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Enable Insights to monitor Azure Virtual Desktop
Learn how to enable Insights to monitor Azure Virtual Desktop and send diagnostic data to a Log Analytics workspace.
dknappettmsft
how-to
09/12/2023
daknappe
docs_inherited

Enable Insights to monitor Azure Virtual Desktop

Azure Virtual Desktop Insights is a dashboard built on Azure Monitor Workbooks that helps IT professionals understand their Azure Virtual Desktop environments. This topic will walk you through how to set up Azure Virtual Desktop Insights to monitor your Azure Virtual Desktop environments.

Important

The Log Analytics Agent is currently being deprecated. If you use the Log Analytics Agent, you'll eventually need to migrate to the Azure Monitor Agent by August 31, 2024.

Prerequisites

Before you start using Azure Virtual Desktop Insights, you'll need to set up the following things:

  • All Azure Virtual Desktop environments you monitor must be based on the latest release of Azure Virtual Desktop that’s compatible with Azure Resource Manager.

  • At least one configured Log Analytics Workspace. Use a designated Log Analytics workspace for your Azure Virtual Desktop session hosts to ensure that performance counters and events are only collected from session hosts in your Azure Virtual Desktop deployment.

  • Enable data collection for the following things in your Log Analytics workspace:

    • Diagnostics from your Azure Virtual Desktop environment
    • Recommended performance counters from your Azure Virtual Desktop session hosts
    • Recommended Windows Event Logs from your Azure Virtual Desktop session hosts

    The data setup process described in this article is the only one you'll need to monitor Azure Virtual Desktop. You can disable all other items sending data to your Log Analytics workspace to save costs.

  • Anyone monitoring Azure Virtual Desktop Insights for your environment will also need to have the following Azure role-based access control (RBAC) roles assigned as a minimum:

    You can also create a custom role to reduce the scope of assignment on the Log Analytics workspace. For more information, see Manage access to Log Analytics workspaces.

    [!NOTE] Read access only lets admins view data. They'll need different permissions to manage resources in the Azure Virtual Desktop portal.

Log Analytics settings

To start using Azure Virtual Desktop Insights, you'll need at least one Log Analytics workspace. Use a designated Log Analytics workspace for your Azure Virtual Desktop session hosts to ensure that performance counters and events are only collected from session hosts in your Azure Virtual Desktop deployment. If you already have a workspace set up, skip ahead to Set up the configuration workbook. To set one up, see Create a Log Analytics workspace in the Azure portal.

Note

Standard data storage charges for Log Analytics will apply. To start, we recommend you choose the pay-as-you-go model and adjust as you scale your deployment and take in more data. To learn more, see Azure Monitor pricing.

Set up the configuration workbook

If it's your first time opening Azure Virtual Desktop Insights, you'll need to set up Azure Virtual Desktop Insights for your Azure Virtual Desktop environment. To configure your resources:

  1. Open Azure Virtual Desktop Insights in the Azure portal at aka.ms/avdi.
  2. Select Workbooks, then select Check Configuration.
  3. Select an Azure Virtual Desktop environment to configure from the drop-down lists for Subscription, Resource Group, and Host Pool.

The configuration workbook sets up your monitoring environment and lets you check the configuration after you've finished the setup process. It's important to check your configuration if items in the dashboard aren't displaying correctly, or when the product group publishes updates that require new settings.

Resource diagnostic settings

To collect information on your Azure Virtual Desktop infrastructure, you'll need to enable several diagnostic settings on your Azure Virtual Desktop host pools and workspaces (this is your Azure Virtual Desktop workspace, not your Log Analytics workspace). To learn more about host pools, workspaces, and other Azure Virtual Desktop resource objects, see our environment guide.

You can learn more about Azure Virtual Desktop diagnostics and the supported diagnostic tables at Send Azure Virtual Desktop diagnostics to Log Analytics.

To set your resource diagnostic settings in the configuration workbook:

  1. Select the Resource diagnostic settings tab in the configuration workbook.
  2. Select Log Analytics workspace to send Azure Virtual Desktop diagnostics.

Host pool diagnostic settings

To set up host pool diagnostics using the resource diagnostic settings section in the configuration workbook:

  1. Under Host pool, check to see whether Azure Virtual Desktop diagnostics are enabled. If they aren't, an error message will appear that says "No existing diagnostic configuration was found for the selected host pool." You'll need to enable the following supported diagnostic tables:

    • Management Activities
    • Feed
    • Connections
    • Errors
    • Checkpoints
    • HostRegistration
    • AgentHealthStatus

    [!NOTE] If you don't see the error message, you don't need to do steps 2 through 4.

  2. Select Configure host pool.

  3. Select Deploy.

  4. Refresh the configuration workbook.

Workspace diagnostic settings

To set up workspace diagnostics using the resource diagnostic settings section in the configuration workbook:

  1. Under Workspace, check to see whether Azure Virtual Desktop diagnostics are enabled for the Azure Virtual Desktop workspace. If they aren't, an error message will appear that says "No existing diagnostic configuration was found for the selected workspace." You'll need to enable the following supported diagnostics tables:

    • Management Activities
    • Feed
    • Errors
    • Checkpoints

    [!NOTE] If you don't see the error message, you don't need to do steps 2-4.

  2. Select Configure workspace.

  3. Select Deploy.

  4. Refresh the configuration workbook.

Session host data settings

You can use either the Azure Monitor Agent or the Log Analytics agent to collect information on your Azure Virtual Desktop session hosts. We recommend you use the Azure Monitor Agent as the Log Analytics Agent will be deprecated on August 31st, 2024. Select the relevant tab for your scenario.

Azure Monitor Agent

To collect information on your Azure Virtual Desktop session hosts, you must configure a Data Collection Rule (DCR) to collect performance data and Windows Event Logs, associate the session hosts with the DCR, install the Azure Monitor Agent on all session hosts in host pools you're collecting data from, and ensure the session hosts are sending data to a Log Analytics workspace.

The Log Analytics workspace you send session host data to doesn't have to be the same one you send diagnostic data to.

To configure a DCR and select a Log Analytics workspace destination using the configuration workbook:

  1. From the Azure Virtual Desktop overview page, select Host pools, then select the pooled host pool you want to monitor.

  2. From the host pool overview page, select Insights, then select Open Configuration Workbook.

  3. Select the Session host data settings tab in the configuration workbook.

  4. For Workspace destination, select the Log Analytics workspace you want to send session host data to.

  5. For DCR resource group, select the resource group in which you want to create the DCR.

  6. Select Create data collection rule to automatically configure the DCR using the configuration workbook. This option only appears once you've selected a workspace destination and a DCR resource group.

Session hosts

You need to install the Azure Monitor Agent on all session hosts in the host pool and send data from those hosts to your selected Log Analytics workspace. If the session hosts don't all meet the requirements, you'll see a Session hosts section at the top of Session host data settings with the message Some hosts in the host pool are not sending data to the selected Log Analytics workspace.

Note

If you don't see the Session hosts section or error message, all session hosts are set up correctly. Automated deployment is limited to 1000 session hosts or fewer.

To set up your remaining session hosts using the configuration workbook:

  1. Select the DCR you're using for data collection.

  2. Select Deploy association to create the DCR association.

  3. Select Add extension to deploy the Azure Monitor Agent to all the session hosts in the host pool.

  4. Select Add system managed identity to configure the required managed identity.

  5. Once the agent has installed and the managed identity has been added, refresh the configuration workbook.

Note

For larger host pools (over 1,000 session hosts) or if you encounter deployment issues, we recommend you install the Azure Monitor Agent when you create a session host by using an Azure Resource Manager template.

Log Analytics agent

To collect information on your Azure Virtual Desktop session hosts, you'll need to install the Log Analytics agent on all session hosts in the host pool, make sure the session hosts are sending to a Log Analytics workspace, and configure your Log Analytics agent settings to collect performance data and Windows Event Logs.

The Log Analytics workspace you send session host data to doesn't have to be the same one you send diagnostic data to. If you have Azure session hosts outside of your Azure Virtual Desktop environment, we recommend having a designated Log Analytics workspace for the Azure Virtual Desktop session hosts.

