AZ-305 Question 13
Select 2A company hosts a multi-tier application on Azure, including multiple VMs that run web services, an AKS cluster for microservices, and Azure Functions for event-driven tasks. They want a unified solution to collect and analyze all logs, metrics, and performance data in one place. You need to recommend a monitoring approach that provides centralized visibility and detailed insights. Which two options should you recommend?
- A
Deploy Azure Monitor for containers to your AKS cluster and use a single Log Analytics workspace for all log data.
- B
Configure the Azure Diagnostics extension for each VM to write log files to separate storage accounts.
- C
Enable Application Insights for the Azure Functions with custom instrumentation for advanced telemetry.
- D
Rely only on each service’s built-in metrics without a centralized workspace or aggregator.
- E
Use Azure Monitor alerts for AKS but store VM metrics in a separate on-premises monitoring system.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answers: A, C
Explanation
A single Log Analytics workspace paired with Azure Monitor features, such as Azure Monitor for containers (for AKS) and Application Insights (for serverless functions), is a best practice for comprehensive, centralized monitoring in Azure. This unified approach simplifies alerting, troubleshooting, and long-term analysis. For more information, see Azure Monitor documentation at https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-monitor.
- A. Correct.
Option 1 is correct. Using Azure Monitor for containers in conjunction with a single Log Analytics workspace unifies logs and metrics from the AKS cluster under a common solution. This approach allows centralized analysis of container-level performance and diagnostic data.
- B. Incorrect.
Option 2 is incorrect. Writing logs to separate storage accounts for each VM fragments your data, making it difficult to analyze logs consistently and preventing centralized visibility.
- C. Correct.
Option 3 is correct. Application Insights is a recommended approach for monitoring Azure Functions, providing detailed telemetry such as request traces and exceptions. It can be connected to a Log Analytics workspace for broader correlation and analytics.
- D. Incorrect.
Option 4 is incorrect. While built-in metrics provide baseline monitoring, relying on each service’s built-in metrics alone does not offer a single-pane-of-glass solution. A centralized aggregator like Log Analytics or Application Insights is essential for effective cross-resource monitoring.
- E. Incorrect.
Option 5 is incorrect. Splitting monitoring data between AKS logs in Azure Monitor and VM metrics in a separate system complicates analysis and troubleshooting. A consistent, unified platform streamlines the monitoring process.