To provide you with a detailed demonstration on Azure Alerts, let's walk through the process step by step. This will cover the creation, configuration, and monitoring of various types of alerts in Azure Monitor, including Metric Alerts, Log Alerts, Activity Log Alerts, and Service Health Alerts.
Demonstration of Azure Alerts
We will focus on creating Metric Alerts and Log Alerts using the Azure Portal, as these are the most common and practical for monitoring resource performance.
Step 1: Accessing Azure Monitor
Login to Azure Portal:
Sign in with your Azure account credentials.
Navigate to Azure Monitor:
In the left-hand side menu, select "Monitor". Alternatively, you can use the search bar to type "Monitor" and select it from the list.
Step 2: Creating a Metric Alert
2.1 Create a Metric Alert
In Azure Monitor, under the Alerts section, click on "Alert rules".
Select "+ New alert rule" at the top of the page.
Select the Scope:
In the "Scope" section, click on "Select resource".
Choose the resource for which you want to create a metric alert (e.g., a Virtual Machine, a storage account, or a database).
Once selected, click "Done".
Define the Condition:
In the "Condition" section, click "Add condition".
This will allow you to select a specific metric from the available metrics for the selected resource.
For instance, if you're monitoring a virtual machine, you might choose "CPU Usage" as the metric.
Define the threshold for the alert. For example:
Condition: "CPU Usage" greater than 80%.
Aggregation: "Average" over the last 5 minutes.
Configure the Action:
In the "Actions" section, click "Add action group" or create a new one if necessary.
You can define action groups for notifications like sending an email, invoking a webhook, or running a Logic App.
For demonstration purposes, choose "Email" and specify an email address for notifications.
Set the Alert Details:
Provide a name for the alert rule (e.g., “High CPU Usage Alert”).
Choose the severity level (e.g., Severity 2 – Error).
Set the description if needed, and add any tags for easy identification.
Review and Create:
After reviewing the settings, click "Create".
Your Metric Alert is now created. It will trigger an email when the CPU usage on the selected resource exceeds 80% for 5 minutes.
Step 3: Creating a Log Alert
3.1 Create a Log Alert Based on Log Analytics Data
Go to Log Analytics: In the Azure Monitor dashboard, select Logs under General. This opens the Log Analytics Workspace.
Select Log Analytics Workspace: Choose the appropriate workspace if you have more than one.
Run a Kusto Query: In the Logs page, type a query that identifies the condition you want to monitor. For example:
xxxxxxxxxx31AzureActivity2| where OperationName == "Delete Resource"3| where TimeGenerated > ago(1h)Create Alert from Query: After running the query and ensuring it works as expected, click on "New alert rule" at the top of the Logs page.
Scope: This will be automatically set to your workspace.
Condition: It will use the KQL query you just ran.
Choose whether the alert will fire based on Threshold (e.g., alert if there are more than 5 deletion events in the last hour).
Action: Add an action group (e.g., email, Logic Apps, etc.).
Set Alert Rule:
Assign a name for the alert (e.g., "Resource Deletion Alert").
Set the severity level and include any tags as required.
Review and Create:
After reviewing the configuration, click Create.
The log alert is now set up. If any resource is deleted within the last hour, you will receive an email notification.
Step 4: Viewing and Managing Alerts
Go to Alert Rules:
Navigate back to Azure Monitor > Alerts > Alert rules.
Here, you can see a list of all your configured alert rules.
Managing Alerts:
You can edit or delete any existing alert rules.
Use the "Manage" option to modify conditions, actions, and other settings of the alert rule.
Alert History:
Under "Alert History" in Azure Monitor, you can view the list of alerts that have triggered.
This includes information about which alerts were fired, the time they occurred, and whether they were resolved or still active.
Step 5: Creating Service Health Alerts
5.1 Create a Service Health Alert
In Azure Monitor, under the "Alerts" section, click on "Service health".
Select Service Health:
Here, you will see any ongoing or past issues with Azure services that may affect your resources.
Create Service Health Alert:
Click on "Create alert rule".
Set the scope (typically the affected region or subscription).
Define the condition (e.g., Azure region-wide outage or planned maintenance).
Choose an action group (e.g., email notification).
Set Alert Details:
Provide a name, set the severity, and add tags as needed.
Review and Create:
After reviewing, click Create.
Step 6: Testing Alerts
Once the alerts are created, you can test them by triggering a condition. For example:
Simulate high CPU usage on a virtual machine.
Check the Activity Logs for a resource deletion.
Trigger a service disruption in the region you are monitoring (for Service Health alerts).
You should receive the configured notifications through email or other action group channels.
Step 7: Monitoring Alert Effectiveness
Once alerts are set up, the next step is to monitor how they perform:
Alert Performance: Use the "Alert History" page to review the details of each triggered alert.
Refining Alerts: If you notice that alerts are being triggered too often or not at all, consider adjusting the thresholds or conditions to better reflect actual incidents or issues.
Alert Suppression: Consider setting up alert suppression to avoid repeated notifications for the same issue within a short time period.
Summary
In this detailed demonstration, we walked through how to create and configure Metric Alerts, Log Alerts, and Service Health Alerts in Azure Monitor. We covered the steps to define the scope, condition, action, and severity of the alerts, as well as how to view and manage them. These alerts can help you proactively manage the health and performance of your Azure resources, receive timely notifications, and automate remediation tasks when needed.
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