Edit

Share via

Use Azure Log Analytics to monitor standby pool events for Azure Container Instances

Important

For standby pools to successfully create and manage resources, it requires access to the associated resources in your subscription. Ensure the correct permissions are assigned to the standby pool resource provider in order for your standby pool to function properly. For detailed instructions, see configure role permissions for standby pools.

Azure Log Analytics provides a powerful platform for monitoring and analyzing events from standby pools in Azure Container Instances. By integrating your standby pools with a Log Analytics workspace, you can track key metrics, analyze trends, and set up alerts for critical events.

Available metrics and tables

There are two main tables where you can view logs associated with your standby pool: SCGPoolRequestLog and SCGPoolExecutionLog.

Table name Description
SCGPoolRequestLog Contains logs for user-initiated events, such as updates to pool settings.
SCGrPoolExecutionLog Contains logs for system-initiated events, such as standby pool operations like degraded mode, container reuse, and pool refills.

Within the above tables, you can query specific pool-related events as described below:

Event name Description
StandbyPoolExhaustedPool Triggered when the standby pool instance count reaches zero and can't create more containers because the pool's max ready capacity is less than or equal to the container group instance count. This typically occurs when no minimum ready capacity is configured.
StandbyPoolReuseSuccess Triggered when a container instance is successfully moved from the standby pool into the container group.
StandbyPoolReuseFailure Triggered when the container group requests a container from the standby pool but is unable to provide one, causing the container group to create a new container directly.
StandbyPoolSettingsUpdated Triggered when a setting is changed on the standby pool resource, such as adjusting the min/max ready capacity or the container state.
StandbyPoolMaxReadyPool Triggered when the number of instances in the standby pool are replenished enough to meet the maximum ready capacity set by the customer.
StandbyPoolDegradedPool Triggered when the instances within the standby pool are unable to successfully provision the requested resources, causing the pool to enter a degraded mode for 30 seconds.
StandbyPoolExitDegradedPool Triggered when the timeout on degraded mode expires, and the pool is now attempting to create resources again.

Configure Log Analytics for standby pools

A Log Analytics workspace is a centralized data repository in Azure Monitor that allows you to collect, analyze, and query telemetry data from various Azure resources and services.

Create a Log Analytics workspace

Before configuring monitoring for standby pools, ensure you have a Log Analytics workspace set up.

  1. Navigate to the Azure portal.
  2. In the search bar, type Log Analytics workspaces and select it from the results.
  3. Click + Create.
  4. Fill in the required fields:
    • Subscription: Select the subscription to associate with the workspace.
    • Resource group: Choose an existing resource group or create a new one.
    • Name: Enter a unique name for the workspace.
    • Region: Select the region for the workspace.
  5. Click Review + Create, then Create to deploy the workspace.

Configure diagnostic settings for standby pools

To send information to the Log Analytics workspace configured, set up diagnostic settings for your standby pool resource. After configuring the diagnostic settings, it takes about 30 minutes before any logs will begin showing up in the log analytics workspace. Events that occurred before configuring the log analytics workspace won't be included.

Note

Enabling a diagnostic setting for a standby pool resource is not yet available from the Azure portal. Instead, enable a diagnostic setting using an alternative SDK such as PowerShell or CLI.

az monitor diagnostic-settings create \
  --name "standbyPoolLogs" \
  --resource "/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroup}/providers/Microsoft.StandbyPool/standbyContainerPools/{standbyPool}" \
  --workspace "/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroup}/providers/Microsoft.OperationalInsights/workspaces/{logAnalyticsWorkspace}" \
  --logs '[{"categoryGroup": "allLogs", "enabled": true}]'

Query standby pool events

  1. Go to the Azure portal.
  2. In the search bar at the top, type Log Analytics workspaces and select it from the results.
  3. Select the Log Analytics workspace you configured for your standby pool.
  4. In the workspace menu, click Logs under the General section to open the query editor.

Query standby pool events

Use the following queries to analyze events from the SCGPoolRequestLog and SCGlExecutionLog tables:

View user-initiated events from SCGPoolRequestLog

SCGPoolRequestLog
| where TimeGenerated > ago(24h)
| project TimeGenerated, EventName, ResourceId, Details
| order by TimeGenerated desc

View system-initiated events from SCGPoolExecutionLog

SCGPoolExecutionLog
| where TimeGenerated > ago(24h)
| project TimeGenerated, EventName, ResourceId, Details
| order by TimeGenerated desc

Count events by type

SCGPoolRequestLog
| summarize Count = count() by EventName
| union (
    SCGPoolExecutionLog
    | summarize Count = count() by EventName
)
| order by Count desc

Set up alerts for specific events

To ensure you're notified of critical events, you can set up alerts in Azure Monitor based on the events in the SCGPoolRequestLog and SCGPoolExecutionLog tables.

Create an alert for failed standby pool actions

  1. Navigate to the Azure portal.

  2. In the search bar, type Monitor and select it from the results.

  3. In the Monitor menu, select Alerts under the Monitoring section.

  4. Click + New alert rule.

  5. Configure the alert:

    • Scope: Select your Log Analytics workspace.
    • Condition: Use the following custom log query: 
      SCGPoolExecutionLog
| where EventName == "StandbyPoolReuseFailure"
    • Action group: Create or select an action group to define how you want to be notified.
    • Alert rule details: Provide a name for the alert and set the severity level.

  6. Click Create alert rule to save the alert.

Create an alert for exhausted standby pools

  1. Follow steps 1–4 from the previous example.

  2. Configure the alert:

    • Scope: Select your Log Analytics workspace.
    • Condition: Use the following custom log query: 
      SCGPoolExecutionLog
| where EventName == "StandbyPoolExhaustedPool"
    • Action group: Create or select an action group for notifications.
    • Alert rule details: Provide a name for the alert and set the severity level.

  3. Click Create alert rule to save the alert.

Create an alert for frequent pool setting updates

  1. Follow steps 1–4 from the first example.

  2. Configure the alert:

    • Scope: Select your Log Analytics workspace.
    • Condition: Use the following custom log query: 
      SCGPoolRequestLog
| where EventName == "StandbyPoolSettingsUpdated"
| summarize Count = count() by bin(TimeGenerated, 1h)
| where Count > 5
      This query triggers an alert if more than 5 pool setting updates occur within an hour.
    • Action group: Create or select an action group for notifications.
    • Alert rule details: Provide a name for the alert and set the severity level.

  3. Click Create alert rule to save the alert.

Next steps