Internal Plugins

Overview

Azure Quick Review (azqr) includes internal plugins - specialized built-in scanners that provide advanced analytics beyond standard best practice recommendations. Unlike YAML plugins (which add custom Resource Graph queries), internal plugins perform complex data analysis, API integrations, and multi-source data correlation.

Internal plugins are disabled by default and must be explicitly enabled using command-line flags.

Available Internal Plugins

1. OpenAI Throttling

Plugin Name: openai-throttling
Command: azqr openai-throttling
Flag: --plugin openai-throttling
Version: 1.0.0

Monitors Azure OpenAI and Cognitive Services accounts for throttling (429 errors) to identify capacity constraints.

Key Features:

• Tracks 429 throttling errors by hour, model, and deployment
• Analyzes spillover configuration effectiveness
• Reports request counts by status code
• Identifies peak throttling periods

Use Cases:

• Capacity planning for OpenAI deployments
• Troubleshooting throttling issues
• Optimizing deployment spillover configuration
• Monitoring API usage patterns

Output Columns:

• Subscription, Resource Group, Account Name
• Kind (OpenAI, Cognitive Services)
• SKU and deployment details
• Model name and spillover settings
• Hourly throttling statistics (status code, request count)

Data Source: Azure Monitor Metrics API (last 24-48 hours)

2. Carbon Emissions

Plugin Name: carbon-emissions
Command: azqr carbon-emissions
Flag: --plugin carbon-emissions
Version: 1.0.0

Analyzes carbon emissions by Azure resource type to support sustainability reporting and optimization.

Key Features:

• Tracks emissions by resource type across subscriptions
• Calculates month-over-month change ratios
• Aggregates emissions from multiple subscriptions
• Supports sustainability compliance reporting

Use Cases:

• Sustainability reporting and compliance
• Identifying high-emission resource types
• Tracking carbon reduction progress
• Environmental impact analysis

Output Columns:

• Period From/To (reporting period)
• Resource Type
• Latest Month Emissions
• Previous Month Emissions
• Month-over-Month Change Ratio
• Monthly Change Value
• Unit (metric tons CO2 equivalent)

Data Source: Azure Carbon Optimization API

3. Zone Mapping

Plugin Name: zone-mapping
Command: azqr zone-mapping
Flag: --plugin zone-mapping
Version: 1.0.0

Retrieves logical-to-physical availability zone mappings for all Azure regions in each subscription.

Key Features:

• Maps logical zones (1, 2, 3) to physical zone identifiers
• Reveals subscription-specific zone mappings
• Helps ensure proper zone alignment across subscriptions
• Supports multi-subscription architecture planning

Use Cases:

• Multi-subscription architecture design
• DR planning with zone awareness
• Zone alignment for latency optimization
• Compliance and audit documentation

Output Columns:

• Subscription, Location, Display Name
• Logical Zone (1, 2, or 3)
• Physical Zone (e.g., eastus-az1, westeurope-az2)

Data Source: Azure Resource Manager Subscriptions API

📖 Full Documentation

4. Region Selection

Plugin Name: region-selection
Command: azqr region-selection
Flag: --plugin region-selection
Version: 0.1.0-beta

Scores and ranks Azure regions for workload migration or expansion. For each source region (where your resources currently live) × target region (candidate), the plugin computes a weighted 0–100 recommendation score across four dimensions.

Availability zone loss/gain applies a multiplicative adjustment to the final score.

Key Features:

• Qualitative Recommended (≥ 80), Neutral (60–79), Not Recommended (< 60) bands
• Score Quality flag notes when cost or latency data was unavailable
• Per-target-region Svc Avail Excel sheets with service and SKU availability per resource type
• CostComparison Excel sheet with per-meter retail pricing across all analysed regions
• Optional --target-regions flag to narrow analysis to specific candidates

Use Cases:

• Migration planning and DR site selection
• Regional expansion decisions
• Compliance with data-residency requirements

Output Columns (main sheet):

• Subscription, Source Region, Target Region
• Source Resource Type Count, Available/Unavailable Resource Types, Availability %
• Total SKUs Checked, Available/Unavailable/Restricted/Unknown SKUs, SKU Availability %
• Availability Zones, Avg Latency (ms), Avg Cost Difference %
• Recommendation Score, Score Quality, Recommendation
• Missing Resource Types, Unavailable SKUs (detail), Restricted SKUs (detail)

5. SQL Server ESU Status

Plugin Name: sql-esu
Command: azqr sql-esu
Flag: --plugin sql-esu
Version: 0.1.0-beta

Analyzes SQL Server End-of-Life (EOL) and Extended Security Update (ESU) status across Arc-enabled SQL Server instances and SQL Virtual Machines on Azure.

Key Features:

• Detects EOL status dynamically using current date (Expired, ESU Active, Upcoming ESU, Supported)
• Calculates ESU licensing costs per instance based on edition and vCore count
• Estimates SQL Managed Instance migration savings
• Covers both Arc-enabled SQL (on-prem) and Azure VM (SQL IaaS)

Use Cases:

• ESU cost forecasting and budgeting
• Migration planning to Azure SQL Managed Instance
• Compliance reporting for end-of-support software
• License optimization across SQL estates

Output Columns:

• Name, Resource Group, Subscription, Location
• Cloud Type (Arc-enabled or Azure VM)
• SQL Version, Edition, vCores
• EOL Status (Expired / ESU Active / Upcoming ESU / Supported)
• Mainstream End Date, ESU Start Date, ESU End Date
• ESU Monthly Cost/Core, Billable Cores
• Estimated Monthly/Annual/3-Year Cost
• Patch Ops Monthly/Annual/3-Year Cost
• Est SQL MI Monthly/Annual/3-Year Cost
• Est SQL MI Monthly/Annual/3-Year Saving

