Azure Monitor: A Comprehensive Monitoring Solution

Azure Monitor is a powerful tool that helps you keep an eye on your Azure resources and applications. It's a comprehensive monitoring solution that provides you with visibility into your system's performance and health.

With Azure Monitor, you can collect data from various sources, including Azure resources, applications, and services. This data is then used to create detailed dashboards and reports that help you identify potential issues before they become major problems.

Azure Monitor also supports log analytics, which allows you to search and analyze log data from your Azure resources. This feature is particularly useful for troubleshooting and debugging issues.

By using Azure Monitor, you can ensure that your Azure resources and applications are running smoothly and efficiently.

Azure Monitor collects and routes monitoring data using various mechanisms, depending on the data being routed and the destination. Data collection and routing is a complex process, but Azure Monitor has made it easier by providing different methods for collecting and routing monitoring data.

Azure Monitor uses Application instrumentation to collect data from applications, which can be enabled through Auto-Instrumentation (agent) or by adding the Application Insights SDK to your application code. Application instrumentation is a great way to collect data from your applications.

Data collection rules are another way to specify what data should be collected, how to transform it, and where to send it. This method provides a high degree of flexibility and control over the data collection process.

Azure Monitor also uses Agents to collect monitoring data from the guest operating system of Azure and hybrid virtual machines. Agents can be used to collect data from a variety of sources, including operating systems and applications.

In addition to these methods, Azure Monitor also uses Zero Config to automatically send data to a destination without user configuration. This method is often used for platform metrics.

Azure Monitor data is collected and stored in two main areas: Metrics and Logs. Metrics stores numeric data from monitored resources into a time-series database, while Logs collects logs and performance data that can be retrieved and analyzed using log queries.

Here are the different data collection methods used by Azure Monitor:

Azure Monitor can collect data from multiple sources, including application, infrastructure, and custom data sources. The data types collected by Azure Monitor include App/Workloads, Infrastructure, Azure Platform, and Custom Sources.

Azure Monitor collects data from various sources, including:

Data Processing and Analytics is a powerful feature of Azure Monitor. You can process logs ingested into Azure Monitor with customer-defined data collection transformations.

Azure Monitor offers a range of tools to analyze monitoring data, including Metrics explorer, Log Analytics, and Change Analysis (classic). Metrics explorer helps you plot charts and visually correlate trends, while Log Analytics allows you to query log data and analyze it with Azure Monitor tools or save the queries for use with visualizations or alert rules.

Log Analytics is the logical storage unit where log data is collected and stored, and it's used to collect data from various sources such as Azure Virtual Machines and Windows or Linux Virtual Machines.

Here are the tools available for analysis in Azure Monitor:

Note that data ingestion and transformation GBs are aggregated over a 24-hour time frame on the UTC time zone.

Analytics is a crucial step in data processing, and Azure offers some powerful tools to help you analyze your monitoring data. The Azure portal contains built-in tools that allow you to analyze monitoring data, including Metrics explorer, Log Analytics, and Change Analysis (classic).

Metrics explorer is a user interface in the Azure portal that helps you investigate the health and utilization of your resources. You can plot charts, visually correlate trends, and investigate spikes and dips in metric values using its features for applying dimensions and filtering, and for customizing charts.

Log Analytics is another powerful tool that helps you query the log data collected by Azure Monitor. You can quickly retrieve, consolidate, and analyze collected data using its user interface, which is based on Azure Data Explorer and the Kusto query language (KQL). Log Analytics workspaces are based on Azure Data Explorer, using a powerful analysis engine and the rich Kusto query language (KQL).

Change Analysis (classic) is a subscription-level Azure resource provider that checks resource changes in the subscription and provides data for diagnostic tools to help users understand what changes might have caused issues. It uses the Azure Resource Graph to detect various types of changes, from the infrastructure layer through application deployment.

Azure Log Analytics Workspace is the logical storage unit where log data is collected and stored. It can be considered as the primary management unit of Azure Monitor Logs, used to collect data from various sources such as Azure Virtual Machines, Windows or Linux Virtual Machines, and Azure Resources in a subscription.

Here are the built-in tools for analyzing monitoring data in the Azure portal:

APIs give you an infinite number of options for creating different Azure Monitor integrations by allowing you to read and write metrics and logs to and from Azure Monitor.

With APIs, you can tap into a vast array of data sources and create custom integrations that suit your specific needs.

APIs are available to read and write metrics and logs to and from Azure Monitor, making it easier to collect and analyze data.

This flexibility is particularly useful when working with complex data sets or multiple data sources, as it allows you to create tailored solutions that meet your requirements.

Azure Monitor's alert system is designed to proactively notify you of important conditions in your monitoring data. This can be achieved through metric alerts, log alerts, and activity log alerts.

There are three types of Azure Alerts available: Metric Alerts, Log Alerts, and Activity Log Alerts. Metric Alerts monitor Azure resources based on metrics and alert when there's a violation with the configured threshold value. Log Alerts evaluate resource logs every set frequency and trigger a notification based on the values returned from the query.

Activity Log Alerts send an alert report whenever there's a new activity log event that matches the specified condition.

