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Azure SQL Database Scale Operation failed
by BF (Principal Consultant; Architecture; Engineering)
2015-11-26







Brief:

You may receive an error message when attempting to increase the scale level of your Primary Node in a
Azure SQL Database Geo-Replication setup. In this instance I was attempting to modify the Primary Node
from a Premium 2 Tier to Premium 4 Tier. This is effectively providing your database access to more
processing power, also known as DTU (Database Throughput Units).

Azure Definition:
Database Throughput Units (DTUs) describe the relative capacity of the performance level of Basic,
Standard, and Premium databases. They are based on a blended measure of CPU, memory, reads, and writes.


Error Messages:

Portal.Azure.com - Notifications - Error Message:

"Database scale operation from P2 Premium to P4 Premium failed for <dbname>.
ErrorCode: undefined, ErrorMessage: undefined."


Portal.Azure.com - Audit Logs - Error Message:

"The source database '<serverprimary>'.'<dbname>' cannot have higher performance level than
the target database 'serversecondary'.'<dbname>'. Upgrade the performance level on the target
before upgrading source."


Solution:

#1. Navigate to your Secondary Node(s), modify the tier to your desired level. Wait for it to complete.
#2. Navigate to your Primary Node. modify the tier to your desired level. Wait for it to complete.

The Audit Log will now contain this new entry:

OPERATION NAME - Update SQL database
STATUS - Succeeded


Image 1: (P4)