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Azure Monitoring - Overview

Learning Checklist

  • [ ] Centralize logs with Log Analytics
  • [ ] Write KQL queries
  • [ ] Create dashboards
  • [ ] Configure alerts
  • [ ] Create availability tests

What is Azure Monitoring?

Azure Monitoring is a comprehensive suite of services that provides full-stack monitoring, analytics, and intelligent insights for applications and infrastructure running on Azure, on-premises, or in other clouds.

Core Components

Azure Monitor

The unified monitoring solution that collects, analyzes, and acts on telemetry data from Azure and on-premises environments.

Key Features: - Metrics and logs collection - Application performance monitoring - Infrastructure monitoring - Network monitoring - Container monitoring

Application Insights

Application Performance Management (APM) service for web developers.

Log Analytics

Centralized log management and analysis service using Kusto Query Language (KQL).

Metrics

Real-time numerical data about your resources.

Alerts

Proactive notifications based on metrics, logs, or activity logs.

Availability Tests

Monitor application availability and responsiveness from multiple geographic locations.

Monitoring Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     Azure Resources                          │
│  (VMs, AKS, App Services, Databases, Networks, etc.)        │
└────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────┘
                     │
                     ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   Azure Monitor                              │
│  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐     │
│  │   Metrics    │  │     Logs     │  │  Activity    │     │
│  │   Platform   │  │  Diagnostic  │  │     Logs     │     │
│  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘     │
└────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────┘
                     │
                     ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                Data Processing & Storage                     │
│  ┌──────────────────┐         ┌──────────────────┐         │
│  │  Log Analytics   │         │  Metrics Store   │         │
│  │   Workspace      │         │                  │         │
│  └──────────────────┘         └──────────────────┘         │
└────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────┘
                     │
                     ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              Analysis & Visualization                        │
│  ┌──────────┐  ┌──────────┐  ┌──────────┐  ┌──────────┐  │
│  │   KQL    │  │Workbooks │  │Dashboards│  │  Alerts  │  │
│  │ Queries  │  │          │  │          │  │          │  │
│  └──────────┘  └──────────┘  └──────────┘  └──────────┘  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Key Concepts

Data Types

Metrics: - Numerical time-series data - Collected at regular intervals - Lightweight and near real-time - Stored for 93 days by default

Logs: - Text-based records of events - Stored in Log Analytics workspace - Queryable using KQL - Configurable retention (30 days to 2 years)

Activity Logs: - Subscription-level events - Resource creation, modification, deletion - Administrative operations - Service health events

Data Sources

  • Azure resources (platform metrics and logs)
  • Guest OS (VM agents)
  • Applications (Application Insights)
  • Custom sources (APIs, agents)
  • Network (Network Watcher)
  • Security (Azure Sentinel)

Getting Started

1. Enable Diagnostic Settings

Configure resources to send logs and metrics to destinations.

2. Create Log Analytics Workspace

Central repository for log data.

3. Install Monitoring Agents

For VMs and on-premises resources.

4. Configure Application Insights

For application performance monitoring.

5. Set Up Alerts

Proactive notifications for issues.

6. Create Dashboards

Visualize monitoring data.

Common Use Cases

  • Performance Monitoring: Track application and infrastructure performance
  • Troubleshooting: Diagnose issues using logs and metrics
  • Capacity Planning: Analyze resource utilization trends
  • Security Monitoring: Detect and respond to security threats
  • Compliance: Meet regulatory requirements for logging
  • Cost Optimization: Identify underutilized resources

Resources