Determine sources for performance metrics

Performance metrics are crucial for monitoring and optimizing the performance of your Microsoft Azure SQL Solutions. These metrics provide valuable insights into the health and efficiency of your database, helping you identify bottlenecks, optimize queries, and improve overall system performance. In this article, we will explore different sources for performance metrics related to administering Microsoft Azure SQL Solutions.

1. Azure Portal:

The Azure Portal is the primary interface for managing and monitoring your Azure SQL Solutions. You can access performance metrics directly from the Azure Portal by navigating to your Azure SQL database or elastic pool and selecting the “Metrics” option. This provides a comprehensive view of various performance metrics like CPU usage, database size, DTU consumption, and more.

To access performance metrics using Azure Portal:

1. Go to the Azure Portal (portal.azure.com) and navigate to your SQL database or elastic pool.
2. Select the “Metrics” option from the left-hand menu.
3. Choose the desired metric category, such as CPU percentage or DTU consumption.
4. Adjust the time range and granularity as per your requirements.
5. You can also pin the metrics to your Azure Dashboard for real-time monitoring.

2. Azure SQL Analytics:

Azure SQL Analytics is a powerful tool that provides advanced monitoring and diagnostics for Azure SQL Solutions. It enables you to collect and analyze performance telemetry data to gain deep insights into the behavior of your databases. Azure SQL Analytics offers various metrics and visualizations, including CPU usage, query performance, connections, and wait statistics.

To access performance metrics using Azure SQL Analytics:

1. Go to the Azure Portal and navigate to your Azure SQL database.
2. Select “Query Performance Insight” from the left-hand menu.
3. Explore the different metrics and visualizations available, such as top queries, CPU usage, database waits, and more.
4. Use filters and time ranges to focus on specific periods or database instances for detailed analysis.

3. Dynamic Management Views (DMVs):

Dynamic Management Views (DMVs) are a set of system views and functions provided by Azure SQL Solutions to monitor and troubleshoot database performance. These views expose valuable information about database and query performance, giving you more control and visibility into your database environment. You can query DMVs to access real-time performance metrics and track historical performance trends.

To access performance metrics using DMVs:

1. Connect to your Azure SQL database using tools like Azure Data Studio or SQL Server Management Studio.
2. Execute queries against DMVs such as sys.dm_db_resource_stats, sys.dm_exec_requests, sys.dm_exec_query_stats, or sys.dm_db_wait_stats.
3. Analyze the query results to extract relevant performance metrics like CPU consumption, query execution time, wait statistics, and more.

Here’s an example query to fetch CPU usage metrics using DMV:

SELECT
AVG(avg_cpu_percent) AS Average_CPU_Usage,
MAX(avg_cpu_percent) AS Peak_CPU_Usage,
CAST((MAX(end_time) - MIN(start_time)) AS FLOAT) / 1000 AS Duration_Seconds
FROM
sys.dm_db_resource_stats
WHERE
start_time >= DATEADD(HOUR, -1, GETDATE()) -- Adjust the time range as per your requirement
GROUP BY
CAST((end_time - start_time) AS FLOAT) / 1000

4. Azure Monitor:

Azure Monitor is a comprehensive monitoring solution that helps you collect, analyze, and act on telemetry data from various Azure services, including Azure SQL Solutions. By configuring Azure Monitor, you can set up alerts, create custom dashboards, and access detailed performance metrics for your SQL databases. Azure Monitor also integrates with Azure Log Analytics to provide advanced analytics capabilities.

To access performance metrics using Azure Monitor:

1. Go to the Azure Portal and navigate to “Azure Monitor” or “Log Analytics.”
2. Configure data collection for Azure SQL databases in Azure Monitor.
3. Create custom queries or use pre-defined queries to extract performance metrics like CPU percentage, database size, memory utilization, and more.
4. Set up alerts based on specific performance thresholds to get notifications on critical performance issues.

These are some of the key sources for performance metrics related to administering Microsoft Azure SQL Solutions. By leveraging these sources and analyzing the collected metrics, you can proactively monitor and optimize the performance of your Azure SQL databases, leading to improved efficiency and better user experiences.