Azure Alerts 101: A Comprehensive Guide

Azure Alerts is a powerful tool that helps you stay on top of your Azure resources. It's like having a personal assistant that notifies you of any issues or changes in real-time.

With Azure Alerts, you can set up custom alerts based on specific conditions, such as when a resource is down or when a metric exceeds a certain threshold. This allows you to focus on resolving issues quickly, rather than constantly checking your resources.

You can receive alerts through various channels, including email, SMS, and even mobile push notifications. This ensures you're always informed, no matter where you are or what device you're using.

You can enable recommended alert rules in the Azure portal, which are based on the resource provider's knowledge of important signals and thresholds for monitoring the resource.

Recommended alert rules are enabled for virtual machines, AKS resources, and Log Analytics workspaces.

To create new alert rules, you need to configure four different options: scope, condition, action group, and alert rule details.

The scope determines the service(s) you are monitoring.

You can use Azure policies to set up alerts at-scale, which has the advantage of easily implementing alerts at-scale.

Here are the different severity levels defined by Microsoft in Azure:

To define a name, description, and severity level for your alert, you need to fill out the alert rule details section.

Creating alert rules in Azure is a straightforward process. You can enable recommended out-of-the-box alert rules in the Azure portal, which are compiled based on the resource provider's knowledge of important signals and thresholds for monitoring the resource.

To create a new alert rule, you need to configure four different options: Scope, Condition, Action group, and Alert rule details. You can filter by error type while creating alerts.

The scope can be a single service or multiple services, and the condition is the rule that needs to be met to trigger the alert. The action group is the action to execute after the alert is triggered, and you can reuse them across different alerts.

Recommended Alert Rules can be enabled in the Azure portal, and the system compiles a list of rules based on the resource provider's knowledge of important signals and thresholds for monitoring the resource. This list also takes into account data that tells us what customers commonly alert on for the resource.

Recommended Alert Rules are enabled for Virtual machines, AKS resources, and Log Analytics workspaces. These resources are prioritized because they are commonly used and require monitoring.

The system's knowledge of important signals and thresholds is based on the resource provider's expertise, ensuring that the recommended alert rules are accurate and effective. This expertise is continually updated to reflect the latest best practices and security guidelines.

To get started with Recommended Alert Rules, simply navigate to the Azure portal and explore the available options.

To create an alert rule, you need to configure four different options: Scope, Condition, Action group, and Alert rule details. The Scope is the service(s) that you are monitoring.

You can enable recommended out-of-the-box alert rules in the Azure portal, which are compiled based on the resource provider's knowledge of important signals and thresholds for monitoring the resource, as well as data on what customers commonly alert on for this resource.

The Condition is the rule that needs to be met to trigger the alert. You can use Azure policies to set up alerts at-scale, which has the advantage of easily implementing alerts at-scale, but may have the increased overhead of maintaining a large alert rule set.

The Action group is the action to execute after the alert is triggered, and can be defined by using the following options: Basics, Notifications, Actions, Tags, and Review and create.

Here's a list of the different severity levels defined by Microsoft in Azure:

You can also create a new Azure alert rule by clicking "New alert rule" to get started, which will guide you through the process of configuring the four options mentioned earlier.

Creating an effective alert rule in Azure requires understanding its four main components: Scope, Condition, Action Group, and Alert Rule Details.

The Scope determines which service or services you're monitoring. You can select multiple services to create a comprehensive alert system.

To configure the Condition, you'll need to choose from a range of metrics available for Azure Data Factory. Filtering by failed and selecting "Failed pipeline runs metrics" covers the majority of failures.

The Action Group specifies the action to execute after the alert is triggered. This could be sending a notification, running a script, or even triggering another alert.

Alert Rule Details include the name and description of the alert. This is where you can provide context and clarity on what the alert is monitoring.

Here are the four components of an Azure alert rule, summarized in a table:

By understanding these four components, you can create a tailored alert system that meets your specific needs.

Alerting at Scale is crucial for any organization using Azure services. You can create alert rules at-scale using various methods, each with its own advantages and disadvantages that can impact cost and maintenance.

Using Azure policies is one way to set up alerts at-scale, which has the advantage of easily implementing alerts across multiple resources. This method is implemented with Azure Monitor baseline alerts.

However, using policies to create alert rules may lead to an increased overhead of maintaining a large alert rule set. It's essential to weigh the benefits against the potential drawbacks.

Here are some key considerations for alerting at-scale:

Ultimately, the choice of method depends on your organization's specific needs and priorities.

To configure alerts in Azure, you need to consider a few key options. You can enable recommended out-of-the-box alert rules in the Azure portal, which are compiled based on the resource provider's knowledge of important signals and thresholds for monitoring the resource.

These recommended alert rules are enabled for virtual machines, AKS resources, and Log Analytics workspaces. You can also use Azure policies to set up alerts at-scale, which has the advantage of easily implementing alerts at-scale.

However, keep in mind that using policies to create alert rules may have the increased overhead of maintaining a large alert rule set. To create a new Azure alert rule, you'll need to configure four different options: scope, condition, action group, and alert rule details.

The scope of an alert rule determines the services you're monitoring. You can select the services you want to monitor, and if you're creating alerts from Azure Monitor Alerts, you'll need to select the services you want to monitor.

Here are the four options you'll need to configure when creating a new Azure alert rule:

By considering these options and configuring your alert rules accordingly, you can set up effective monitoring and alerting in Azure.

Monitoring and logging are crucial components of Azure alerts. You can use log search alert rules to monitor all resources sending data to the Log Analytics workspace, regardless of the subscription or region.

Azure Monitor receives data from various resources, including applications, operating systems, and Azure resources. This data can be processed to perform different functions, such as analysis, visualization, alerting, automation, and integrations.

Log alerts use log data to assess rule logic and trigger alerts if necessary. These types of logs can be used to evaluate server CPU utilization or web application response codes.

You can create activity log alerts to receive notifications when specific events happen on Azure resources, such as creating a new VM in a subscription. Activity log alerts are designed to work with Azure resources and can include alerts for Azure service health.

Here are the key components of centralized logging and monitoring:

Monitoring is a crucial aspect of ensuring your applications run smoothly. It helps you understand how your applications are performing.

Azure Monitor is a powerful tool that delivers a comprehensive solution for collecting, analyzing, and acting on telemetry from your cloud and on-premises environments. It's a centralized plane for all monitoring toolsets.

Azure Monitor is recommended as the starting point, even if you want to look at metrics or Application Insights. This is because Microsoft is planning to make Azure Monitor the centralized starting point for all Azure monitoring toolsets.

It helps you proactively identify issues affecting your applications and the resources they depend on.

Log data is primarily used for analytics and trends, as it's historical in nature. This data can come from any Azure resource, including server logs, application server logs, or application logs.

You can use log data to assess if any of your servers have exceeded their CPU utilization by a given threshold during the last 30 minutes. Or, you can evaluate response codes issued on your web application server in the last hour.

Log data is collected to a Log Analytics workspace, where it can be analyzed and visualized. Custom log tables within Log Analytics allow for structured logging tailored to specific requirements, simplifying log analysis and correlation.

Log search alert rules can monitor all resources that send data to the Log Analytics workspace, regardless of subscription or region. These rules can be set up to collect the required data for log search alert rule.

Here are some key characteristics of log data: