications for all recommendations related to the resources within the specified subscription. This way, you will never miss a critical insight and can take proactive steps to maintain optimal server performance, ensuring you are always informed and ready to act! You can set up alerts based on the Impact level, Category, and Recommendation type. On Azure portal, search for Advisor and proceed. Go to Monitoring and Alerts and click on New Advisor Alert. Create the Advisor Alert and set up an Action Group for the recommendation event. When a recommendation alert is triggered, you will receive notification via email or text message according to your Action Group settings. This alert is sent once per recommendation to ensure that you are informed promptly for timely action. You have taken the proactive step of setting up an alert to notify you via email if your server enters any vulnerable state. This ensures that you are immediately informed of any potential issues. For instance, you recently received the following recommendation alert in your email, highlighting a specific area that requires attention. This way, you can promptly address any concerns and maintain the optimal performance of your server. Scenarios in which Azure Advisor recommendation will help keep your Azure Database for PostgreSQL flexible server performant. Let us explore the various scenarios in which Azure Advisor can proactively assist you in identifying and resolving performance issues with your PostgreSQL server. Scenario 1- Inactive Logical Replication slots You have received an alert indicating that your server has an inactive logical replication slot. The outlined section below highlights that this is a high-impact performance. This alert tells me a recommendation named " Review your server for inactive Logical Replication Slots" has been triggered. Th next step is to go to your server on Azure Portal. You will be able to see Recommendations on the Overview page of your server on the portal. Click on the highlighted recommendation above. This action will direct you to a detailed page about the recommendation alert you received. On this page, you will find comprehensive information about the recommendation, including the specific details and the reason for receiving it, which is provided in the "Reason" column. The "Reason" column for this recommendation states: "Found inactive logical replication slot(s). Here are the replication slots that have been inactive for the longest: ['myslot']." Click on the "Recommended Action" to proceed with the necessary steps to resolve your server's vulnerable state. You will be directed to a page that provides the resolution for the server issue encountered. The necessary action is outlined in the "Recommended Action" section. In this scenario, you will need to drop the inactive logical replication slot as mentioned below. You can then check your replication slot for it to be active or inactive. Resolution: Proceed to remove the inactive logical replication slot as shown below to maintain optimal server performance. After dropping the inactive replication slot, you will notice within 24 hours that the recommendation no longer appears on the Overview page under Recommendations in your Azure Portal. Scenario 2 – Checkpoints happening frequently You have now received an alert indicating that your server has a recommendation stating the server has frequent checkpoint warnings. The outlined section below highlights that this is a high-impact performance. This alert tells me a recommendation named "PostgreSqlCheckpointHappeningFrequently" has been triggered. Click on the highlighted recommendation above. This action will direct you to a detailed page about the recommendation alert you received. On this page, you will find comprehensive information in the Recommendation details section and the reason for receiving it, which is provided in the 'Reason' column. The 'Reason' column for this recommendation states: 'Checkpoints are occurring frequently over 3 consecutive hours'. Click on the 'Recommended Action' to proceed with the necessary steps to resolve your server's vulnerable state. The necessary action is outlined in the 'Recommended Action' section. In this scenario, you will need to update your max_wal_size server parameter. Clicking on the 'Recommended Action' will take you to the Server parameters page of your server as shown below. Search for the max_wal_size parameter and increase it accordingly. After updating the max_wal_size parameter and resolving the frequent checkpoint warnings, the recommendation will disappear from the Overview page under Recommendations in your Azure Portal within 24 hours. Scenario 3 – High Bloat ratio Let us discuss the alert you received regarding a high bloat ratio on your server(s). I will guide you through the troubleshooting process to understand what is happening on the server and how to resolve the issue. You have now received an alert indicating that your server has a recommendation stating that your server is having a high bloat ratio. Click on the highlighted recommendation above. This action will direct you to a detailed page about the recommendation alert you received. On this page, you will find comprehensive information in the Recommendation details section and the reason for receiving it, which is provided in the 'Reason' column. The 'Reason' column for this recommendation states: “Here are the Database(s) with the highest BloatRatio: ["testdb"] has a Bloat Ratio(dead/live + dead)[86.08]”. Click on the 'Recommended Action' to proceed with the necessary steps to resolve your server's vulnerable state. The necessary action is outlined in the 'Recommended Action' section. In this scenario, the page will redirect you to the Troubleshooting guides of your server on the Azure portal. Navigate to the Autovacuum Monitoring tab, where you will find information on Bloat Ratio, Live vs. Dead tuples, Vacuum and Analyze, Autovacuum workers in progress, Autovacuum per table, and Enhanced metrics by server and by database. Navigate through each section to learn more about the server’s bloat and autovacuum information as shown below. The Autovacuum monitoring troubleshooting guide is designed to assess the health of autovacuum or vacuum on Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server. During autovacuum execution, it removes dead tuples, freeing up disk space and improving query performance. Additionally, it updates the visibility map to track pages without outdated or deleted data, reducing unnecessary I/O operations. Another critical function of autovacuum is to prevent transaction ID wraparound situations, which could result in data loss. By analyzing the results of this troubleshooting guide, you can take proactive steps to optimize autovacuum and maintain the long-term health of your database. As a short-term solution, you can VACUUM ANALYZE the database or specific frequently used tables with high bloat to clean up dead tuples and bring your server to a performant state. Scenario 4 – Autovacuum turned OFF Let us discuss the alert you received regarding autovacuum server parameter on your server(s). I will guide you through the troubleshooting