Monitoring and Troubleshooting Azure Applications with Azure Application Insights
You want your applications to work well and keep users pleased. Azure Application Insights helps you by showing real-time data and alerts about your applications. You notice problems right away, so you can fix them quickly. You also get tools that work with other Azure services, which makes it easier to keep things running smoothly. This helps you make your applications more reliable, faster, and keeps users happier.
Key Takeaways
Azure Application Insights gives you real-time data. This helps you watch your app’s performance. You can find problems fast.
Setting up alerts with changing thresholds cuts down on false alarms. This helps you pay attention to real problems in your app.
Custom metrics let you track certain user actions. This gives you ideas about how users use your app.
Check your app’s setup often. This makes sure monitoring works well and you can trust the data.
Watching your app all the time and using automation makes your app better. It also makes users happier over time.
Azure Application Insights Setup
Integration
You want to connect your app to Azure Application Insights. This helps you see how your app works and find problems fast. There are different ways to set up Azure Application Insights with your apps. Here are some common ways:
You can turn on Application Insights when you make a new Azure Function App. This lets you collect data right away.
If you already have a Function App, you can add Application Insights by using the instrumentation key. This key links your app to the monitoring service.
You can also connect web apps, APIs, and other services by adding the Application Insights SDK to your code. This way, you can choose what data to collect.
You pick the way that works best for you. Each method helps you watch your app’s health and speed. When you use Azure Application Insights, you see how users use your app. This helps you find problems before users notice them.
Configuration
After you connect your app, you need to check if it works. You want to make sure the setup is right so you can trust the data. You do not have to redeploy your app to see if monitoring is on. Here are some tips to check your setup:
You can turn on monitoring in Azure App Service for apps built with .NET, Node.js, Python, or Java. This lets you track data without changing your code.
You can use autoinstrumentation by picking Application Insights in the Azure portal. This lets you start monitoring with just a few clicks.
You can make a new Application Insights resource or use one you already have. This helps you manage your setup.
If you use both autoinstrumentation and manual SDK-based instrumentation, only the manual settings will work. This stops duplicate data and keeps your reports clear.
You want to check your setup so you can trust the insights. Good configuration helps you find problems early and make your app better.
Monitoring and Metrics
When you want your application to run smoothly, you need to know what is happening inside it. Azure Application Insights gives you the tools to watch your app’s health and performance. You can use dashboards and alerts to see important data in real time. This helps you find problems before they affect your users. You also learn how your app behaves under different conditions, so you can make smart decisions to improve it.
Performance
You need to track performance because it shows how well your app responds to users. Slow apps can frustrate people and cause them to leave. Azure Application Insights lets you see key performance metrics in one place. You can use dashboards to check these numbers every day. This helps you spot trends and fix issues quickly.
Here is a table that shows some important performance metrics you can track:
You can use these metrics to answer questions like:
Why is my app slow today?
Why are there more errors than usual?
Why does my server use more memory at certain times?
You can also set up alerts. When a metric goes above or below a certain value, you get a notification. This means you can act fast and keep your app running well.
Availability
You want your app to be available all the time. If users cannot reach your app, they may stop using it. Azure Application Insights helps you check if your app is up and running. You can use availability tests to make sure your app responds to requests.
These tests send web requests to your app at regular times.
They check if your app answers quickly and correctly.
If your app does not respond or is too slow, you get an alert.
You can test both HTTP and HTTPS endpoints.
By using these tests, you know right away if your app has a problem. You can fix it before many users notice. This keeps your app reliable and your users happy.
Custom Metrics
Sometimes, you want to track something special about your app. Maybe you want to know how many users finish a game level or how many times a button gets clicked. Azure Application Insights lets you create custom metrics for these needs. You can add code to your app to send these numbers to your dashboard.
Custom metrics help you answer questions like:
Why do users stop at a certain step?
Why does one feature get used more than others?
You can also use custom dashboards. These let you see your custom metrics along with standard ones. You can create views that match your team’s needs. For example:
The Application Insights Overview dashboard gives you a quick look at your app’s health.
The Application Dashboard lets you customize what you see.
Custom KPI Dashboards show data from many sources, including your own metrics.
You can also monitor mobile applications. Azure Application Insights collects data from different platforms. You see how your app works on phones and tablets. You can use multi-dimensional analysis to break down data by device type, location, or user group. This helps you understand why some users have a better experience than others.
Tip: By tracking the right metrics, you learn why your app performs the way it does. You can make changes that improve speed, reliability, and user satisfaction.
Issue Detection
When you want to keep your application healthy, you need to know why things go wrong. Azure Application Insights helps you find the root causes of problems. You can see errors, traces, and dependencies in one place. This makes it easier to fix issues before they affect your users.
Errors
You want to know when your app fails. Errors can make users unhappy and hurt your reputation. Azure Application Insights collects error data from your application. You see which requests fail and how often they happen. This helps you spot patterns and fix problems faster.
Here is a table that shows how you can view failed requests:
You can use this data to answer questions like:
Why do some pages fail more than others?
Why do errors happen at certain times?
