AZ-305 Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions Exam

Recommend a Logging Solution

Assess Log Data Requirements and Service Capabilities

Assessing log data requirements involves analyzing various metrics and diagnostic settings to determine the proper configuration for logging solutions in Azure. Ensuring effective log management is crucial for maintaining reliability, security, cost optimization, and performance efficiency.

Operational Excellence

Operational excellence focuses on minimizing the operational requirements for monitoring virtual machines using Azure Monitor. A key aspect includes designing a workspace architecture that meets business requirements with the minimal number of workspaces. This approach maximizes operational efficiency and visibility into potential issues while reducing maintenance efforts.

Important steps for achieving operational excellence include:

• Workspace Strategy: Design a workspace strategy that aligns with business needs.
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Use IaC to manage multiple workspaces, leveraging tools like ARM, BICEP, or Terraform.
• Log Analytics Workspace Insights: Track the health and performance of Log Analytics workspaces.
• Alert Rules: Create proactive alert rules to notify operation issues.

Configuration Recommendations

To ensure reliable Azure Monitor logs, follow these configuration recommendations:

• Dynamic Thresholds: Utilize dynamic thresholds in metric alert rules to leverage machine learning for determining alert thresholds based on trends.
• Multi-Resource Alert Rule: Whenever possible, use one alert rule to monitor multiple resources.
• Alert Processing Rules: Control behavior at scale using alert processing rules.
• Logic Apps: Enhance diagnostics by leveraging Logic Apps for customized data enrichment and integration.

Log Routing Options

Effective log routing involves selecting the appropriate destinations for logs such as Log Analytics workspaces, storage accounts, or Event Hubs. This selection ensures cost-effective ingestion, analysis, and archiving of diagnostic data. Azure policies can deploy diagnostic settings using category groups to route logs as required.

Key points here include:

• Log Categories and Metrics: Select appropriate log categories and metrics based on volume, retention, and query needs.
• Azure Policy: Deploy diagnostic settings to route logs efficiently to the desired endpoints.
• Cost Efficiency: Ensure log routing decisions align with cost constraints without compromising compliance requirements.

Azure Monitor Metrics and Logs

Azure Monitor supports different types of metrics, each contributing uniquely to monitoring application health. Understanding these metrics is essential to recommend suitable logging solutions:

• Standard Metrics: Preaggregated metrics collected automatically (e.g., CPU usage, request rates).
• Log-Based Metrics: Time series derived from log data, useful for detailed analysis and diagnostics.
• Custom Metrics: User-defined metrics offering flexibility for tracking specific measurements not covered by standard metrics.

Conclusion

In summary, recommending a logging solution involves a thorough evaluation of operational insights, compliance requirements, and cost constraints. By configuring Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Application Insights, and utilizing various log routing options effectively, one can ensure comprehensive monitoring and logging solutions tailored to the needs of the business while maintaining operational excellence.