---
title: Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server - DB-is-Alive metric (Preview)
description: Metrics to monitor database availability
ms.service: postgresql
ms.subservice: flexible-server
ms.topic: conceptual
ms.author: varun.dhawan
ms.date: 1/1/2023
---

# Azure Postgres Flexible Server - DB-is-Alive metric (Preview)

## Database availability metric 

DB-is-Alive is database availability metric for Azure Postgres Flexible Server. DB-is-Alive is azure monitor (MDM) metric that is emitted as a boolen `[1 for available]` and `[0 for not-available]`. The metric are emitted by a seperate background process, and is emitted every 20 seconds.

Azure monitor will aggregate this metric every one minute. Aggregating this data with a `MAX()` aggregation will allow to correctly determine the health of the database in last one minute. For example:

1. If the database remains continuously unavailable for 1 mins then [`0 = not-available`] will be sent to Azure monitor. 
1. If however the database auto recovers within 60s, then [`1 = available`] will be sent to Azure monitor.

Customers can further aggergate these metric with any desired frequency to avoid any false positives.

|Display Name                                     |Metric ID                      |Unit   |Description                                                                                             |Dimension   |Default enabled|
|-------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------|---------------|
|**Database Is Alive** (Preview)                  |is_db_alive                    |Boolean|Indicates if the database is up or not				                                           |N/a		|Yes            |

## Architecture
* DB-is-Alive check is executed by an independent background processes to monitor the inatnce health.
* This background process is child proces for postmaster

## Scope
* Stand-alone servers
* Replica servers in read-replica configuration

## Enabling DB-is-Alive metrics
* DB-is-Alive metrics is enabled by default

## Team
* Engineering - Sandrana.Hemanth@microsoft.com; Sergiu.Ernu@microsoft.com (consulting)
* Product - Varun.Dhawan@microsoft.com