process to understand what is happening on the server and how to resolve the issue. You have now received an alert indicating that your server has a recommendation stating that your server has autovacuum set to OFF. Click on the highlighted recommendation above. This action will direct you to a detailed page about the recommendation alert you received. On this page, you will find comprehensive information in the Recommendation details section and the reason for receiving it, which is provided in the 'Reason' column. The 'Reason' column for this recommendation states: “atuovacumm is turned OFF, and the Bloat Ratio on these Database(s) ["postgres","testdb"] and Schema(s) ["pg_toast","public"] is greater than 50%”. Click on the 'Recommended Action' to proceed with the necessary steps to resolve your server's vulnerable state. The necessary action is outlined in the 'Recommended Action' section. In this scenario, you will need to turn on autovacuum server parameter. Clicking on the 'Recommended Action' will take you to the Server parameters page of your server as shown below. Search for the autovacuum parameter and turn it ON. Scenario 5 – Wraparound Let us walk through a scenario where you receive a Wraparound recommendation alert, which is triggered when your server reaches 1 billion transactions. We will cover how to troubleshoot and resolve the issue to maintain your server's performance. Click on the highlighted recommendation above. This action will direct you to a detailed page about the recommendation alert you received. On this page, you will find comprehensive information in the Recommendation details section and the reason for receiving it, which is provided in the 'Reason' column. The 'Reason' column for this recommendation states: "Reason: Remaining Transactions are less than 1 billion". Click on the 'Recommended Action' to proceed with the necessary steps to resolve your server getting into a vulnerable state. The necessary action is outlined in the 'Recommended Action' section. Clicking on the 'Recommended Action' will take you to the troubleshooting guides. Please visit the Autovacuum Blockers section to get into more details on your server behavior. The troubleshooting guides will provide you with the Recommendations to resolve the issue as shown in the screenshot below. Follow through the Recommendations to proactively enable your server to perform effectively. Scenario 6 – logging parameters Too much logging always hinders the server’s performance; hence it is important to understand the need for logging and act accordingly. Let's walk through a scenario where you receive logging parameters recommendation alert (log_duration, log_min_duration_statement, log_error_verbosity, log_statement, log_statement_stats). We will cover how to troubleshoot and resolve the issue to maintain your server's performance. Click on each of the highlighted recommendations above. This action will direct you to a detailed page about the recommendation alert you received. On this page, you will find comprehensive information in the Recommendation details section and the reason for receiving it, which is provided in the 'Reason' column. The 'Reason' column for this recommendation will state the value of the parameter set. For example: “log_statement_stats is set to ON”. Click on the 'Recommended Action' to proceed with the necessary steps to resolve your server's vulnerable state. The necessary action is outlined in the 'Recommended Action' section. In these scenarios, you will be directed to the server parameters page on Azure portal to update the server parameter values as provided in the “Recommended Action”. Setting the server parameter values per the recommendation action enables your server resources to be utilized efficiently. Scenario 7 – Long running transaction Let us walk through a scenario where you receive a long running transaction recommendation alert. We will cover how to troubleshoot and resolve the issue to maintain your server's performance. Click on the highlighted recommendation above. This action will direct you to a detailed page about the recommendation alert you received. On this page, you will find comprehensive information in the Recommendation details section and the reason for receiving it, which is provided in the 'Reason' column. The 'Reason' column for this recommendation states: “Here are the longest running transactions. PID(s) [311568] Duration (hours): [29]”. Click on the 'Recommended Action' to proceed with the necessary steps to resolve your server's vulnerable state. The necessary action is outlined in the 'Recommended Action' section. In this scenario, you will need to perform the mitigation steps provided in the troubleshooting guide. Clicking on the 'Recommended Action' will take you to the troubleshooting guides. Please visit the High CPU -> Long running transactions section to find the recommended actions to resolve the issue. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the Recommendations to resolve the issue as shown in the screenshot below. Follow the recommendation and terminate the session for the Pid’s identified to keep your server performant. Scenario 8 – High CPU Utilization Let us walk through a scenario where you receive a high CPU utilization recommendation alert. We will cover how to troubleshoot and resolve the issue to maintain your server's performance. Click on the highlighted recommendation above. This action will direct you to a detailed page about the recommendation alert you received. On this page, you will find comprehensive information in the Recommendation details section and the reason for receiving it, which is provided in the 'Reason' column. The 'Reason' column for this recommendation states: “90% or higher CPU utilization for more than 2 consecutive hours”. Click on the 'Recommended Action' to proceed with the necessary steps to resolve your server's vulnerable state. The necessary action is outlined in the 'Recommended Action' section. In this scenario, you will need to perform the mitigation steps provided in the troubleshooting guide. Clicking on the 'Recommended Action' will take you to the troubleshooting guides. Please visit the High CPU section to find the reasons for the CPU utilization to be high and take recommended actions to resolve the issue. Review each of the highlighted tabs in the screenshot to identify the issue. Each tab contains recommendations to resolve the specific causes of high CPU utilization. As there might be multiple reasons, make sure to go through all the tabs and follow the recommendations provided accordingly. Conclusion Imagine having a proactive ally that helps you stay ahead of potential issues with your server; That's exactly what Azure Advisor offers! In many scenarios, Azure Advisor recommendations will empower you to clearly identify and depict your server's vulnerable state. Not only does it highlight these vulnerabilities, but it also provides you with actionable recommendations to ensure your server remains highly performant. With Azure Advisor by your side, you can confidently optimize your server's performance and security, making your operations smoother and more efficient.
