5.1.2.1. Implement Azure Monitor

First Principle: Azure Monitor provides unified observability for applications, infrastructure, and networks. Its core purpose is to centralize telemetry data (metrics and logs), enabling organizations to collect, analyze, and act on this data to ensure end-to-end visibility and proactive operational management.

What It Is: Azure Monitor is the unified monitoring solution for Azure and hybrid environments, enabling organizations to collect, analyze, and act on telemetry from cloud and on-premises resources. Its primary role is to provide end-to-end visibility into the health, performance, and usage of applications and infrastructure.

Visual: "Azure Monitor Data Flow"

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Types of Data in Azure Monitor:

• "Metrics": Numeric values representing system state at a specific point in time (e.g., CPU usage, memory consumption, network throughput, request rates for an App Service). "Metrics" are ideal for real-time alerting and trend analysis due to their lightweight, time-series nature.
• "Logs": Event-based data, either structured or unstructured, capturing detailed diagnostics (e.g., application logs, "Azure Activity Logs", "resource logs" from Azure services). "Logs" support deep analysis, troubleshooting, and auditing.

Data Collection Sources: Azure Monitor gathers telemetry from:

• Azure resources: VMs, databases, containers, web apps (e.g., "Azure SQL Database metrics"). Collected automatically ("platform metrics") or via "diagnostic settings".
• Applications: Via SDKs or agents ("Application Insights" for web apps).
• Operating systems: Windows/Linux diagnostics (e.g., custom performance counters, event logs) via "Azure Monitor Agent (AMA)".
• Custom sources: "Custom metrics/logs" sent via API.

Proactive Monitoring with Azure Monitor:

• "Alerting": Set up rules on "metrics" or "log queries" to automatically notify administrators or trigger automated actions when specific conditions are met (e.g., high CPU, failed logins, application errors).
• "Dashboards": Build visual, customizable dashboards to monitor key "metrics" and "logs", supporting operational awareness and rapid response.
• "Workbooks": Create interactive, shareable reports that combine "metrics", "logs", and visualizations for deep analysis and collaborative troubleshooting.

Scenario: You need to monitor the health of your Azure Virtual Machines and Azure App Service instances. This involves tracking CPU usage, memory consumption, and network I/O. You also want to receive alerts if these metrics exceed certain thresholds and analyze historical trends.

Reflection Question: How does implementing Azure Monitor, by collecting various types of telemetry data ("metrics", "logs") from diverse sources, fundamentally provide end-to-end visibility into the health, performance, and usage of your applications and infrastructure, enabling proactive monitoring and optimization?