Web App: API Failure During Database Request — HTTP 500 Errors and App Instability

Question

Web App: API Failure During Database Request — HTTP 500 Errors and App Instability

saikumar-7223 0

Problem description

I am experiencing issues with my web application, which is a Windows-based Web App service. Around 17:37 UTC, the application started returning HTTP 500 responses, and during this period, the app was not consistently healthy, showing restart, crash, and recycle activities. I need assistance in diagnosing the root cause of these errors and stabilizing the application.

Environment

Web App (Windows) in the region not specified in the case information.

What I've already tried

I reviewed the available case details and diagnostic information. I have attempted to follow the troubleshooting steps suggested, including checking logs and monitoring activity, but the issue persists.

Current status

Currently, I have not confirmed a definitive cause. I am seeking guidance on further steps to identify and resolve the underlying problem to restore application stability.

Abhinaba Das 115 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-22T19:19:26.0366667+00:00

Thanks for reaching out. We are currently reviewing the issue.
Abhinaba Das 115 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-23T20:04:17.14+00:00
Hi @saikumar-7223

Thank you for the additional details. Since the API works correctly with smaller record sets and the failure occurs when processing more than approximately 6,000 records or when the operation takes several minutes, this appears to be related to the duration of the request rather than the number of SQL records itself.

For a Windows-based Azure App Service, an HTTP request that does not return a response within approximately 230 seconds can time out. Microsoft recommends moving long-running processing to a background-processing model rather than keeping the HTTP request open until all processing is completed. [learn.microsoft.com]

For your scenario, I would recommend:

Avoid processing all 6,000+ records within a single synchronous HTTP request.

Process the records in smaller batches, where appropriate, so each request can complete within a reasonable duration.

For operations that inherently take several minutes, consider an asynchronous/background-processing pattern. For App Service, Azure WebJobs can be used for background processing. [learn.microsoft.com]

Since you are receiving HTTP 500 responses, also review the application/database logs to determine whether there is an additional SQL exception or application exception before the request reaches the timeout. This will help distinguish an application/database failure from the App Service request-duration limitation.

Therefore, increasing the App Service Plan size alone may not resolve this if the API continues to keep a single HTTP request open while performing the entire database operation.

Reference:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/azure/app-service/web-request-times-out-app-service

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/azure/app-service/welcome-app-service

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/azure/app-service/web-apps-performance-faqs

Kindly let us know if the above helps or if you need further assistance on this issue.

Please upvote if the information was helpful—this helps others in the community as well.

1 answer

Your answer

Abhinaba Das 115 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-22T19:19:26.0366667+00:00

Thanks for reaching out. We are currently reviewing the issue.

Answer 1

saikumar-7223 0

Hi,
When the api trying to be inserting SQL records more than 6000 records or exceeds 3 mins the api gives error by throwing 500. Thats the main issue, its good with lower data such as minimum records.

0 comments