Microsoft: Azure PowerPack Release Notes, version 120

Version 120 of the Microsoft: Azure PowerPack updates the "silo_apps" version, adds a new run book automation and run book action, and addresses multiple issues.

  • Minimum Required SL1 Version: 11.3.0

Before You Install or Upgrade

Ensure that you are running version 11.3.0 or later of SL1 before installing "Microsoft: Azure" PowerPack version 120.

For details on upgrading SL1, see the relevant SL1 Platform Release Notes.

NOTE: As of Microsoft Azure Classic PowerPack version 106, Data Collectors running CentOS can no longer discover and monitor Microsoft Azure.

Prior to using the multiple subscription functionality introduced in version 104, ScienceLogic recommends that you review your device capacity and load limits to determine the best method for implementation.

Installation Process

To install this PowerPack:

  1. Search for and download the PowerPack from the PowerPacks page (Product Downloads > PowerPacks & SyncPacks) at the ScienceLogic Support Site.
  2. In SL1, go to the PowerPacks page (System > Manage > PowerPacks).
  3. Click the Actions menu and choose Import PowerPack. The Import PowerPack modal appears.
  4. Click Browse and navigate to the PowerPack file from step 1.
  5. Select the PowerPack file and click Import. The PowerPack Installer modal displays a list of the PowerPack contents.
  6. Click Install. The PowerPack is added to the PowerPack Manager page.

See the manual Monitoring Microsoft Azure for instructions on using the new PowerPack.

Upgrading the Microsoft: Azure PowerPack from Version 104 and Later

By default, installing a new version of a PowerPack will overwrite all content in that PowerPack that has already been installed on the target system. You can use the Enable Selective PowerPack Field Protection setting in the Behavior Settings page (System > Settings > Behavior) to prevent the new version of the PowerPack from overwriting local changes for some commonly customized fields.

To upgrade the Microsoft: Azure PowerPack from version 104 and later:

  1. Familiarize yourself with the Known Issues for this release.
  2. See the Before You Upgrade section. If you have not done so already, upgrade your system to the minimum required platform version or later release.
  3. Download this version of the PowerPack from the Support Site to a local computer.
  1. Before importing and installing this version of the PowerPack, you must disable the existing tree of Azure parent and component devices, recursively. To do so:
  • Go to the Device Components page (Registry > Devices > Device Components)
  • Collapse the root Azure component device.
  • Select the root Azure device's checkbox.
  • Click the Select Action drop-down menu. Under Change Collection State, select Disabled (recursive), and then click [Go].
  1. Go to the PowerPack Manager page (System > Manage > PowerPacks). Click the Actions menu and choose Import PowerPack. Import the Version 120 of the Microsoft: Azure PowerPack. For details on importing PowerPacks, see the chapter on Installing a PowerPack in the PowerPacks manual.
  2. Click the Install button. For details on installing PowerPacks, see the chapter on Installing a PowerPack in the PowerPacks manual.
  3. If you are implementing the multiple subscription feature, go to the Credential Management page (System > Manage > Credentials) and create a new credential or edit an existing one as needed for use with the multiple subscription configuration. (For more information, see the manual Monitoring Microsoft Azure.)
  4. You must now enable the existing tree of Azure parent and component devices, recursively. To do so:
  • Go to the Device Components page (Registry > Devices > Device Components)
  • Collapse the root Azure component device.
  • Select the root Azure component device's checkbox.
  • Click the Select Action drop-down menu. Under Change Collection State, select Active (recursive), and then click [Go].

Features

This release includes the following features:

  • Dynamic Applications that enable SL1 to discover, model, and monitor performance metrics and collect configuration data for Azure resources
  • Event Policies that are triggered when Azure resources meet certain status criteria
  • Device Classes for each Azure data center location and all of the Azure resources that SL1 monitors
  • Example credentials for discovering Azure resources
  • A Credential Test to ensure that your Azure credential works as expected
  • Run Book Action and Automation policies that can automate certain Azure monitoring processes

Enhancements and Issues Addressed

The following enhancements and addressed issues are included this release of the "Microsoft: Azure":

  • Added the following to the PowerPack:
    • Run Book Actions
      • Microsoft: Azure Collect Databricks Configuration
      • Microsoft: Azure Disable By Databrick Tag

      • NOTE:The run book actions use sensitive cases, so you must detail the tag in the snippet the same as the one you set in the portal.

