Monitoring Virtual Machines in Microsoft Azure: A Comprehensive Guide

Learn how to effectively monitor your virtual machines (VMs) in Microsoft Azure to ensure optimal performance and troubleshoot issues. This guide provides a step-by-step approach to tracking key performance metrics, helping you maintain the efficiency and reliability of your Azure VMs.

Monitoring Virtual Machines in Microsoft Azure

Monitoring your virtual machines (VMs) is crucial for ensuring they operate efficiently and for diagnosing performance issues. Azure provides a comprehensive interface for tracking key performance metrics related to your VMs. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to monitor these metrics effectively:

Key Metrics to Monitor

  • CPU Percentage: Indicates the percentage of CPU usage. High CPU usage may signal performance issues or resource constraints.
  • Disk Read Bytes/sec: Measures the amount of data read from the disk per second. It helps assess disk performance for read operations.
  • Disk Write Bytes/sec: Measures the amount of data written to the disk per second. It’s useful for understanding the performance of write operations.
  • Network In: Tracks the amount of data received by the VM over the network. This can indicate network traffic and load.
  • Network Out: Measures the amount of data sent from the VM over the network. It helps monitor outgoing network traffic.

How to Monitor VMs

Step 1: Log In to Azure Management Portal

  1. Access Portal: Go to the Azure Management Portal and log in.
  2. Navigate to Virtual Machines: Find and select the "Virtual Machines" option from the dashboard.
  3. Select Your VM: Click on the specific VM you want to monitor.
  4. Open Monitoring Section: Click on ‘Monitor’ from the top menu.

Step 2: Understand the Metrics

On the monitoring page, you'll see graphs representing the five key metrics. Each metric is displayed in a different color for easy identification:

  • CPU Percentage: Look for the purple line on the graph, which shows CPU usage. A spike indicates high CPU utilization.
  • Disk Read Bytes/sec: Shown with its own color on the graph, measuring data read rates. High values may suggest disk performance issues.
  • Disk Write Bytes/sec: Displayed in a unique color, indicating data write rates, which helps assess the write operations of your disk.
  • Network In: Represented on the graph to show incoming network traffic. High values can indicate high inbound data rates.
  • Network Out: Shows the amount of data sent from the VM, helping to understand outgoing network traffic.

Step 3: Viewing and Analyzing Data

You can adjust the time range for the displayed data, such as the past hour, 24 hours, or 7 days, using the dropdown menu. To customize your view, click on ‘Add Metrics’ to select additional metrics.

Step 4: Enable Diagnostics

Diagnostics allow you to collect and store logs, which is helpful for troubleshooting. Here’s how to enable it:

  1. Switch to the Preview Portal: Click on ‘Switch to Azure Preview Portal’ for the updated interface.
  2. Select Your VM: Find ‘Virtual Machine (classic)’ in the left panel, select the VM you want, and click on ‘All Settings’.
  3. Locate Diagnostics: Scroll down to find ‘Diagnostics’. Click on it to configure.
  4. Enable Diagnostics: Switch the setting to ‘On’ to start collecting logs for the VM.
  5. Configure Storage Account: Set up the storage account for logs by clicking on the relevant options in the configuration panel.
  6. Select Log Types: Choose the types of logs you want to collect or exclude.

Step 5: Monitor Alerts

You can create alerts based on these metrics to notify you when performance issues arise or when thresholds are exceeded. This proactive management of VM performance is essential for maintaining optimal operations.