Recommend a solution for routing logs

Create a Log Analytics Workspace

To aggregate and store logs, we need to create a Log Analytics workspace. This workspace acts as a central repository for log data. Follow these steps to create a Log Analytics workspace:

• Go to the Azure portal.
• In the left-hand menu, click on “Create a resource”.
• Search for “Log Analytics” and select the Log Analytics service.
• Click on “Create” and provide the necessary details like Subscription, Resource Group, Workspace Name, and Region.
• Click on “Review + Create” and then “Create” to create the workspace.

Configure Log Collection

Once the Log Analytics workspace is created, we need to configure log collection for the desired Azure resources. The following steps demonstrate how to configure log collection for a Virtual Machine (VM):

1. Open the Azure portal and navigate to the Virtual Machine you want to configure.
2. Under “Monitoring”, click on “Diagnostic settings”.
3. Click on “Add diagnostic setting” and provide a name for the setting.
4. Select the desired log categories to collect, such as “Metrics” and “Logs”.
5. Select the Log Analytics workspace created in the previous step as the Destination.
6. Click on “Save” to apply the settings.

Repeat these steps for other Azure resources like App Services, Virtual Networks, or Storage Accounts that need log routing.

Query and Analyze Logs

Azure Monitor provides a powerful query language called Kusto Query Language (KQL) that allows searching, analyzing, and visualizing log data in the Log Analytics workspace. You can use KQL to create custom queries and dashboards to gain insights from your log data.

Here is an example of a KQL query to retrieve Azure Monitor logs sorted by time:

AzureDiagnostics
| order by TimeGenerated desc
| project TimeGenerated, ResourceId, Level, Message

By leveraging KQL, you can build complex queries to filter, aggregate, and correlate logs for specific scenarios.

Alerting and Notifications

Azure Monitor enables setting up alerts based on log data, metrics, or activity logs. You can define alert rules and the desired action to be taken when the rule conditions are met. For example, you can create an alert to notify the administrator whenever a specific error is logged or if a metric breaches a threshold.

To create an alert rule, perform the following steps:

1. In the Azure portal, navigate to the Log Analytics workspace.
2. Under “Monitoring”, click on “Alerts (classic)”.
3. Click on “New alert rule” and provide the necessary details like Condition, Threshold, and Action Group.
4. Save the alert rule, and you will be notified whenever the condition is met.

Additionally, you can integrate Azure Monitor with other services like Azure Logic Apps, Azure Functions, or Azure Automation to automate actions based on alerts or notifications.

Visualization and Reporting

Azure Monitor offers visualization capabilities through Azure dashboards, which allow you to create custom dashboards to present log data in a visually appealing manner. You can pin specific queries, charts, or metrics to the dashboards and share them with relevant stakeholders.

To create a dashboard, follow these steps:

1. In the Azure portal, navigate to the Log Analytics workspace.
2. Under “Monitoring”, click on “Dashboards”.
3. Click on “Add dashboard” and provide a name for the dashboard.
4. Customize the dashboard by adding tiles, queries, or charts.
5. Click on “Save” to create the dashboard.

Dashboards are an effective way to provide a quick overview of the log data and track important metrics.

By following these steps, you can efficiently route logs related to the exam Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions. Leveraging Azure Monitor’s capabilities, such as Log Analytics, Log Categories, and KQL, ensures effective monitoring, analysis, and troubleshooting of your Azure infrastructure. Remember to continuously review and adjust your log routing strategy based on changing requirements and new Azure services.