Usage

Running Internal Plugins

Internal plugins can be executed in two ways:

1. Standalone Plugin Commands (Recommended for Fast Execution)

Run plugins as top-level commands for optimized execution. This mode skips resource and APRL scanning, executing only the specified plugin:

# Run OpenAI throttling plugin
azqr openai-throttling

# Run carbon emissions plugin
azqr carbon-emissions

# Run zone mapping plugin
azqr zone-mapping

# Run region selection plugin
azqr region-selection

# Narrow region selection to specific target regions
azqr region-selection --target-regions=swedencentral,germanywestcentral

# Run SQL ESU plugin
azqr sql-esu

# Run with specific subscriptions
azqr zone-mapping --subscription-id <sub-id>

# Run with custom output name
azqr openai-throttling --output-name throttling-report

Benefits of Standalone Mode:

• ⚡ Faster execution - Skips resource scanning
• 📊 Cleaner reports - Contains only plugin results
• 🎯 Focused analysis - Dedicated to specific plugin output

2. Integrated with Full Scan

Run plugins alongside standard compliance scanning using the --plugin flag:

# Enable single plugin during scan
azqr scan --plugin openai-throttling

# Enable multiple plugins during scan
azqr scan --plugin openai-throttling --plugin carbon-emissions --plugin zone-mapping --plugin region-selection --plugin sql-esu

# Combine with other scan options
azqr scan --subscription-id <sub-id> --plugin zone-mapping --output-name analysis

When to Use Scan Integration:

• Need both compliance recommendations and plugin analysis
• Want consolidated report with all data
• Running comprehensive assessments

Listing Available Plugins

View all registered plugins (internal and YAML):

azqr plugins list

Sample Output:

NAME                  VERSION    TYPE       DESCRIPTION
openai-throttling     1.0.0      internal   Checks OpenAI/Cognitive Services accounts for...
carbon-emissions      1.0.0      internal   Analyzes carbon emissions by Azure resource type
zone-mapping          1.0.0      internal   Retrieves logical-to-physical availability zone mappings...
region-selection      0.1.0-beta internal   Scores and ranks Azure regions for workload migration...
sql-esu               0.1.0-beta internal   Analyzes SQL Server End-of-Life and Extended Security Update status

Plugin Details

Get detailed information about a specific plugin:

azqr plugins info zone-mapping

Output Formats

Internal plugin results are included in all output formats:

Excel (Default)

Each internal plugin creates a dedicated worksheet in the Excel workbook:

• Zone Mapping sheet
• OpenAI Throttling sheet
• Carbon Emissions sheet
• Region Selection sheet (main scored table)
  • Svc Avail <region> sheets — one per target region with per-resource-type availability
  • CostComparison sheet — per-meter retail pricing across all analysed regions
• SQL ESU sheet

# Run plugins as standalone commands (fastest)
azqr openai-throttling
azqr carbon-emissions
azqr zone-mapping
azqr region-selection

# Or run with full scan
azqr scan --plugin openai-throttling --plugin carbon-emissions --plugin zone-mapping --plugin region-selection
# Generates: azqr_action_plan_YYYY_MM_DD_THHMMSS.xlsx

JSON

Plugin results are included in the pluginResults array:

# Run as standalone command
azqr zone-mapping --json

# Or run with full scan
azqr scan --plugin zone-mapping --json

JSON Structure:

{
  "recommendations": [...],
  "resources": [...],
  "pluginResults": [
    {
      "pluginName": "zone-mapping",
      "sheetName": "Zone Mapping",
      "description": "Retrieves logical-to-physical availability zone mappings for all Azure regions in each subscription",
      "table": [
        ["Subscription", "Location", "Display Name", "Logical Zone", "Physical Zone"],
        ["Production", "East US", "East US", "1", "eastus-az1"]
      ]
    }
  ]
}

CSV

Plugin results are exported to separate CSV files:

# Run as standalone command
azqr zone-mapping --csv

# Or run with full scan
azqr scan --plugin zone-mapping --csv
# Generates: 
#   <filename>.zone-mapping.csv
#   <filename>.recommendations.csv
#   <filename>.inventory.csv
#   ...

Interactive Dashboard

View plugin results interactively using the show command:

# Generate report with plugins (standalone commands)
azqr openai-throttling --output-name analysis
azqr carbon-emissions --output-name analysis
azqr zone-mapping --output-name analysis

# Or generate with full scan
azqr scan --plugin openai-throttling --plugin carbon-emissions --plugin zone-mapping --output-name analysis

# Launch interactive viewer
azqr show -f analysis.xlsx --open

The dashboard provides:

• Filterable columns (dropdowns, search)
• Sortable data tables
• Export capabilities
• Real-time filtering

Permissions

Internal plugins may require additional permissions beyond standard Reader access:

Recommended: Assign Reader and Monitoring Reader roles at subscription or management group scope.

Performance Considerations

Internal plugins add processing time to scans:

• openai-throttling: 1-3 minutes (depends on number of OpenAI accounts)
• carbon-emissions: 1-2 minutes (depends on subscription count)
• zone-mapping: <10 seconds (very fast, one API call per subscription)
• sql-esu: <30 seconds (single Azure Resource Graph query)

Optimization Tips:

• Enable only needed plugins
• Use subscription/resource group filters to reduce scope