Custom Port Support in Azure Database for MySQL – Flexible Server is Now Generally Available
We are excited to announce that custom port support for Azure Database for MySQL – Flexible Server is now generally available (GA). This long-requested feature gives you greater flexibility to align MySQL server deployments with your network and security requirements. By default, MySQL uses TCP port 3306; with this GA release, you can configure a custom port (between 25001 and 26000) when creating a new Azure Database for MySQL flexible server. This enables easier integration with legacy applications, helps comply with strict network security policies, and avoids port conflicts in complex environments. What’s new in GA (vs. Public Preview): In the Public Preview (July 2025), custom ports were only supported for VNet-injected (private access) servers, with no support for public access or Private Link connectivity. Now, with GA, you can create custom-port servers in any network configuration – including both publicly accessible servers and those using Private Link (private endpoint) connectivity. In short, all new MySQL flexible servers can be created with a custom port, whether they are configured for public network access or deployed into a private virtual network. Feature Highlights Custom Port Range: Choose a port between 25001 and 26000 during server provisioning. (Only one custom port is supported per server.) This is in addition to the default MySQL port 3306, which remains available for use if needed. Supported Scenarios: Custom ports are fully supported for new server creation, point-in-time restore (including cross-port restores), read replica setup, and High Availability (HA) deployments. You can perform a restore or set up a replica even if the source and target servers use different ports, and you can enable HA on a server configured with a non-default port. Networking Flexibility: Supported on both public access and private access configurations. You can create servers with a custom port in public access mode (accessible via the internet with firewall rules) or in private access mode (injected into a VNet). Azure Private Link is also supported – meaning you can connect via a private endpoint to a MySQL server running on a custom port. This enhancement broadens the feature’s applicability beyond the preview’s limited scope, allowing usage in all network scenarios. Managed Experience: The custom port feature is built into the managed service experience. Aside from specifying a different port number for client connections, there is no change in how you manage or operate the MySQL flexible server – all administrative capabilities and integrations (backup, monitoring, etc.) work as they do with the default port. Current Limitations Be aware of a couple of limitations at GA: Port Immutable After Creation: You cannot change the server’s port after the server is created. If you need to use a different port, you will have to create a new server with that port. As a workaround, you can use Point-in-Time Restore (PITR) to quickly clone your database into a new server with the desired port (since cross-port restores are supported), rather than performing a full manual migration. Geo-Replication/Geo-Restore: Cross-region operations like geo-restore and geo-replication are not yet supported for servers using a custom port. In other words, you cannot perform a geo-restore of a backup from a custom-port server, and you cannot create cross-region read replicas on custom port servers at this time. These capabilities are on the roadmap but remain unsupported in the current release. Why Custom Ports? Many enterprise developers and DBAs have asked for custom port support to accommodate specialized network scenarios. For example, some organizations enforce strict firewall rules or use non-standard ports for databases to meet internal security compliance requirements. Others may have legacy applications or multi-database setups that require MySQL to run on a port other than 3306 to avoid conflicts. The custom port feature addresses these needs by allowing you to select a non-default port during server creation, while Azure continues to handle all the usual PaaS management tasks. In short, you get the flexibility of a custom network configuration without losing the benefits of a fully managed database service. Getting Started Using a custom port is straightforward. At GA, the Azure portal’s create experience is the way to set a custom port (support in CLI/PowerShell/ARM will come later). In the portal, when you create a new Azure Database for MySQL – Flexible Server, you’ll find an option to specify the “Database port.” Provide any value between 25001 and 26000 as the port number for your server. Once the server is deployed, client applications should connect using the <servername>.mysql.database.azure.com hostname and the port you chose, instead of the default 3306. All other connection settings (such as SSL enforcement and credentials) remain the same. Make sure to configure network access rules to allow traffic on your chosen port. For public access servers, this means updating the firewall rules or network security groups to permit the custom port. For private access or Private Link setups, ensure that your networking (NSGs, on-premises firewall rules, etc.) permits traffic on the custom port to reach the database. Learn More Custom port support is now GA and ready for production use, so we encourage you to try it out if your environment can benefit from it. For more details on Azure Database for MySQL – Flexible Server connectivity and custom ports, refer to the official documentation: Networking Overview - Azure Database for MySQL | Microsoft Learn We look forward to seeing how you use this new capability to tailor your MySQL deployments. With custom port support now generally available, Azure Database for MySQL – Flexible Server offers even more flexibility to meet your organizational policies and integration needs, all while delivering a fully managed experience. Happy deploying!July 2025 Recap: Azure Database for PostgreSQL