    • Automation policy 
      • Microsoft Azure: Disable Databricks
    • Device Group
      • Microsoft Azure: Databricks
  • Restored the default collection of DTU metrics for the "Microsoft Azure SQL Database Performance" Dynamic Application. (Case: 00385443)
  • Renamed the Azure Credit Example to "Azure Credit-Example" and also removed a duplicate Azure Credit Example. (Case: 00419448)
  • Added the documentation detailing the permissions needed to execute run book actions to the Monitoring Microsoft: Azure version 120 PowerPack for SaaS customers using RDS and customers using a custom user. (Case: 00354727)
  • Added Azure West US 3 location for fresh discoveries to device classes.
  • Added silo_api_support library version 0.1.4 to the PowerPack.
  • Added the port_to_use configuration option to the "Microsoft: Azure Collect VM configuration" run book action. This option allows you to manually specify the discovery port.
  • Restored the following collection and presentation objects from the "Microsoft: Azure App Performance" Dynamic Application for non-Linux Apps only: (Case: 00394872)
    • AppConnections
    • CurrentAssemblies
    • Gen0Collections
    • Gen1Collections
    • Gen2Collections
    • Handles
    • IoOtherBytesPerSecond
    • OiOtherOperationsPerSecond
    • PrivateBytes
    • RequestsInApplicationQueue
    • Threads
    • TotalAppDomains
    • TotalAppDomainsUnloaded
  • Removed the requirement for the discovery of a locally attached Network Security Group on the virtual machine from the "Microsoft: Azure Discover From IP" Run Book Action process. (Case: 00402291)
  • Updated the silo_apps version to 5.1.2 to support updated encryption types.
  • Restored the following collection and presentation objects from the "Microsoft: Azure Function App Performance" Dynamic Application for non-Linux Function Apps only:
    • Threads
    • Current Assemblies
    • Gen 0 Collections
    • Gen 1 Collections
    • Gen 2 Collections
  • Updated the path of extended logging (credential with "LOGGING" header) to /data/logs/azure.log.

Known Issues

The following known issues affect version 120 of the Microsoft: Azure PowerPack:

  • The "Azure Credential Test - ARM" will not work in version 12.2.1 of SL1.

  • There is an issue with device groups in SL1 that may affect the execution of run book actions.

    • As a workaround, after installing the PowerPack, resave the Azure device groups:

      • Go to the Device Groups page (Registry > Devices > Device Groups)

      • Locate one of the Microsoft Azure device groups and click its wrench icon.

      • Click the Save button.

  • According to the official Azure page, China subscription does not have endpoints for Tenants (Active Directory) and CDN. ScienceLogic, recommends that you disable the Collection Objects of "Microsoft: Azure Active Directory Tenant Discovery" and "Microsoft: Azure CDN Service Discovery" Dynamic Applications for China subscription.

    • To disable the Collection Objects, run the following SQL queries on the Database Tool (System>Tools>DB Tool):

      • Query 1, to get the DIDs that have the Dynamic Applications that need disabling:

    • #Replace the <ROOT_ID1, ROOT_ID2,...> and run the query to get DIDs

    • SELECT DISTINCT(did) FROM master.dynamic_app_collection AS app_coll

    • JOIN master.dynamic_app AS app ON app.aid = app_coll.app_id

    • WHERE

    • did IN (SELECT did FROM collector_state.V_device WHERE parent_did IN (<ROOT_ID1, ROOT_ID2,...>)) AND

    • app.app_guid IN ("1E854E85AC1734486E598711DD3C6E8B", "D7403B5542C9D6DBB5DD0BE247CDB084"); 

      • Query 2, to disable the Collection Objects of "Microsoft: Azure Active Directory Tenant Discovery" and "Microsoft: Azure CDN Service Discovery" Dynamic Applications:

    • #Replace <DID1, DID2,...> with data collected in Query 1

    • UPDATE master.dynamic_app_collection AS app_coll

    • JOIN master.dynamic_app AS app ON app.aid = app_coll.app_id

    • SET

      • app_coll.`collect` = 0,

      • app_coll.edited_by = 1

    • WHERE app.app_guid IN ("1E854E85AC1734486E598711DD3C6E8B", "D7403B5542C9D6DBB5DD0BE247CDB084")

    • AND app_coll.did IN (<DID1, DID2,...>);

  • If there is a device under any Azure service that contains special characters, the device will display as an empty service container as devices with special characters will not be discovered. This will be addressed in an upcoming release.
  • After upgrading, you may notice critical events for SQL database resources at the Azure root component level. This is expected and should disappear after a few polling cycles. If this does not resolve, contact ScienceLogic Support.
  • If you encounter a 529 error, this is usually a temporary issue with the Microsoft API service.
  • Some environments could experience an issue when installing the PowerPack in which the installation window will show that the PowerPack is still installing when the PowerPack has finished being installed. If this occurs, users can close the window and check the PowerPack version number in the PowerPack Manager page (System > Manage > PowerPacks) to confirm that installation has completed.
  • The default metric System Availability requires an availability report every five minutes by default. However, the "Microsoft Azure: Virtual Machine Discovery" Dynamic Application runs every 15 minutes by default, which causes gaps in the data. To avoid seeing gaps in System Availability, reduce the default poll time for the Discovery Dynamic Application to five minutes.
  • When discovering a large number of component devices, the discovery process can cause the appearance of numerous critical events with the message, "Large backlog of asynchronous jobs detected".
  • The Dynamic Application "Microsoft: Azure Backup Policy Configuration" retrieves an additional parameter (HourlyLogBackup) that is not displayed in the Azure portal. The parameter does not contain a value. This issue is caused by a parameter being available in the Azure API but not in the Azure portal.

NOTE: This issue does not occur for Microsoft Azure Government subscribers.

  • In Microsoft Azure, no count appears for Recovery Service Vault > Backup items > Azure Backup Server. This is a bug in the Azure API.
  • The API for Microsoft Azure Government does not currently provide performance data for Azure Application Gateways. This is a bug in the Azure API.
  • The API for Microsoft Azure Government does not currently support the following performance data for Azure SQL Databases: deadlock, dtu_consumption_percent, dtu_limit, dtu_used, log_write_percent, sessions_percent, storage, storage_percent, workers_percent, and xtp_storage_percent. This is a bug in the Azure API.