1.4 Monitor Networks
📘Microsoft Azure Networking Solutions (AZ-700)
1. What is Azure Monitor Network Insights?
Azure Monitor Network Insights is a tool in Azure that helps you see, monitor, and troubleshoot your network resources. Think of it as a control center for your network in Azure. It helps IT administrators ensure that network resources are healthy, performing well, and connected properly.
Key features:
- Provides visibility into network health and connectivity.
- Helps troubleshoot problems like connectivity issues, performance bottlenecks, or misconfigured resources.
- Monitors both virtual networks and hybrid networks (networks connected on-premises to Azure).
2. How it Works
Azure Monitor Network Insights uses Azure Monitor, which collects metrics, logs, and diagnostic information from your network resources. These include:
- Network Watcher: Monitors network traffic and flow.
- Metrics: Data about performance (like latency, throughput, dropped packets).
- Logs: Records of network activity, events, and errors.
- Topology Map: Visual map of your network to see how everything is connected.
It collects all this information in one place, so you can quickly identify and fix issues.
3. Key Capabilities for Monitoring Networks
Here’s what you can do with Network Insights:
a) Monitor Connectivity
- You can check if your Azure virtual machines (VMs) or services are connected correctly.
- For example, if a VM cannot reach a database server, Network Insights can show where the connection is failing.
- Tools used:
- Connection Monitor: Continuously checks connectivity between resources.
- Next Hop: Finds the next network hop (like a router or firewall) a packet takes to reach a destination.
b) Track Network Health
- Azure Monitor collects metrics about network devices like:
- Latency (delay in network traffic)
- Packet loss (data not reaching the destination)
- Throughput (how much data passes per second)
- If these metrics go beyond a threshold, you get alerts.
c) Visualize Network Topology
- Network Insights can draw your network map:
- Shows VMs, subnets, virtual networks, and firewalls.
- Shows connections between resources.
- Helps quickly locate misconfigured resources.
d) Troubleshoot Network Issues
Some examples of problems you can troubleshoot:
- A VM cannot access the internet → use Connection Monitor to find the failure.
- Network performance is slow → check metrics like latency or throughput.
- Firewalls blocking traffic → check Network Security Group (NSG) flow logs.
4. How to Use Azure Monitor Network Insights in Practice
- Enable Network Watcher
- Network Watcher must be enabled in your Azure region to monitor networks.
- It allows you to collect logs, metrics, and use diagnostic tools.
- Set Up Connection Monitor
- Define source and destination for monitoring.
- Azure will continuously test connectivity and show failures in dashboards.
- Analyze Topology
- Open Network Insights in Azure portal.
- View network diagram to understand how resources are connected.
- Identify broken or unhealthy connections.
- Review Metrics and Alerts
- Check latency, packet loss, and throughput.
- Configure alerts to notify you when thresholds are exceeded.
- Use Logs for Troubleshooting
- NSG flow logs: See which traffic is allowed or denied.
- Diagnostic logs: Identify firewall or routing issues.
5. Key Exam Points to Remember
For AZ-700, you should be able to:
- Explain what Network Insights is used for:
- Monitoring, visualizing, and troubleshooting network health and connectivity.
- Identify tools inside Network Insights:
- Network Watcher, Connection Monitor, Topology Map, Next Hop, NSG flow logs.
- Describe how to monitor connectivity and performance:
- Metrics: latency, packet loss, throughput.
- Alerts: notifications for unhealthy resources.
- Use logs for troubleshooting:
- NSG flow logs to check traffic rules.
- Diagnostic logs for errors.
- Understand practical steps to monitor networks:
- Enable Network Watcher → Set up Connection Monitor → Analyze topology → Check metrics → Review logs.
6. Quick Exam Tips
- Always remember Network Watcher must be enabled per region.
- Connection Monitor is continuous, while Next Hop is used on-demand.
- Topology Map is very useful for visual troubleshooting.
- NSG flow logs are essential for security and connectivity troubleshooting.
- Focus on metrics like latency, throughput, and packet loss, as they often appear in exam scenarios.
✅ Summary in one sentence:
Azure Monitor Network Insights helps you monitor, visualize, and troubleshoot your Azure network by providing connectivity checks, performance metrics, logs, and topology maps, making it easier to maintain healthy and secure network environments.