Alert rules in Azure Monitor are charged based on the type and number of signals they monitor. A signal can be a resource metric, a log, or an activity log.

Here's a breakdown of the costs associated with each type of alert rule:

Alerts can be configured to notify you and your team through various channels, including email, SMS, and webhooks. Action groups, which contain distinct sets of recipients and actions, can be shared across several rules.

Activity logs are available for a 90-day period at no charge, but can be retained beyond this period by routing them to a storage account or event hubs, where corresponding charges will apply.

Azure Security Center (ASC) alerts are not currently charged.

Azure Monitor allows you to export Log Analytics data for billing purposes, with a price of $- per GB of data exported. The size of the data is measured in bytes, with 1 GB equaling 10^9 bytes.

To integrate Azure Monitor with other systems, you can use various Azure services, such as Event Hubs, Azure Storage, and Hosted and Managed Partners. These services enable you to stream Azure Monitor data to partner SIEM and monitoring tools, export data to Azure storage for long-term archival, or use hosted and managed partners for easier interoperability.

Some popular integrations include Elastic, Datadog, Logz.io, and Dynatrace, which provide an Azure-hosted version of their products for easier integration with Azure Monitor. Additionally, Azure Monitor provides APIs for reading and writing metrics and logs, as well as configuring and retrieving alerts, giving you unlimited possibilities for custom solutions.

Here are some of the integrations available:

Azure Monitor offers several options for integration and export of data. You can use Azure Event Hubs to stream data to partner SIEM and monitoring tools. This allows for real-time analytics and integration with various systems.

Azure Storage is another option for exporting data, providing a cost-effective solution for long-term archival of monitoring data. This can be useful for auditing or compliance purposes.

Some integrations are available through hosted and managed partners, such as Elastic, Datadog, and Logz.io. These partnerships make it easier to integrate with Azure Monitor and provide interoperability.

APIs are also available for reading and writing metrics and logs to and from Azure Monitor. This allows for unlimited possibilities in building custom solutions that integrate with Azure Monitor.

Azure Logic Apps and Azure Functions can be used to automate tasks and business processes using workflows that integrate with different systems and services. This can help customize responses and perform other actions in response to Azure Monitor alerts.

You can also use Azure DevOps and GitHub to integrate with Azure Monitor, creating work item integration with monitoring data and embedding it in releases and continuous monitoring.

Here are some additional integrations that may be of interest:

These integrations can help you get the most out of Azure Monitor and make it a more valuable tool for your business.

Azure Monitor has a wide range of integrations with other systems and services, making it a versatile tool for monitoring and analyzing data.

Some of these integrations include Event Hubs, which can transform and store data using any real-time analytics provider or batching/storage adapters.

Azure Monitor can also be integrated with Azure Storage to export data for less expensive, long-term archival of monitoring data.

There are many external partners that integrate with Azure Monitor, including Elastic, Datadog, Logz.io, and Dynatrace.

Azure Monitor provides multiple APIs to read and write metrics and logs, giving users unlimited possibilities to build custom solutions.

In addition to these, Azure Monitor can be integrated with Azure Logic Apps, which allows users to automate tasks and business processes using workflows that integrate with different systems and services.

Azure Functions also provide a way to preprocess and postprocess monitoring data and perform complex actions beyond the scope of typical Azure Monitor alerts.

Here are some additional integrations not shown in the diagram:

Azure Monitor offers a range of features to help you monitor and manage your Azure resources. These features include metrics, logs, and insights, which provide a comprehensive view of your system's performance and behavior.

Azure Monitor stores data in four data stores: metrics, logs, distributed traces, and changes. Each store is optimized for specific types of data and monitoring scenarios.

Azure Monitor Metrics is a time-series database that collects metrics at regular intervals, allowing you to analyze time-stamped data and identify trends over time. It supports native Azure Monitor metrics and Prometheus metrics.

Azure Monitor Logs stores structured and unstructured log data of all types, which can be routed to Log Analytics workspaces for querying and analysis.

Azure Service Health is a vital feature that keeps you informed about planned downtime due to maintenance. This way, you can plan ahead and minimize the impact on your resources and regions.

With Azure Service Health, you'll receive advance notice of any planned maintenance or service outages. You can check the Service Issues section for reports on current issues and their solutions.

Planned maintenance is scheduled by Azure, and you can find reports on how to achieve less impact during downtime in the Planned maintenance section. Health advisories are also reported here, requiring your action to avoid service interruption.

Here are the three types of events you can find in Azure Service Health:

By staying on top of these events, you can ensure your Azure resources are running smoothly and minimize the impact of any unexpected errors or planned downtimes.

Azure Monitor offers a robust platform for monitoring and analyzing your Azure resources. It provides a centralized location for all your monitoring data, making it easier to identify performance bottlenecks and troubleshoot issues.

Platform logs provide detailed diagnostic and auditing information for Azure resources. You pay for the volume of data processed and sent to each destination, with prices listed below.

Exporting a select set of platform logs to Storage or Event Hub is available at no charge. Billing for streaming platform logs started on February 1, 2022, with the size of the streamed Platform Logs being the number of bytes in the exported JSON formatted data.

Azure Monitor stores data in data stores for each of the three pillars of observability, plus an additional one: metrics, logs, distributed traces, and changes.

Azure Monitor offers a range of web tests to ensure your application is available and running smoothly.

Standard web tests are available for a fee, although the exact cost isn't specified.

You can also use URL Ping tests, which are free.

Multi-step web tests are another option, but they come with a cost, with the price prorated daily for each active test.

The cost of Multi-step web tests is independent of the number of locations from which the test is run or the test execution frequency.

Here's a breakdown of the costs for each type of web test:

Resource Dependency Mapping is a crucial aspect of Azure Monitor, enabling you to visualize and understand how all the Azure resources involved in an application correlate with each other.

This helps you pinpoint the resources that are causing critical issues, allowing for faster problem-solving and minimizing downtime.

With Azure resource dependency mapping, you can see the intricate relationships between resources, making it easier to identify the root cause of problems.

By mapping these dependencies, you can also plan for resource upgrades, migrations, or changes with greater confidence and accuracy.

Azure resource dependency mapping is a game-changer for teams that need to troubleshoot complex issues or plan for future resource needs.

Cost is a crucial aspect of Azure Monitor, and it's essential to understand how it works. The cost of Azure Monitor is based on your usage of different features.

The amount of data you collect is the primary factor in determining your costs. This means that if you're collecting a lot of data, your costs will be higher.

To get a better understanding of how costs are determined, you can check out the Azure Monitor cost and usage page. This will give you a clear breakdown of how your costs are calculated.

One way to reduce your overall spend is to follow the recommendations on the Cost optimization in Azure Monitor page. This can help you identify areas where you can cut back and save money.

Azure Monitor offers insights and core solutions that meet Azure's support and service level agreements. Insights provide a personalized monitoring experience for specific applications and services, gathering all logs and metrics and analyzing them.

Core solutions, on the other hand, are based on log queries and views that are personalized to a given application or service, compiling and reviewing logs. They're deprecated in favor of insights over time.

Azure itself offers native monitoring tools to ensure your Azure integration is monitored under the same roof. These tools are essential for keeping an eye on various components integrated into a business application.

Here are the native monitoring tools offered by Azure:

Turbo360 is another tool that helps you monitor the health, availability, performance, and operational metrics of your Azure application. It's built to improve the efficiency of your operations and support team in resolving issues.

Azure Monitor's Core Solutions are based on log queries and views that are personalized to a given application or service. They compile and review logs, but are being deprecated in favor of Insights over time.

Core Solutions are a part of Azure Monitor and meet Azure's support and service level agreements. This means you can rely on them for monitoring your Azure applications and services.

Azure's Core Solutions are designed to provide a more personalized monitoring experience compared to native monitoring tools. They gather and analyze logs from specific applications and services, giving you a better understanding of their performance and health.

Here are some key features of Core Solutions:

While Core Solutions are a useful tool for monitoring your Azure applications and services, they are not the only option available. Third-party Azure monitoring tools, such as Turbo360, can provide more customized monitoring and application-level consolidated monitoring.

Workspace Replication is a feature in Azure Monitor that increases the resilience of your workspace to regional issues.

It's worth noting that Auxiliary Logs are not currently supported in Log Analytics Workspace Replication.

The pricing for Workspace Replication is based on the volume of data replicated.

You'll be billed $- per GB for the data replicated.

Azure Monitor's pricing for at-scale log monitoring is applicable from the Scheduled Query Rules API version 2021-02-01, once that version is generally available.

Azure Monitor doesn't have an on-premises version. This is because it's a cloud service that's designed to scale and handle large amounts of data.

It's worth noting that Azure Monitor can still monitor resources that are located on-premises.

Azure Monitor Dashboards and Reporting make it easy to get a clear picture of your application's performance. Dashboards from Turbo360 can pinpoint problem areas for your Azure applications.

Automated dashboards provide deeper insight by correlating indicators and spotting trends. This is especially useful when analyzing metrics separately doesn't give you the whole story.

Combining different types of data is a breeze with Azure Dashboards. Outputs of log queries and metric charts can be added to the dashboards and shared with other Azure users.

Dashboards can be used to share insights with others, making it easier to collaborate and troubleshoot issues.

Azure Monitor is a powerful tool for monitoring and managing Azure resources, but it's not the only option.

One alternative to Azure Monitor is Datadog, which offers similar functionality and can integrate with Azure resources. Datadog provides real-time monitoring and analytics for cloud-scale infrastructure, applications, and services.

If you're already invested in the AWS ecosystem, you might consider using AWS X-Ray, which provides detailed performance and debugging insights for distributed applications. AWS X-Ray can help you identify performance bottlenecks and optimize your application's performance.

Another option is Prometheus, an open-source monitoring system that can be used with Azure resources. Prometheus collects metrics from your application and stores them in a time-series database, making it easy to visualize and alert on performance issues.

In addition to these alternatives, you might also consider using Azure's own Log Analytics, which provides advanced analytics and reporting capabilities for Azure resources. Log Analytics can help you identify trends and patterns in your data, and provide actionable insights for optimizing your Azure resources.