How to Resolve Technical Issues on Websites Hosted with Microsoft Azure?

Question

What are the best practices for troubleshooting and resolving technical issues, such as slow loading times and broken functionalities, on a website hosted on Microsoft platforms like Azure?

Answer 1

In general, you would want to incorporate the following component into your approach:

1. Monitor and Analyze Performance Metrics
   • Azure Monitor and Application Insights: Use these tools to monitor the website's performance, identify slow-loading pages, detect dependencies causing delays, and review error logs.
   • Performance Counters: Check CPU, memory usage, and request response times.
   • Front-End Analysis: Use browser developer tools (e.g., Chrome DevTools) to identify issues like large payloads, excessive API calls, or render-blocking scripts.
2. Inspect Application Configuration
   • Scaling and Resources: Ensure that your App Service Plan is appropriately scaled for your traffic. Use Azure Autoscale if needed.
   • Connection Strings and Environment Settings: Verify database connections and other environment variables in the Azure portal.
   • Network and CDN: Use Azure Front Door or Azure CDN to improve global delivery performance.
3. Debug and Review Logs
   • App Service Logs: Enable detailed error and diagnostic logs in the App Service.
   • Azure Log Analytics: Aggregate and query logs across services for centralized insights.
   • Custom Logs: Implement logging frameworks like Serilog or NLog in your application for more granular troubleshooting.
4. Check for Broken Functionalities
   • Dependency Health: Check external APIs, Azure SQL, or other services your website depends on.
   • Testing Environments: Reproduce the issue in a staging environment to isolate root causes.
   • Code and Configuration Updates: Ensure recent changes in code, configurations, or deployments have been thoroughly tested.
5. Review Security and Access
   • Authentication and Authorization: Verify Azure Active Directory or other identity provider configurations.
   • Firewall and Networking Rules: Ensure proper access rules for your website and related resources.
   • TLS/SSL Issues: Check the validity of SSL certificates.
6. Optimize Database Performance
   • Azure SQL Query Performance: Use Query Performance Insights to identify slow queries.
   • Indexing and Partitioning: Ensure that indexes and partitions are appropriately set up for large datasets.
7. Implement Proactive Measures
   • CI/CD Pipelines: Automate deployments with Azure DevOps to minimize human errors.
   • Load Testing: Use tools like Azure Load Testing to identify bottlenecks under high traffic.
   • Backup and Restore: Ensure regular backups of your application and data for quick recovery.
8. Leverage Azure Support
   • Knowledge Base: Refer to Azure documentation and forums for known issues.
   • Azure Support Plans: Open a support ticket if the issue persists and requires advanced troubleshooting.

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hth

Marcin