Learn how to create and configure an Alert Rule and Review Alerts in Azure

Creating and configuring an alert rule, as well as reviewing alerts in Azure, is an essential process for monitoring your resources and ensuring your Azure environment operates as expected. Below is a step-by-step guide for creating an alert rule and reviewing alerts in Azure.

Creating and Configuring an Alert Rule in Azure

There are various types of alert rules you can create in Azure, including Metric Alerts, Log Search Alerts, Activity Log Alerts, and Application Insights Alerts. Here is how you can create and configure a basic metric alert rule, but the process is quite similar for other types of alerts.

Step 1: Access Azure Monitor

1. Log in to the Azure portal: Go to the .

2. In the left-hand sidebar, search for Azure Monitor and click on it. This is where you can manage all your monitoring resources and alert rules.

Step 2: Create an Alert Rule

1. In Azure Monitor, select Alerts from the menu.

2. Click + New alert rule.

3. The Create alert rule page appears.

You will need to configure the following:

4. Scope:

   • Click on Select scope to define which resource or resource group you want the alert rule to apply to.

   • You can search for a specific resource or choose a resource group, subscription, or management group.

5. Condition:

   • Click on Add condition to define the metric or log query that will trigger the alert.

   • For metric alerts, you can choose from various metrics like CPU utilization, disk I/O, etc., and set thresholds.

   • For log search alerts, you can define a Kusto Query Language (KQL) query to specify the event or condition.

6. Action Group:

   • Click on Add action group to define what actions will occur when the alert is triggered (e.g., email notifications, text messages, or automation).

   • You can create a new action group or select an existing one. An action group can send notifications, trigger automated actions like Azure Logic Apps, or start Automation Runbooks.

7. Alert Details:

   • Provide an Alert rule name (e.g., "High CPU Utilization Alert").

   • Optionally, you can add a Description to clarify the purpose of the alert rule.

   • Choose the Severity level (e.g., Sev 0 for critical alerts, Sev 1 for warnings).

   • Select Enable rule upon creation to immediately activate the alert after creation.

Step 3: Review and Create

1. After configuring all the settings, review your configuration. Ensure the scope, condition, action group, and alert details are correct.

2. Click Create to create the alert rule. The rule will now monitor your resource for the specified conditions and trigger actions as defined.

Reviewing Alerts in Azure Monitor

Once your alert rule is active, alerts will be generated based on the conditions you've set. You can review these alerts in the Azure Monitor Alerts section.

Step 1: Access Alerts

1. Go to the Azure Monitor service in the Azure portal.

2. Under Monitoring, click Alerts. This will open the Alerts dashboard where you can manage and review all the alerts.

Step 2: View Alert History

1. In the Alerts pane, click on Manage alert rules to view the list of all configured alert rules.

2. You can see the status of each rule (enabled/disabled) and its details.

3. Under the Alerts section, click on Alert history. This will show a list of alerts that have been triggered based on the active alert rules.

4. You can filter the alerts based on time, severity, and other parameters.

5. You can view the details of individual alerts, including:

   • The trigger condition (e.g., CPU usage exceeded threshold).

   • Alert status (e.g., Open or Closed).

   • Action taken (e.g., email sent, automation run).

Step 3: Review Alerts and Take Action

For each triggered alert, you can perform actions such as:

1. Acknowledge the alert: Mark the alert as acknowledged so your team knows it's being looked into.

2. Resolve the alert: Mark the alert as resolved if the issue has been addressed.

3. Review Alert Details: Click on the individual alert to get more information, including the resource affected, severity, alert description, and triggering condition.

4. View related logs: In some cases, you might want to review logs for more context on the triggered alert (especially for log search alerts). You can access the related logs directly from the alert details.

Step 4: Filter and Export Alerts

1. You can use filters to narrow down alerts based on severity, status (Open or Closed), time range, and other properties.

2. You can export alert data to an external system or use Azure Logic Apps to automatically process alerts (e.g., sending them to a ticketing system).

Additional Tips for Configuring Alerts

1. Set up different severity levels: Create multiple alert rules for different levels of severity (e.g., critical alerts for major incidents and informational alerts for low-impact issues).

2. Use multiple action groups: An action group can include multiple actions, such as sending emails, invoking webhooks, or triggering Azure Automation workflows.

3. Combine metric and log alerts: Sometimes, you may want to create an alert that combines both metric data and logs (e.g., CPU usage > 90% AND a specific event appears in your logs).

4. Test alert rules: Before relying on alert rules in a production environment, it's important to test them to ensure that they trigger and perform as expected.

5. Monitor alert health: Occasionally review and update alert rules to make sure they’re still relevant and that their conditions are appropriate.

Summary

Creating and managing alert rules in Azure allows you to monitor your resources proactively, ensuring you are notified when issues occur so you can respond quickly. By setting up alert rules with appropriate conditions, action groups, and severity levels, you can efficiently monitor your Azure environment and take appropriate action based on the alerts triggered. Reviewing alerts helps you stay informed and take timely actions to maintain the health and security of your resources.