When a database alert fires, you need answers fast. OpenSRE connects to your Azure SQL instances to quickly diagnose what’s going wrong — checking server health, finding those slow queries that are bogging things down, monitoring resource usage, and analyzing query execution plans to pinpoint bottlenecks.
What you’ll need
Before getting started, make sure you have:
- An Azure SQL Database instance up and running
- Network connectivity from your OpenSRE environment to your Azure SQL server
- Database credentials ready (username and password)
- Your server hostname handy
Getting connected
The easy way: Interactive setup
If you prefer guided steps, just run:
opensre integrations setup
The flexible way: Environment variables
Add these to your .env file:
AZURE_SQL_SERVER=myserver.database.windows.net
AZURE_SQL_DATABASE=mydb
AZURE_SQL_USERNAME=sqladmin
AZURE_SQL_PASSWORD=your_password
AZURE_SQL_ENCRYPT=true
| Variable | Default | Description |
|---|
AZURE_SQL_SERVER | — | Required. Azure SQL server hostname |
AZURE_SQL_DATABASE | — | Required. Database name |
AZURE_SQL_USERNAME | — | Required. SQL authentication username |
AZURE_SQL_PASSWORD | — | Required. SQL authentication password |
AZURE_SQL_ENCRYPT | true | Encrypt your connection for security |
AZURE_SQL_PORT | 1433 | SQL Server port |
AZURE_SQL_DRIVER | ODBC Driver 18 for SQL Server | ODBC driver name |
The permanent way: Integration store
You can also save your connection details to ~/.opensre/integrations.json:
{
"version": 1,
"integrations": [
{
"id": "azure-sql-prod",
"service": "azure_sql",
"status": "active",
"credentials": {
"server": "myserver.database.windows.net",
"database": "mydb",
"username": "sqladmin",
"password": "your_password",
"encrypt": true
}
}
]
}
Finding your connection details
Your Azure SQL server hostname looks like myserver.database.windows.net. You can find it:
- Open the Azure Portal
- Navigate to your SQL Database resource
- Look for Server name in the overview panel
- Copy it and add
.database.windows.net if needed
Network access: Firewall setup
Azure SQL uses firewall rules to control who can connect. Make sure OpenSRE can reach your server:
- In Azure Portal, go to your SQL server → Security → Firewalls and virtual networks
- Add your OpenSRE environment’s IP address
- Or check Allow Azure services and resources to access this server if running in Azure
If you’re not sure of your IP, start with a permissive rule temporarily, get OpenSRE working, then lock it down.
Server status
Retrieves service tier, resource utilization, connection counts, and database size. Useful for spotting DTU or vCore throttling.
Current queries
Lists active sessions and running queries to identify lock contention or long-running operations.
Slow queries
Surfaces top resource-consuming queries from Query Store or DMVs to pinpoint performance regressions.
Wait stats
Reports cumulative wait types to identify I/O, lock, or CPU bottlenecks.
Resource stats
Returns CPU, memory, and I/O utilization metrics for the target database.
Test the connection
Ready to verify everything works?
opensre integrations verify azure_sql
Service: azure_sql
Status: passed
Detail: Connected to Azure SQL Database ...
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|
| Connection timeout | Add your OpenSRE IP to the Azure SQL firewall rules. |
| Login failed | Confirm AZURE_SQL_USERNAME and AZURE_SQL_PASSWORD. Check that SQL authentication is enabled on the server. |
| SSL/certificate error | Keep AZURE_SQL_ENCRYPT=true. Install the correct ODBC driver (ODBC Driver 18 for SQL Server). |
| Permission denied on DMVs | Grant VIEW SERVER STATE and VIEW DATABASE STATE to the OpenSRE user. |
Security best practices
- Use a dedicated read-only SQL user for OpenSRE — avoid admin credentials.
- Keep encryption enabled (
AZURE_SQL_ENCRYPT=true) in production.
- Restrict firewall rules to the OpenSRE environment’s egress IP.
- Store credentials in
.env or the integration store, never in source code.
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