Real Time Monitoring with Real-life Use Cases using Database Watcher

Описание: In this recorded Live! 360 session, Daniel Taylor demonstrates how Azure Database Watcher enables real-time monitoring for Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Managed Instance, helping DBAs, developers, and operations teams move from reactive firefighting to proactive performance management.

Through extended demos and a real-world troubleshooting story, Daniel shows how Database Watcher leverages Azure Data Explorer (ADX) and Microsoft Fabric Real-Time Intelligence to surface low-latency insights, trigger alerts, and quickly identify bottlenecks. You’ll follow an end-to-end investigation where the root cause wasn’t CPU or query plans—but a storage throughput constraint—and see how the issue was validated and resolved.

🔑 What You’ll Learn
• What Azure Database Watcher monitors (Azure SQL DB, Hyperscale, Managed Instance)
• How real-time monitoring supports proactive Database Administrator (DBA) workflows
• How Database Watcher collects telemetry using least-privilege access (including managed identities)
• When to use Azure Data Explorer vs Fabric Real-Time Intelligence
• How to configure out-of-the-box alerts and custom dashboard-based alerting
• How to investigate CPU, waits, blocking, sessions, queries, backups, and storage
• How to identify and resolve IOPS and throughput bottlenecks in Azure SQL

⏱️ Chapters
00:00 Why real-time monitoring matters
03:20 What Azure Database Watcher is (and what it monitors)
07:30 Security model: identity + least privilege
10:19 Architecture overview
15:10 ADX vs RTI
17:07 Dataset categories
17:28 Using Kusto for SQL monitoring data
21:25 Dashboard walkthrough, customizations, and live metrics
34:54 Demo: Use-case troubleshooting scenario
38:18 Investigating CPU, waits, sessions, and queries
50:00 Root cause: storage throughput limits
55:32 Fix and validation
58:20 Cost model, feedback, and roadmap

👤 Speakers: Daniel Taylor, Bradley Ball (@SQLBalls), Thomas LaRock

🔗 Links
• Learn more about Database Watcher: aka.ms/dbwatcher
• Watch Tales From the Field:    / @tales-from-the-field  
• Explore more Live! 360 sessions: https://aka.ms/L360Orlando25
• Join upcoming VS Live! events: https://aka.ms/VSLiveEvents

#AzureSQL #DatabaseWatcher #SQLServer