Enabling Azure Monitor for Azure Local Clusters via Code

Azure Monitor is a powerful tool that helps you maximize the performance and availability of your applications and services. By enabling Azure Monitor for your Azure local clusters, you can gain insights into your infrastructure and ensure that everything is running smoothly. In this blog post, we’ll walk you through the steps to enable Azure Monitor for Azure local clusters using code, assuming the Data Collection Rule (DCR) has been created prior if not there are steps below to assist with this.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following:

• An Azure subscription
• Azure CLI installed
• PowerShell installed
• An Azure local cluster
• Necessary permissions to create and manage resources in your Azure subscription

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Log in to Azure

First, you’ll need to log in to your Azure account using the Azure CLI. This step ensures that you have the necessary permissions to manage resources in your subscription.

az login --device-code

Step 2: Set Up Your Environment

Next, you’ll need to set up your environment variables. These variables will be used throughout the script to reference your cluster, resource group, subscription, and other necessary details.

$Clustername = "<YourClusterName>"

$ResourceGroupName = "<YourResourceGroupName>"

$subscription = "<YourSubscriptionID>"

$DCRResourceGroupName = "<YourDCRResourceGroupName>"

$DCRName = "<YourDCRName>"

$location = 'australiaeast'

Optional Step: Create a Data Collection Rule (DCR)

If you haven’t created a Data Collection Rule (DCR) yet, you can follow these steps to create one for Azure Local monitoring. For detailed instructions, refer to the An external link was removed to protect your privacy..

# Create a Data Collection Rule (DCR)

New-AzDataCollectionRule -ResourceGroupName $DCRResourceGroupName -Location $location -Name $DCRName -DataSources @(

    @{

        Kind = "WindowsEventLogs"

        Streams = @("Microsoft-WindowsEventLogs")

        Configuration = @{

            EventLogName = "Application"

            XPathQuery = "*"

        }

    }

) -Destinations @(

    @{

        Kind = "LogAnalytics"

        WorkspaceResourceId = "/subscriptions/<YourSubscriptionID>/resourceGroups/<YourResourceGroupName>/providers/Microsoft.OperationalInsights/workspaces/<YourWorkspaceName>"

    }

)

Step 3: Retrieve Data Collection Rule ID

You’ll need to retrieve the Data Collection Rule (DCR) ID. This ID is essential for configuring Azure Monitor.

$dataCollectionRuleId = (Get-AzDataCollectionRule -ResourceGroupName $DCRResourceGroupName -Name $DCRName).id

Step 4: Get Cluster Arc Settings

Now, you’ll retrieve the Arc settings for your cluster. This will provide you with the necessary details to configure Azure Monitor.

$ClusterarcSettings = "$(az stack-hci arc-setting list --cluster-name $Clustername --resource-group $ResourceGroupName --subscription $subscription --output json)"

$ClusterarcSettingsjson = $ClusterarcSettings | ConvertFrom-Json -AsHashtable

$ClusterarcSettingsclusterID = $ClusterarcSettingsjson.id

$ClusterarcSettingsPerNodeDetails = $ClusterarcSettingsjson.perNodeDetails

Step 5: Enable Azure Monitor Extension

Finally, you’ll enable the Azure Monitor extension for your cluster. This step ensures that Azure Monitor is configured to collect and analyze data from your cluster.

az stack-hci extension create --arc-setting-name "default" --cluster-name $Clustername --resource-group $ResourceGroupName --name AzureMonitorWindowsAgent --publisher Microsoft.Azure.Monitor --type AzureMonitorWindowsAgent --auto-upgrade true

Step 6: Associate Arc Machines with DCR

To complete the setup, you’ll associate each Arc machine in your cluster with the DCR.

foreach($item in $ClusterarcSettingsPerNodeDetails){

    $ArcVMName = $item.name

    $ArcVMNameid = $item.arcInstance

    $associationName = "$ArcVMName-DCR-association"

    write-host "Name = $ArcVMName"

    write-host "ID = $ArcVMNameid"

    Write-Host "Associating Arc machine $ArcVMName to $DCRName in ResourceGroup $ResourceGroupName"

    New-AzDataCollectionRuleAssociation -AssociationName $associationName -ResourceUri $ArcVMNameid -DataCollectionRuleId $dataCollectionRuleId -verbose

}

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can enable Azure Monitor for your Azure local clusters via code. This setup will help you monitor the performance and availability of your infrastructure, ensuring that you can proactively address any issues that arise. Happy monitoring!

Troubleshooting Common Issues

While enabling Azure Monitor for your Azure local clusters, you might encounter some common issues. Here are a few troubleshooting tips to help you resolve them:

Issue 1: Azure CLI Login Failure

If you encounter issues while logging in to Azure using the Azure CLI, ensure that you are using the correct device code and that your Azure subscription is active. You can also try updating the Azure CLI to the latest version.

Issue 2: Data Collection Rule ID Retrieval Failure

If you are unable to retrieve the Data Collection Rule (DCR) ID, verify that the DCR exists in the specified resource group and that you have the necessary permissions to access it. You can also check the Azure portal to confirm the DCR details.

Issue 3: Arc Settings Retrieval Failure

If you encounter issues while retrieving the Arc settings for your cluster, ensure that the cluster name, resource group, and subscription ID are correct. You can also try running the Azure CLI command with the --verbose flag to get more detailed output.

Issue 4: Azure Monitor Extension Enablement Failure

If you are unable to enable the Azure Monitor extension for your cluster, verify that the extension name, publisher, and type are correct. You can also check the Azure portal to confirm the extension details and ensure that your cluster is properly configured.

Issue 5: Data Collection Rule Association Failure

If you encounter issues while associating Arc machines with the DCR, ensure that the Arc machine names and IDs are correct. You can also try running the PowerShell command with the -verbose flag to get more detailed output.