Configure and integrate monitoring by using Azure Monitor

Azure Monitor is a powerful tool that enables you to configure and integrate monitoring for your applications and infrastructure in the Microsoft Azure environment. By utilizing Azure Monitor, you can gain insight into the health, performance, and availability of your resources, helping you to proactively identify and resolve issues. In this article, we will explore how to configure and integrate monitoring using Azure Monitor.

Getting Started

To get started, you need to have an Azure subscription and access to the Azure portal. Once you are logged in, follow these steps:

1. Create an Azure Monitor workspace: A workspace is a logical container for monitoring data. It acts as a central repository for storing and analyzing monitoring data. To create a workspace, navigate to the Azure portal and search for “Azure Monitor” in the search bar. Select “Azure Monitor” from the results and click on “Create” to create a new workspace. Provide the required details, such as the workspace name, subscription, resource group, and location. Once the workspace is created, make note of the workspace ID and key, as they will be required for integration.
2. Configure monitoring for Azure resources: Azure Monitor allows you to monitor various Azure resources, such as virtual machines, databases, and web apps. To enable monitoring for a resource, navigate to the resource in the Azure portal and select “Monitoring” from the left-hand menu. Click on “Enable” to enable monitoring for the resource. This will start collecting and analyzing data for that resource.
3. Collect and analyze logs: Azure Monitor can collect logs from various sources, such as Azure resources, Azure Active Directory, and custom logs generated by your applications. To collect and analyze logs, navigate to the Azure Monitor workspace and select “Logs” from the left-hand menu. Here, you can run log queries to retrieve the desired data. You can also create and save log queries for future use.
4. Set up alerts: Alerts allow you to be notified when certain conditions are met. You can create alerts based on metrics or log data. To set up an alert, navigate to the Azure Monitor workspace and select “Alerts” from the left-hand menu. Click on “New alert rule” to create a new alert. Specify the condition, such as a threshold or a specific log query, and configure the action to be taken when the condition is met, such as sending an email or triggering a webhook.
5. Create dashboards: Dashboards provide a visual representation of your monitoring data. You can create custom dashboards to display the desired metrics and logs. To create a dashboard, navigate to the Azure Monitor workspace and select “Dashboards” from the left-hand menu. Click on “New dashboard” to create a new dashboard. Choose the desired tiles, such as metric charts, log search tiles, or application insights tiles, and configure them to display the required data.
6. Integrate with Azure DevOps: Azure Monitor can be integrated with Azure DevOps to provide monitoring data within your DevOps workflows. This integration allows you to track application performance, identify issues, and take appropriate actions. To integrate Azure Monitor with Azure DevOps, navigate to your Azure DevOps project and select “Pipelines” from the left-hand menu. Click on “Library” under “Pipelines” and create a new variable group. Add the workspace ID and key as variables in the variable group. This allows you to reference these variables in your pipeline YAML files.

With these steps, you can effectively configure and integrate monitoring using Azure Monitor. By proactively monitoring your applications and infrastructure, you can ensure their availability, performance, and reliability. Azure Monitor provides extensive capabilities to collect, analyze, and visualize monitoring data, allowing you to make informed decisions and take timely actions to maximize the value of your resources.