Azure PostgreSQL server unreachable – app failing with OperationalError (Tracking ID: e521870a-a610-410d-a970-b5b3e05e6e50)

Question

Azure PostgreSQL server unreachable – app failing with OperationalError (Tracking ID: e521870a-a610-410d-a970-b5b3e05e6e50)

Tom Rye 0

Summary: My Django web app hosted on Azure App Service has worked flawlessly for months but suddenly started returning 500 errors on login. I have made no code changes.

On investigation, I've confirmed the app can no longer connect to the Azure PostgreSQL Flexible Server. Attempts to restart the DB result in an error.

Error on database connection (captured via SSH inside App Service):

django.db.utils.OperationalError: could not connect to server: Connection refused

Is the server running on host "feedback-server.postgres.database.azure.com" (10.0.2.4) and accepting TCP/IP connections on port 5432?

Additional context:

App: fastfeedback (Django, running in App Service on Linux)
DB server: feedback-server.postgres.database.azure.com
I attempted to restart the PostgreSQL server but received:

Error occurred restarting the server feedback-server. An unexpected error occurred while processing the request.

Tracking ID: e521870a-a610-410d-a970-b5b3e05e6e50

The app loads static files and pages fine — only POST actions requiring DB access fail.
python manage.py dbshell from inside the SSH shell also fails to connect.

Request:

Can someone from Microsoft support please investigate the server unavailability?

This is blocking all user logins for my live web application.

1 answer

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Answer 1

Chiugo Okpala 1,825 MVP

@Tom Rye welcome to the Microsoft Q&A community.

Here are a few things you might want to check:

Azure Service Health – Check if there are any ongoing outages or maintenance affecting Azure Database for PostgreSQL.

Firewall & Networking – Ensure that your database server is still allowing connections from your App Service. Sometimes, firewall rules or VNET configurations change unexpectedly.

Server Status – If restarting the server fails, it could indicate an underlying issue with Azure's infrastructure. You might need to raise a support ticket with Microsoft.

Connection Security Settings – Verify that your database settings haven't changed, such as "Allow access to Azure services" being disabled.

Logs & Metrics – Check Azure Monitor logs for any unusual activity or errors related to your database.

You can find a discussion on a similar issue here, which might provide additional insights. If the problem persists, I recommend reaching out to Azure Support directly with your tracking ID for further investigation.

I hope these helps. Let me know if you have any further questions or need additional assistance.

Also if these answers your query, do click the "Upvote" and click "Accept the answer" of which might be beneficial to other community members reading this thread.

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Tom Rye 0 Reputation points

2025-06-15T17:40:29.27+00:00

Thanks for your response — really appreciated.

Just to update:

There are no outages showing in Azure Service Health.

VNet is configured correctly — App Service and DB are both in the same VNet, and it had been working fine for months with no changes.

I’ve confirmed that firewall settings haven't changed, and private access within the VNet is still active.

However, the PostgreSQL server won’t restart — and the "Database Is Alive (Max)" metric is flatlining at 0, while "Write Throughput" is still active (~177 KB/s).

I’m consistently getting FATAL: the database system is starting up followed by Connection refused errors via SSH when testing connection manually.

The app loads, but login requests (which hit the DB) trigger 500 errors.

Unfortunately, I'm on a Basic plan and can’t escalate to Azure Support directly.

Is there anything else I can try to unstick the PostgreSQL Flexible Server or force a VM/engine refresh without a paid support plan? Otherwise, any workaround or escalation path would be much appreciated.
Tom Rye 0 Reputation points

2025-06-15T18:00:30.7166667+00:00

@Azure support Update: I tried restarting the server via Cloud Shell using the Azure CLI:

az postgres flexible-server restart --name feedback-server --resource-group fastfeedbackDeploy

It failed with: InternalServerError – Tracking ID: 2f9f0a50-5df5-4142-833c-d6f397c508cf

This seems like an Azure-side infrastructure issue. I’m on a basic plan and can’t raise a support ticket. Is there a way to escalate or get help via @AzureSupport?
Vijayalaxmi Kattimani 3,065 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-06-16T08:29:06.29+00:00

Hi Tom Rye
Greetings!
Could you please share the requested details via private message as it will help us conduct a more thorough investigation.
Vijayalaxmi Kattimani 3,065 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-06-17T01:12:13.5633333+00:00

Hi Tom Rye
Could you please share the requested details via private message at your earliest convenience, so we can assist you further in troubleshooting the issue.
Vijayalaxmi Kattimani 3,065 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-06-18T06:02:27.8133333+00:00
Hi Tom Rye

I am glad to hear that your Azure PostgreSQL Flexible Server is back in the "Ready" state. Based on your previous symptoms and the recovery timeline, here's might be a root cause PostgreSQL was applying Write-Ahead Log (WAL) files to recover consistency after an unexpected shutdown, resource exhaustion, or storage fault.

Azure's PostgreSQL Flexible Server uses a managed VM under the hood. Over time (often 10–60 minutes), the platform may:

Complete WAL application or crash recovery

Automatically restart the database engine

Move the instance to a healthy compute node

Restart underlying services on the VM Continue to use MS Q&A platform for any questions related to Azure!

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Azure PostgreSQL server unreachable – app failing with OperationalError (Tracking ID: e521870a-a610-410d-a970-b5b3e05e6e50)

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