Monitor an HA/DR solution

In order to monitor a high availability/disaster recovery (HA/DR) solution for Microsoft Azure SQL Solutions, you can take advantage of various built-in monitoring and diagnostic features. These features help you proactively detect and address any issues that may arise, ensuring the continuous availability and reliability of your Azure SQL databases. Let’s explore some of the key monitoring techniques and tools available.

1. Azure Monitor

Azure Monitor is a centralized monitoring solution that provides a comprehensive view of the performance and health of your Azure resources. It enables you to monitor Azure SQL databases by collecting and analyzing various metrics, logs, and diagnostic settings.

To monitor an HA/DR solution, you can configure Azure Monitor to collect key performance metrics such as CPU usage, memory utilization, storage throughput, and latency for both primary and secondary replicas. This data allows you to identify any performance bottlenecks or issues. You can set up alerts based on predefined criteria to receive notifications when certain thresholds are breached.

Example code (Azure CLI):

# Create an Azure Monitor action group to notify for alerts
az monitor action-group create \
--name myActionGroup \
--short-name myAG \
--email-receiver-name Admin \
--email-receiver-email [email protected]

2. Azure SQL Insights

Azure SQL Insights is a feature within the Azure portal that provides a graphical representation of performance metrics. It offers real-time and historical views of CPU usage, active connections, and storage usage. By leveraging Azure SQL Insights, you can gain valuable insights into the behavior and performance of your HA/DR solution.

To access Azure SQL Insights, navigate to your SQL database resource in the Azure portal and click on the “Query Performance Insight” or “Metrics” option. From there, you can explore the provided metrics and diagnose any performance issues.

3. DMVs and Query Store

Azure SQL databases offer Dynamic Management Views (DMVs) and Query Store features that allow you to monitor query performance and resource utilization. DMVs provide diagnostic information about the database, including execution statistics, wait statistics, and resource utilization. Query Store captures query details, execution plans, and resource consumption metrics to help identify and resolve performance regressions.

Example SQL query:

-- Identify top CPU-consuming queries
SELECT TOP 10 *
FROM sys.dm_exec_query_stats
ORDER BY total_worker_time DESC

4. Azure Advisor

Azure Advisor is a cloud intelligence service that helps optimize the performance and reliability of your Azure resources. It provides recommendations on various aspects of your HA/DR solution, including performance optimization, security, high availability, and cost optimization.

By regularly reviewing Azure Advisor recommendations, you can ensure that your HA/DR solution is aligned with best practices and continuously improved.

These monitoring techniques and tools give you the necessary visibility and insights into your HA/DR solution, enabling you to proactively address any issues and maintain high availability. By leveraging Azure Monitor, Azure SQL Insights, DMVs, Query Store, and Azure Advisor, you can ensure the smooth operation of your Azure SQL Solutions.

Remember to consult the Microsoft Azure documentation for detailed instructions on how to implement and configure these monitoring features, as capabilities and settings may evolve over time.