Hello Azure Community, July delivered a wave of exciting updates to Azure Database for PostgreSQL! From Fabric mirroring support for private networking to cascading read replicas, these new features are all about scaling smarter, performing faster, and building better. This blog covers what’s new, why it matters, and how to get started. Catch Up on POSETTE 2025 In case you missed POSETTE: An Event for Postgres 2025 or couldn't watch all of the sessions live, here's a playlist with the 11 talks all about Azure Database for PostgreSQL. And, if you'd like to dive even deeper, the Ultimate Guide will help you navigate the full catalog of 42 recorded talks published on YouTube. Feature Highlights Upsert and Script activity in ADF and Azure Synapse – Generally Available Power BI Entra authentication support – Generally Available New Regions: Malaysia West & Chile Central Latest Postgres minor versions: 17.5, 16.9, 15.13, 14.18 and 13.21 Cascading Read Replica – Public Preview Private Endpoint and VNet support for Fabric Mirroring - Public Preview Agentic Web with NLWeb and PostgreSQL PostgreSQL for VS Code extension enhancements Improved Maintenance Workflow for Stopped Instances Upsert and Script activity in ADF and Azure Synapse – Generally Available We’re excited to announce the general availability of Upsert method and Script activity in Azure Data Factory and Azure Synapse Analytics for Azure Database for PostgreSQL. These new capabilities bring greater flexibility and performance to your data pipelines: Upsert Method: Easily merge incoming data into existing PostgreSQL tables without writing complex logic reducing overhead and improving efficiency. Script Activity: Run custom SQL scripts as part of your workflows, enabling advanced transformations, procedural logic, and fine-grained control over data operations. Together, these features streamline ETL and ELT processes, making it easier to build scalable, declarative, and robust data integration solutions using PostgreSQL as either a source or sink. Visit our documentation guide for Upsert Method and script activity to know more. Power BI Entra authentication support – Generally Available You can now use Microsoft Entra ID authentication to connect to Azure Database for PostgreSQL from Power BI Desktop. This update simplifies access management, enhances security, and helps you support your organization’s broader Entra-based authentication strategy. To learn more, please refer to our documentation. New Regions: Malaysia West & Chile Central Azure Database for PostgreSQL has now launched in Malaysia West and Chile Central. This expanded regional presence brings lower latency, enhanced performance, and data residency support, making it easier to build fast, reliable, and compliant applications, right where your users are. This continues to be our mission to bring Azure Database for PostgreSQL closer to where you build and run your apps. For the full list of regions visit: Azure Database for PostgreSQL Regions. Latest Postgres minor versions: 17.5, 16.9, 15.13, 14.18 and 13.21 PostgreSQL latest minor versions 17.5, 16.9, 15.13, 14.18 and 13.21 are now supported by Azure Database for PostgreSQL flexible server. These minor version upgrades are automatically performed as part of the monthly planned maintenance in Azure Database for PostgreSQL. This upgrade automation ensures that your databases are always running on the most secure and optimized versions without requiring manual intervention. This release fixes two security vulnerabilities and over 40 bug fixes and improvements. To learn more, please refer PostgreSQL community announcement for more details about the release. Cascading Read Replica – Public Preview Azure Database for PostgreSQL supports cascading read replica in public preview capacity. This feature allows you to scale read-intensive workloads more effectively by creating replicas not only from the primary database but also from existing read replicas, enabling two-level replication chains. With cascading read replicas, you can: Improve performance for read-heavy applications. Distribute read traffic more efficiently. Support complex deployment topologies. Data replication is asynchronous, and each replica can serve as a source for additional replicas. This setup enhances scalability and flexibility for your PostgreSQL deployments. For more details read the cascading read replicas documentation. Private Endpoint and VNET Support for Fabric Mirroring - Public Preview Microsoft Fabric now supports mirroring for Azure Database for PostgreSQL flexible server instances deployed with Virtual Network (VNET) integration or Private Endpoints. This enhancement