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In this lesson, we explore essential performance metrics and monitoring tools in Azure. Mastering these concepts is critical for the AZ-400 certification and for building robust, scalable cloud architectures. You’ll learn how to collect telemetry data, configure alerts, and create custom dashboards to streamline DevOps workflows.

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Key Performance Metrics

Metric CategoryMetricsWhy It Matters
CPU PerformanceCPU usage, CPU loadIdentifies processing bottlenecks and scaling needs.
Memory UtilizationRAM consumption, memory pressureEnsures application responsiveness and stability.
Disk PerformanceIOPS, throughput, latencyMeasures storage efficiency and data access speed.
Monitoring CPU, memory, and disk metrics proactively helps prevent performance degradation and service outages.

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Azure Monitoring Tools

ToolDescriptionReference
Azure MonitorCentralized platform to collect and analyze telemetry.Azure Monitor docs
Application InsightsReal-time application performance tracking and diagnostics.Application Insights docs
Log AnalyticsPowerful log aggregation and query engine.Log Analytics docs

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Collecting and Analyzing Telemetry

The image is a slide titled "Analyzing Metrics by Using Collected Telemetry, Including Usage and Application Performance," listing topics related to Azure telemetry and monitoring services. It includes a color-coded list of five topics, such as "Introduction to Telemetry in Azure" and "Monitoring Application Performance."
Below are the key steps for leveraging telemetry in Azure:
  1. Introduction to Telemetry in Azure
    Collect performance and usage data from applications and infrastructure using Azure Monitor agents and SDKs.
  2. Analyzing Usage Metrics
    Use built-in reports and queries in Log Analytics to understand service consumption patterns and optimize resource allocation.
  3. Monitoring Application Performance
    Integrate Application Insights SDK into your codebase for end-to-end transaction tracking and real-time root-cause analysis.
  4. Configuring Alerts and Notifications
    Define alert rules in Azure Monitor based on metric thresholds or log query results to receive proactive notifications.
  5. Creating Custom Dashboards
    Build interactive dashboards in the Azure portal to visualize the most critical metrics, charts, and logs in one place.

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Best Practices for Azure Telemetry

  • Define clear, actionable alert thresholds to minimize false positives.
  • Encrypt telemetry data both in transit and at rest to ensure compliance.
  • Automate the provisioning of monitoring resources using Infrastructure as Code (IaC).
  • Regularly review and refine dashboards and alert rules as application workloads evolve.
Over-alerting can lead to alert fatigue. Ensure each notification delivers actionable insights.

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