Microsoft Azure Blob Storage is a scalable cloud-based storage service that provides facilities for storing files and media.



This step-by-step guide explains how to setup and monitor Azure Blob Storage using CloudMonix.



In this article


1. Monitoring setup

2. Collect, understand and use your data

    2.1 Metrics

    2.2 Alerts

    2.3 Actions

3. Setup verification and troubleshooting



Did you know?

CloudMonix extends native Azure Blob Storage monitoring with advanced metrics and features. Noteworthy:

  • CloudMonix connects to Azure Blob Storage directly from within own cloud premise thru user-defined IP address and port which need to be white-listed as described in this article
  • CloudMonix receives data from the Azure Storage Analytics API and by directly querying databases
  • CloudMonix supports both Classic and ARM API
  • pre-configured metrics: storage availability, egress / ingress, blob capacity, blob count, container count, recommended actions, response time, resource status, success latency, total requests, API usage details
  • alerts on failed requests detected, reduced availability, resource outages and slow responses




Setup


a. Run the Setup Wizard in the portal (preferred way):


CloudMonix setup wizard

This article explains how to add resources to CloudMonix via the Setup Wizard.




b. Firewall configuration:


CloudMonix monitoring services are hosted in Azure and use static IP addresses to perform monitoring. In certain circumstances user-defined firewall rules may prevent CloudMonix from accessing the monitored resources. Given this scenario, it is necessary to white-list CloudMonix IP addresses as described in this article.




c. Tweak settings in the Definition tab (optional):


Definition tab for an existing resource can be accessed by clicking the resource's monitoring settings in the performance dashboard:


Resource monitoring settings



Definition tab provides optional settings for the resource name, Azure API, Azure resource management token or storage key, Azure resource group, Azure resource name, enforced enabled Storage Analytics, configuration template and categories:


CloudMonix will be able to monitor extended metrics if Enforce enabled Storage Analytics setting is enabled, however additional costs may incur. See this article to learn more.



Important: Azure Storage Analytics is only available for users of Standard Storage tier and will not work for Premium or Blob Storage users.



Definition settings



Best Practices

Configuration Template setting provides pre-defined configuration templates available in CloudMonix by default as well as previously stored custom templates. See predefined templates for Azure Blob Storage for reference.




d. Manual setup (optional instead of the Setup Wizard route):



Click the Add New button in the top right corner of your dashboard:


Add new resource


Fill in required information in the Definition tab as described in the previous step.




e. Advanced configuration:


Advanced configuration


Advanced configuration tab provides additional monitoring settings, which are already set as default for most use-cases.




Collect, understand and use your data


Specific Metrics, Templates, Alerts and Automation Actions for Azure Blob Storage:


Azure Blob Storage Settings




a. Metrics:


Diagnostic data points retrieved from the monitored resource are referred to as metrics . CloudMonix provides default templates for the metrics recommended for common configurations. Metrics can be further added, removed or customized in the Metrics tab of the Azure Blob Storage resource configuration dialog:


CloudMonix Azure Blob Storage monitoring metrics




b. Alerts:


CloudMonix features a sophisticated alert engine that allows alerts to be published for very particular conditions pre-defined by a template configuration or custom based on any of the available metrics. Alerts can be further added, removed or customized in the Alerts tab of the Azure Blob Storage resource configuration dialog:


CloudMonix alerts for Azure Blob Storage




c. Actions:


Actions are automation features that can be configured to fire based on specific conditions or schedule. Actions can be added and configured in the Actions tab of the Azure Blob Storage resource configuration dialog:


Automation allows executing actions on specified conditions. While Azure Blob Storage resource itself doesn't support any actions on its own, CloudMonix provides the possibility to execute calls to custom API endpoints as well as execute Azure Functions, Runbooks and WebJobs on other resources.



CloudMonix Azure Blob Storage automation






Setup verification and troubleshooting


a. Setup verification:


Successful resource setup can be verified by clicking Test button in the resource configuration dialog and visiting the Test Results tab:


Monitoring setup test results



b. Troubleshooting monitoring issues:


CloudMonix provides deep insights into resource monitoring issues via the Status Dashboard screen. The screen allows to overview resources that have raised alerts and troubleshoot them by diving into the monitoring logs.


Status dashboard


Read the full article on how to use Status Dashboard to diagnose resource monitoring issues.