broadens the scope of Fabric’s real-time data replication capabilities, enabling secure and seamless analytics on transactional data, even within network-isolated environments. Previously, mirroring was only available for flexible server instances with public endpoint access. With this update, organizations can now replicate data from Azure Database for PostgreSQL hosted in secure, private networks, without compromising on data security, compliance, or performance. This is particularly valuable for enterprise customers who rely on VNETs and Private Endpoints for database connectivity from isolated networks. For more details visit fabric mirroring with private networking support blog. Agentic Web with NLWeb and PostgreSQL We’re excited to announce that NLWeb (Natural Language Web), Microsoft’s open project for natural language interfaces on websites now supports PostgreSQL. With this enhancement, developers can leverage PostgreSQL and NLWeb to transform any website into an AI-powered application or Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. This integration allows organizations to utilize a familiar, robust database as the foundation for conversational AI experiences, streamlining deployment and maximizing data security and scalability. For more details, read Agentic web with NLWeb and PostgreSQL blog. PostgreSQL for VS Code extension enhancements PostgreSQL for VS Code extension is rolling out new updates to improve your experience with this extension. We are introducing key connections, authentication, and usability improvements. Here’s what we improved: SSH connections - You can now set up SSH tunneling directly in the Advanced Connection options, making it easier to securely connect to private networks without leaving VS Code. Clearer authentication setup - A new “No Password” option eliminates guesswork when setting up connections that don’t require credentials. Entra ID fixes - Improved default username handling, token refresh, and clearer error feedback for failed connections. Array and character rendering - Unicode and PostgreSQL arrays now display more reliably and consistently. Azure Portal flow - Reuses existing connection profiles to avoid duplicates when launching from the portal. Don’t forget to update to the latest version in the Marketplace to take advantage of these enhancements and visit our GitHub to learn more about this month’s release. Improved Maintenance Workflow for Stopped Instances We’ve improved how scheduled maintenance is handled for stopped or disabled PostgreSQL servers. Maintenance is now applied only when the server is restarted - either manually or through the 7-day auto-restart rather than forcing a restart during the scheduled maintenance window. This change reduces unnecessary disruptions and gives you more control over when updates are applied. You may notice a slightly longer restart time (5–8 minutes) if maintenance is pending. For more information, refer Applying Maintenance on Stopped/Disabled Instances. Azure Postgres Learning Bytes 🎓 Set Up HA Health Status Monitoring Alerts This section will talk about setting up HA health status monitoring alerts using Azure Portal. These alerts can be used to effectively monitor the HA health states for your server. To monitor the health of your High Availability (HA) setup: Navigate to Azure portal and select your Azure Database for PostgreSQL flexible server instance. Create an Alert Rule Go to Monitoring > Alerts > Create Alert Rule Scope: Select your PostgreSQL Flexible Server Condition: Choose the signal from the drop down (CPU percentage, storage percentage etc.) Logic: Define when the alert should trigger Action Group: Specify where the alert should be sent (email, webhook, etc.) Add tags Click on “Review + Create” Verify the Alert Check the Alerts tab in Azure Monitor to confirm the alert has been triggered. For deeper insight into resource health: Go to Azure Portal > Search for Service Health > Select Resource Health. Choose Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server from the dropdown. Review the health status of your server. For more information, check out the HA Health status monitoring documentation guide. Conclusion That’s a wrap for our July 2025 feature updates! Thanks for being part of our journey to make Azure Database for PostgreSQL better with every release. We’re always working to improve, and your feedback helps us do that. 💬 Got ideas, questions, or suggestions? We’d love to hear from you: https://aka.ms/pgfeedback 📢 Want to stay on top of Azure Database for PostgreSQL updates? Follow us here for the latest announcements, feature releases, and best practices: Azure Database for PostgreSQL Blog Stay tuned for more updates in our next blog!Transition from VNET integration to public access or Private Link using the Azure CLI
This post provides two bash scripts that use the Azure CLI to transition an Azure Database for MySQL flexible server from VNET Integrated to Public Access or a Private Link. You can run these bash scripts either locally or by using the Azure Cloud Shell.Lesson Learned #495: Monitoring DNS Resolution with PowerShell of Azure SQL Server
Today, I worked on a service request where the DNS was providing an incorrect IP address randomly. In this article, I would like to share a PowerShell script that checks the DNS resolution every 5 seconds to help identify the issue.