You also get alerts when errors increase. This means you can act quickly and keep your app running well.
Traces
You want to understand what happens inside your app. Traces help you follow the path of each request. Azure Application Insights gives you a detailed view of every transaction. You see which steps succeed and which ones fail. This helps you find the exact spot where things go wrong.
You track incoming requests using Request telemetry. This shows you every HTTP request or message.
You monitor calls to other services with Dependency telemetry. This helps you see how your app talks to outside systems.
You use correlation properties like Id, ParentId, and RootId. These link related data together for a full picture.
By following traces, you answer questions like:
Why did this request fail?
Why did this step take longer than usual?
You can connect exceptions and events. This lets you see the whole story behind each problem.
Dependencies
You want to know how your app depends on other services. Sometimes, problems come from outside your app. Azure Application Insights shows you how your app connects to databases, APIs, and other systems. You see which dependencies work well and which ones cause trouble.
Here is a table that explains the tools you can use:
You use these tools to answer questions like:
Why does my app slow down when calling an API?
Why do some database calls fail more often?
You see the big picture and find the real cause of issues. This helps you fix problems at the source.
Tip: When you use Azure Application Insights, you get a single view of your app’s health. You can connect errors, traces, and dependencies. This makes it easier to find and fix problems before users notice.
Troubleshooting
When your app is slow or fails, you want to know why. Azure Application Insights gives you tools to find and fix problems fast. These features help keep your app working well and users happy.
Slow Responses
Slow apps can upset users and hurt your app’s name. You need to know why your app is slow so you can fix it. Azure Application Insights collects data and shows where delays happen.
Turn on application diagnostics to get detailed data.
Use the Application Insights Profiler to find slow code.
Add diagnostic traces in your code if you can.
Try the diagnostics tool in Azure App Service for help.
Watch your app’s metrics in the Azure portal to spot slow times.
These steps help you see hidden problems. You find which part of your app needs fixing before users complain.
Azure Monitor makes troubleshooting better. You get non-stop monitoring and can adjust resources early. You also see logs and performance data together, which helps you understand your app.
Failed Requests
Failed requests stop users from getting what they want. You need to know why requests fail so you can stop it from happening again. Azure Application Insights helps you look into these problems.
Log exceptions in your code. Use
trackException()to record details.Log failed requests, including POST data, and link them to traces.
If you do not see telemetry data, check your SDK or agent settings.
Automated workflows help you fix problems faster. When you collect logs, you make a trail to follow during checks. Automation also cuts mistakes and saves time, so you can work on making your app better.
Best Practices
Alerts
You want to know when something important happens in your app. Too many alerts can make you miss real problems. Setting up alerts the right way helps you focus. You should use dynamic thresholds in your alert rules. These thresholds use machine learning to learn your app’s normal patterns. This reduces false alarms and helps you spot real issues.
Here is a table with tips for setting up alerts and why they help:
Tip: Smart alerting helps you act fast when something goes wrong. It also keeps you from getting too many messages.
Data Retention
You need to keep the right data for the right amount of time. Good data retention helps you find trends and solve problems. It also stops you from using too much storage. Set your retention policy based on how long you need to look back at your data. Review your policy often to make sure it still fits your needs.
You can improve your monitoring by using automation. Here are some ways to keep your monitoring up to date:
Turn on monitoring for all your apps. This gives you a full view of your resources.
Add monitoring to your development pipelines. This keeps your monitoring current as your app changes.
Use autoinstrumentation to collect data automatically. This saves time and makes sure you do not miss important information.
Continuous improvement keeps your app healthy. You can:
Use automated health scores to check your app’s health.
Add health checks to your CI/CD pipelines.
Update your health models as you learn more about your app.
When you follow these best practices, you make sure Azure Application Insights gives you the right information at the right time. This helps you keep your app running smoothly and your users happy.
You want your app to work well and not break. Azure Application Insights helps you with this in a few ways:
You can watch how your app performs and find problems early.
You get alerts and updates right away so you can act fast.
Azure Monitor lets you see lots of details about how your app works.
These steps help you fix things quickly and keep users pleased. If you use these best practices, your app will get better every day.
FAQ
Why should you use Azure Application Insights for your app?
You use Azure Application Insights because it helps you find problems fast. You see live data about your app. This means you can fix issues before users notice. You make your app faster and more reliable.
Why does Application Insights recommend setting up alerts?
You set up alerts to know when something important happens. Alerts tell you about errors or slowdowns right away. You can act quickly and keep your app working well. This helps you protect your users’ experience.
Why do you need custom metrics in Application Insights?
You need custom metrics to track what matters most to your app. Custom metrics show you special actions, like button clicks or game levels finished. You learn how users use your app and make better choices.
Why should you monitor dependencies with Application Insights?
You monitor dependencies to see how outside services affect your app. If a database or API slows down, you find out fast. You fix problems at the source and keep your app healthy.
Why is continuous monitoring important for your application?
Continuous monitoring helps you spot trends and changes over time. You see patterns in performance and errors. You use this knowledge to improve your app every day and keep users happy.