Connecting Application Insights Logs and Query Through Logic Apps

Application Insights is a powerful monitoring tool within Azure that provides insights into application performance and diagnostics. Logic Apps, on the other hand, enable workflow automation for integrating various Azure services. By combining these tools, you can automate querying Application Insights logs and take actions based on the results. This blog explains how to set up this connection step-by-step.

Prerequisites

Before proceeding, ensure you have the following:

1. Azure Subscription: An active Azure account.
2. Application Insights Resource: The resource you want to query logs from.
3. Log Analytics Workspace: Linked to your Application Insights.
4. Logic Apps Resource: An existing or new Logic App to configure.
5. Permissions: Adequate permissions to read Application Insights data and modify Logic Apps.

Step 1: Enable Logs in Application Insights

To ensure Application Insights data is accessible:

1. Navigate to your Application Insights resource in the Azure portal.
2. Under Settings, select Logs.
3. Ensure your Application Insights resource is connected to a Log Analytics Workspace.

Step 2: Create a KQL Query

KQL (Kusto Query Language) is used to query Application Insights logs:

1. Go to Logs in your Application Insights resource.
2. Write a KQL query for the data you wish to retrieve. For instance:traces | where timestamp >= ago(1h) | summarize Count=count() by severityLevel
3. Test and save the query.

Step 3: Set Up a Logic App

Create a Logic App that will query Application Insights:

1. In the Azure portal, create a new Logic App or open an existing one.
2. In the Logic App designer, search for HTTP and add the “HTTP” action as the trigger.
3. Configure the HTTP trigger:

   • Method: POST
   • URI: The Azure Monitor REST API endpoint for Log Analytics: https://api.loganalytics.io/v1/workspaces/{workspaceId}/query
     Replace {workspaceId} with your Log Analytics Workspace ID.

Step 4: Configure Logic App Actions

To execute and process the query:

1. Add the Headers in the HTTP action:

• Authorization: Bearer <access_token> (use Azure AD for authentication).
• Content-Type: application/json

2. Add a Body for the request:
“`json
{
“query”: “traces | where timestamp >= ago(1h) | summarize Count=count() by severityLevel”
}

3. Add actions to handle the response, such as sending an email or creating an alert based on the query results.

Step 5: Test the Workflow

1. Save and run the Logic App.
2. Verify the output by checking the Logic App run history.
3. Ensure the query executes correctly and the desired actions are performed.

Use Cases

1. Real-Time Alerts: Trigger alerts when specific patterns are detected in Application Insights logs.
2. Report Automation: Generate and send daily or weekly reports based on Application Insights data.
3. Integration with Other Services: Automate responses by integrating with services like Teams, Slack, or Azure DevOps.

Conclusion

Integrating Application Insights logs with Logic Apps is a straightforward way to automate log queries and responses. By leveraging the power of KQL and Azure’s automation capabilities, you can create robust workflows that monitor and react to your application’s performance metrics in real-time.

Explore these steps to maximize the synergy between Application Insights and Logic Apps for a more proactive and automated approach to application monitoring and management.

We hope you found this blog useful, and if you would like to discuss anything, you can reach out to us at transform@cloudfonts.com.