Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server won’t start after being stopped; returns InternalServerError

Hello Yantra,

I understand you're experiencing an InternalServerError when trying to start your Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server after it has been stopped for approximately 4 weeks. This is a known issue that can occur with long-term stopped servers.

Here are the steps to resolve this issue:

Immediate Actions:

1. Open a Support Ticket: Since this is an InternalServerError on Azure's backend, you'll need Microsoft Azure Support to investigate and resolve this. You can create a support ticket through the Azure Portal:
   • Navigate to Help + Support
   • Click "Create a support request"
   • Select "Technical" as the issue type
   • Choose "Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server" as the service
   • Include the Tracking ID from your error (e79894e1-b9f5-44ea-a525-0377a0e4198e)
2. Provide Key Details: Make sure to include in your support ticket:
   • Server name: yantra2-db
   • Resource group: YANTRA2
   • Region: East US
   • Time stopped: ~4 weeks
   • The complete error message you're receiving

Why This Happens:

When a Flexible Server is stopped for an extended period (typically beyond 7-30 days depending on the configuration), the underlying compute resources may be deallocated and the server metadata may become stale or orphaned. This can cause the rehydration process to fail with an InternalServerError.

What Azure Support Can Do:

Azure Support has backend tools to:

• Manually rehydrate your server
• Reattach the data disk to a new compute node
• Force a restart of the server provisioning process
• Ensure your data integrity is maintained throughout the recovery

For Future Prevention:

To avoid this issue in the future:

• Avoid stopping servers for more than 7 days if possible
• Consider using automated start/stop schedules
• If you need to stop for extended periods, consider backing up and recreating the server
• Monitor Azure Service Health for any known issues

The good news is that your data should be safe on the underlying storage disk, and Azure Support should be able to help you recover the server without data loss.

Please update this thread once you hear back from support so others experiencing similar issues can benefit from the resolution.

Best Regards,

Jerald Felix

Hi Yantra,

I kindly request you to provide the details mentioned in the private message so we can identify the root cause and address the issue effectively.