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title titleSuffix description services documentationcenter author ms.service ms.topic ms.tgt_pltfrm ms.workload ms.date ms.author
Create Connection Monitor - Azure portal
Azure Network Watcher
This article describes how to create a monitor in Connection Monitor by using the Azure portal.
network-watcher
na
vinynigam
network-watcher
how-to
na
infrastructure-services
11/23/2020
vinigam

Create a monitor in Connection Monitor by using the Azure portal

Important

Starting 1 July 2021, you will not be able to add new tests in an existing workspace or enable a new workspace in Network Performance Monitor. You will also not be able to add new connection monitors in Connection Monitor (classic). You can continue to use the tests and connection monitors created prior to 1 July 2021. To minimize service disruption to your current workloads, migrate your tests from Network Performance Monitor or migrate from Connection Monitor (classic) to the new Connection Monitor in Azure Network Watcher before 29 February 2024.

Important

Connection Monitor will now support end to end connectivity checks from and to Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets, enabling faster performance monitoring and network troubleshooting across scale sets

Learn how to use Connection Monitor to monitor communication between your resources. This article describes how to create a monitor by using the Azure portal. Connection Monitor supports hybrid and Azure cloud deployments.

Before you begin

In connection monitors that you create by using Connection Monitor, you can add both on-premises machines, Azure VMs and Azure Virtual Machine scale sets as sources. These connection monitors can also monitor connectivity to endpoints. The endpoints can be on Azure or on any other URL or IP.

Here are some definitions to get you started:

  • Connection monitor resource. A region-specific Azure resource. All the following entities are properties of a connection monitor resource.
  • Endpoint. A source or destination that participates in connectivity checks. Examples of endpoints include:
    • Azure VMs.
    • Azure virtual networks.
    • Azure subnets.
    • On-premises agents.
    • On-premises subnets.
    • On-premises custom networks that include multiple subnets.
    • URLs and IPs.
  • Test configuration. A protocol-specific configuration for a test. Based on the protocol you choose, you can define the port, thresholds, test frequency, and other parameters.
  • Test group. The group that contains source endpoints, destination endpoints, and test configurations. A connection monitor can contain more than one test group.
  • Test. The combination of a source endpoint, destination endpoint, and test configuration. A test is the most granular level at which monitoring data is available. The monitoring data includes the percentage of checks that failed and the round-trip time (RTT).

:::image type="content" source="./media/connection-monitor-2-preview/cm-tg-2.png" alt-text="Diagram that shows a connection monitor and defines the relationship between test groups and tests.":::

Note

Connection Monitor now supports auto enablement of monitoring extensions for Azure & Non-Azure endpoints, thus eliminating the need for manual installation of monitoring solutions during the creation of Connection Monitor.

Create a connection monitor

To create a monitor in Connection Monitor by using the Azure portal:

  1. On the Azure portal home page, go to Network Watcher.

  2. In the left pane, in the Monitoring section, select Connection monitor.

    You'll see all the connection monitors that were created in Connection Monitor. To see the connection monitors that were created in the classic Connection Monitor, go to the Connection monitor tab.

    :::image type="content" source="./media/connection-monitor-2-preview/cm-resource-view.png" alt-text="Screenshot that shows connection monitors created in Connection Monitor.":::

  3. In the Connection Monitor dashboard, in the upper-left corner, select Create.

  4. On the Basics tab, enter information for your connection monitor:

    • Connection Monitor Name: Enter a name for your connection monitor. Use the standard naming rules for Azure resources.
    • Subscription: Select a subscription for your connection monitor.
    • Region: Select a region for your connection monitor. You can select only the source VMs that are created in this region.
    • Workspace configuration: Choose a custom workspace or the default workspace. Your workspace holds your monitoring data.
      • To use the default workspace, select the check box.
      • To choose a custom workspace, clear the check box. Then select the subscription and region for your custom workspace.

    :::image type="content" source="./media/connection-monitor-2-preview/create-cm-basics.png" alt-text="Screenshot that shows the Basics tab in Connection Monitor.":::

  5. At the bottom of the tab, select Next: Test groups.

  6. Add sources, destinations, and test configurations in your test groups. To learn about setting up your test groups, see Create test groups in Connection Monitor.

    :::image type="content" source="./media/connection-monitor-2-preview/create-tg.png" alt-text="Screenshot that shows the Test groups tab in Connection Monitor.":::

  7. At the bottom of the tab, select Next: Create Alerts. To learn about creating alerts, see Create alerts in Connection Monitor.

    :::image type="content" source="./media/connection-monitor-2-preview/create-alert.png" alt-text="Screenshot that shows the Create alert tab.":::

  8. At the bottom of the tab, select Next: Review + create.

  9. On the Review + create tab, review the basic information and test groups before you create the connection monitor. If you need to edit the connection monitor, you can do so by going back to the respective tabs. :::image type="content" source="./media/connection-monitor-2-preview/review-create-cm.png" alt-text="Screenshot that shows the Review + create tab in Connection Monitor.":::

    [!NOTE] The Review + create tab shows the cost per month during the Connection Monitor stage. Currently, the Current Cost/Month column shows no charge. When Connection Monitor becomes generally available, this column will show a monthly charge.

    Even during the Connection Monitor stage, Log Analytics ingestion charges apply.

  10. When you're ready to create the connection monitor, at the bottom of the Review + create tab, select Create.

Connection Monitor creates the connection monitor resource in the background.

Create test groups in a connection monitor

Note

Connection Monitor now supports auto enablement of monitoring extensions for Azure & Non-Azure endpoints, thus eliminating the need for manual installation of monitoring solutions during the creation of Connection Monitor.

Each test group in a connection monitor includes sources and destinations that get tested on network parameters. They're tested for the percentage of checks that fail and the RTT over test configurations.

In the Azure portal, to create a test group in a connection monitor, you specify values for the following fields:

  • Disable test group: You can select this check box to disable monitoring for all sources and destinations that the test group specifies. This selection is cleared by default.

  • Name: Name your test group.

  • Sources: You can specify both Azure VMs and on-premises machines as sources if agents are installed on them. To learn about installing an agent for your source, see Install monitoring agents.

    • To choose Azure agents, select the Azure endpoints tab. Here you see only VMs or Virtual Machine scale sets that are bound to the region that you specified when you created the connection monitor. By default, VMs and Virtual Machine scale sets are grouped into the subscription that they belong to. These groups are collapsed.

      You can drill down from the Subscription level to other levels in the hierarchy:

      Subscription > Resource group > VNET > Subnet > VMs with agents

      You can also change the Group by selector to start the tree from any other level. For example, if you group by virtual network, you see the VMs that have agents in the hierarchy VNET > Subnet > VMs with agents.

      When you select a VNET, subnet, a single VM or a virtual machine scale set the corresponding resource ID is set as the endpoint. By default, all VMs in the selected VNET or subnet participate in monitoring. To reduce the scope, either select specific subnets or agents or change the value of the scope property.

      :::image type="content" source="./media/connection-monitor-2-preview/add-sources-1.png" alt-text="Screenshot that shows the Add Sources pane and the Azure endpoints including V M S S tab in Connection Monitor.":::

    • To choose on-premises agents, select the Non–Azure endpoints tab. By default, agents are grouped into workspaces by region. All these workspaces have the Network Performance Monitor configured.

      If you need to add Network Performance Monitor to your workspace, get it from Azure Marketplace. For information about how to add Network Performance Monitor, see Monitoring solutions in Azure Monitor. For information about how to configure agents for on-premises machines, see Agents for on-premises machines.

      Under Create Connection Monitor, on the Basics tab, the default region is selected. If you change the region, you can choose agents from workspaces in the new region. You can select one or more agents or subnets. In the Subnet view, you can select specific IPs for monitoring. If you add multiple subnets, a custom on-premises network named OnPremises_Network_1 will be created. You can also change the Group by selector to group by agents.

      :::image type="content" source="./media/connection-monitor-2-preview/add-non-azure-sources.png" alt-text="Screenshot that shows the Add Sources pane and the Non-Azure endpoints tab in Connection Monitor.":::

    • To choose recently used endpoints, you can use the Recent endpoint tab

    • You need not choose the endpoints with monitoring agents enabled only. You can select Azure or Non-Azure endpoints without the agent enabled and proceed with the creation of Connection Monitor. During the creation process, the monitoring agents for the endpoints will be automatically enabled. :::image type="content" source="./media/connection-monitor-2-preview/unified-enablement.png" alt-text="Screenshot that shows the Add Sources pane and the Non-Azure endpoints tab in Connection Monitor with unified enablement.":::

    • When you finish setting up sources, select Done at the bottom of the tab. You can still edit basic properties like the endpoint name by selecting the endpoint in the Create Test Group view.

  • Destinations: You can monitor connectivity to an Azure VM, an on-premises machine, or any endpoint (a public IP, URL, or FQDN) by specifying it as a destination. In a single test group, you can add Azure VMs, on-premises machines, Office 365 URLs, Dynamics 365 URLs, and custom endpoints.

    • To choose Azure VMs as destinations, select the Azure endpoints tab. By default, the Azure VMs are grouped into a subscription hierarchy that's in the region that you selected under Create Connection Monitor on the Basics tab. You can change the region and choose Azure VMs from the new region. Then you can drill down from the Subscription level to other levels in the hierarchy, just as you can when you set the source Azure endpoints.

      You can select VNETs, subnets, or single VMs, as you can when you set the source Azure endpoints. When you select a VNET, subnet, or single VM, the corresponding resource ID is set as the endpoint. By default, all VMs in the selected VNET or subnet that have the Network Watcher extension participate in monitoring. To reduce the scope, either select specific subnets or agents or change the value of the scope property.

      :::image type="content" source="./media/connection-monitor-2-preview/add-azure-dests1.png" alt-text="":::

      :::image type="content" source="./media/connection-monitor-2-preview/add-azure-dests2.png" alt-text="":::

    • To choose non-Azure agents as destinations, select the Non-Azure endpoints tab. By default, agents are grouped into workspaces by region. All these workspaces have Network Performance Monitor configured.

      If you need to add Network Performance Monitor to your workspace, get it from Azure Marketplace. For information about how to add Network Performance Monitor, see Monitoring solutions in Azure Monitor. For information about how to configure agents for on-premises machines, see Agents for on-premises machines.

      Under Create Connection Monitor, on the Basics tab, the default region is selected. If you change the region, you can choose agents from workspaces in the new region. You can select one or more agents or subnets. In the Subnet view, you can select specific IPs for monitoring. If you add multiple subnets, a custom on-premises network named OnPremises_Network_1 will be created.

      :::image type="content" source="./media/connection-monitor-2-preview/add-non-azure-dest.png" alt-text="Screenshot that shows the Add Destinations pane and the Non-Azure endpoints tab.":::

    • To choose public endpoints as destinations, select the External Addresses tab. The list of endpoints includes Office 365 test URLs and Dynamics 365 test URLs, grouped by name. You also can choose endpoints that were created in other test groups in the same connection monitor.

      To add an endpoint, in the upper-right corner, select Add Endpoint. Then provide an endpoint name and URL, IP, or FQDN.

      :::image type="content" source="./media/connection-monitor-2-preview/add-endpoints.png" alt-text="Screenshot that shows where to add public endpoints as destinations in Connection Monitor.":::

    • To choose recently used endpoints, go to the Recent endpoint tab.

    • When you finish choosing destinations, select Done. You can still edit basic properties like the endpoint name by selecting the endpoint in the Create Test Group view.

  • Test configurations: You can add one or more test configurations to a test group. Create a new test configuration by using the New configuration tab. Or add a test configuration from another test group in the same Connection Monitor from the Choose existing tab.

    • Test configuration name: Name the test configuration.
    • Protocol: Select TCP, ICMP, or HTTP. To change HTTP to HTTPS, select HTTP as the protocol and then select 443 as the port.
      • Create TCP test configuration: This check box appears only if you select HTTP in the Protocol list. Select this check box to create another test configuration that uses the same sources and destinations that you specified elsewhere in your configuration. The new test configuration is named <name of test configuration>_networkTestConfig.
      • Disable traceroute: This check box applies when the protocol is TCP or ICMP. Select this box to stop sources from discovering topology and hop-by-hop RTT.
    • Destination port: You can provide a destination port of your choice.
      • Listen on port: This check box applies when the protocol is TCP. Select this check box to open the chosen TCP port if it's not already open.
    • Test Frequency: In this list, specify how frequently sources will ping destinations on the protocol and port that you specified. You can choose 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, 15 minutes, or 30 minutes. Select custom to enter another frequency that's between 30 seconds and 30 minutes. Sources will test connectivity to destinations based on the value that you choose. For example, if you select 30 seconds, sources will check connectivity to the destination at least once in every 30-second period.
    • Success Threshold: You can set thresholds on the following network parameters:
      • Checks failed: Set the percentage of checks that can fail when sources check connectivity to destinations by using the criteria that you specified. For the TCP or ICMP protocol, the percentage of failed checks can be equated to the percentage of packet loss. For HTTP protocol, this value represents the percentage of HTTP requests that received no response.
      • Round trip time: Set the RTT, in milliseconds, for how long sources can take to connect to the destination over the test configuration.

    :::image type="content" source="./media/connection-monitor-2-preview/add-test-config.png" alt-text="Screenshot that shows where to set up a test configuration in Connection Monitor.":::

  • Test Groups: You can add one or more Test Groups to a Connection Monitor. These test groups can consist of multiple Azure or Non-Azure endpoints.

    • For selected Azure VMs or Azure virtual machine scale sets and Non-Azure endpoints without monitoring extensions, the extension for Azure VMs and the NPM solution for Non-Azure endpoints will be auto enablement once the creation of Connection Monitor begins.
    • In case the virtual machine scale set selected is set for manual upgradation, the user will have to upgrade the scale set post Network Watcher extension installation in order to continue setting up the Connection Monitor with virtual machine scale set as endpoints. In-case the virtual machine scale set is set to auto upgradation, the user need not worry about any upgradation after Network Watcher extension installation.
    • In the scenario mentioned above, user can consent to auto upgradation of virtual machine scale set with auto enablement of Network Watcher extension during the creation of Connection Monitor for Virtual Machine scale sets with manual upgradation. This would eliminate the need for the user to manually upgrade the virtual machine scale set after installing the Network Watcher extension.

    :::image type="content" source="./media/connection-monitor-2-preview/consent-vmss-auto-upgrade.png" alt-text="Screenshot that shows where to set up a test groups and consent for auto-upgradation of V M S S in Connection Monitor.":::

Create alerts in Connection Monitor

You can set up alerts on tests that are failing based on the thresholds set in test configurations.

In the Azure portal, to create alerts for a connection monitor, you specify values for these fields:

  • Create alert: You can select this check box to create a metric alert in Azure Monitor. When you select this check box, the other fields will be enabled for editing. Additional charges for the alert will be applicable, based on the pricing for alerts.

  • Scope > Resource > Hierarchy: These values are automatically filled, based on the values specified on the Basics tab.

  • Condition name: The alert is created on the Test Result(preview) metric. When the result of the connection monitor test is a failing result, the alert rule will fire.

  • Action group name: You can enter your email directly or you can create alerts via action groups. If you enter your email directly, an action group with the name NPM Email ActionGroup is created. The email ID is added to that action group. If you choose to use action groups, you need to select a previously created action group. To learn how to create an action group, see Create action groups in the Azure portal. After the alert is created, you can manage your alerts.

  • Alert rule name: The name of the connection monitor.

  • Enable rule upon creation: Select this check box to enable the alert rule based on the condition. Disable this check box if you want to create the rule without enabling it.

:::image type="content" source="./media/connection-monitor-2-preview/unified-enablement-create.png" alt-text="Screenshot that shows the Create alert tab in Connection Monitor.":::

Once all the steps are completed, the process will proceed with unified enablement of monitoring extensions for all endpoints without monitoring agents enabled, followed by creation of Connection Monitor. Once the creation process is successful , it will take ~ 5 mins for the connection monitor to show up on the dashboard.

Scale limits

Connection monitors have these scale limits:

  • Maximum connection monitors per subscription per region: 100
  • Maximum test groups per connection monitor: 20
  • Maximum sources and destinations per connection monitor: 100
  • Maximum test configurations per connection monitor: 2 via the Azure portal

Next steps