To set the Log Analytics workspace where you want to collect session host data:

  1. From the Azure Virtual Desktop overview page, select Host pools, then select the pooled host pool you want to monitor.

  2. From the host pool overview page, select Insights (Legacy), then select Open Configuration Workbook.

  3. Select the Session host data settings tab in the configuration workbook.

  4. Select the Log Analytics workspace you want to send session host data to.

Session hosts

You'll need to install the Log Analytics agent on all session hosts in the host pool and send data from those hosts to your selected Log Analytics workspace. If Log Analytics isn't configured for all the session hosts in the host pool, you'll see a Session hosts section at the top of Session host data settings with the message "Some hosts in the host pool are not sending data to the selected Log Analytics workspace."

Note

If you don't see the Session hosts section or error message, all session hosts are set up correctly. Skip ahead to set up instructions for Workspace performance counters. Currently, automated deployment is limited to 1000 session hosts or fewer.

To set up your remaining session hosts using the configuration workbook:

  1. Select Add hosts to workspace to deploy the Log Analytics Agent to all the session hosts in the host pool.

  2. Once the agent has installed, refresh the configuration workbook.

Note

For larger host pools (> 1000 session hosts), or if there are deployment issues, we recommend you install the Log Analytics agent when you create the session host using an Azure Resource Manager template.

Workspace performance counters

You'll need to enable specific performance counters to collect performance information from your session hosts and send it to the Log Analytics workspace.

If you already have performance counters enabled and want to remove them, follow the instructions in Configuring performance counters. You can add and remove performance counters in the same location.

To set up performance counters using the configuration workbook:

  1. Under Workspace performance counters in the configuration workbook, check Configured counters to see the counters you've already enabled to send to the Log Analytics workspace. Check Missing counters to make sure you've enabled all required counters.
  2. If you have missing counters, select Configure performance counters.
  3. Select Apply Config.
  4. Refresh the configuration workbook.
  5. Make sure all the required counters are enabled by checking the Missing counters list.

Configure Windows Event Logs

You'll also need to enable specific Windows Event Logs to collect errors, warnings, and information from the session hosts and send them to the Log Analytics workspace.

If you've already enabled Windows Event Logs and want to remove them, follow the instructions in Configuring Windows Event Logs. You can add and remove Windows Event Logs in the same location.

To set up Windows Event Logs using the configuration workbook:

  1. Under Windows Event Logs configuration, check Configured Event Logs to see the Event Logs you've already enabled to send to the Log Analytics workspace. Check Missing Event Logs to make sure you've enabled all Windows Event Logs.
  2. If you have missing Windows Event Logs, select Configure Events.
  3. Select Deploy.
  4. Refresh the configuration workbook.
  5. Make sure all the required Windows Event Logs are enabled by checking the Missing Event Logs list.

Note

If automatic event deployment fails, select Open agent configuration in the configuration workbook to manually add any missing Windows Event Logs.

Optional: configure alerts

Azure Virtual Desktop Insights allows you to monitor Azure Monitor alerts happening within your selected subscription in the context of your Azure Virtual Desktop data. Azure Monitor alerts are an optional feature on your Azure subscriptions, and you need to set them up separately from Azure Virtual Desktop Insights. You can use the Azure Monitor alerts framework to set custom alerts on Azure Virtual Desktop events, diagnostics, and resources. To learn more about Azure Monitor alerts, see Azure Monitor Log Alerts.

Diagnostic and usage data

Microsoft automatically collects usage and performance data through your use of the Azure Virtual Desktop Insights service. Microsoft uses this data to improve the quality, security, and integrity of the service.

To provide accurate and efficient troubleshooting capabilities, the collected data includes the portal session ID, Microsoft Entra user ID, and the name of the portal tab where the event occurred. Microsoft doesn't collect names, addresses, or other contact information.

For more information about data collection and usage, see the Microsoft Online Services Privacy Statement.

Note

To learn about viewing or deleting your personal data collected by the service, see Azure Data Subject Requests for the GDPR. For more information about GDPR, see the GDPR section of the Service Trust portal.

Next steps

Now that you’ve configured Azure Virtual Desktop Insights for your Azure Virtual Desktop environment, here are some resources that might help you start monitoring your environment: