How to limit discovery in Microsoft Azure

How to Effectively Disable Azure VMs in SL1 Using VM Tags

When managing resources in a dynamic cloud environment, such as Microsoft Azure, optimizing resource utilization and monitoring is crucial. ScienceLogic’s Azure PowerPack provides an effective way to control Azure Virtual Machines (VMs) using tags. This feature is particularly beneficial for organizations aiming to streamline operations and reduce costs by automating resource management based on predefined rules.

What Is VM Tagging?

VM tagging in Azure involves assigning metadata to resources in the form of key-value pairs. These tags can help identify, organize, and manage resources based on categories such as environment, department, or project. For example:

• Key: Environment, Value: Development
• Key: Owner, Value: IT-Support

Tagging becomes a powerful tool when integrated with automation policies to control resource behavior dynamically.

How to Add Tags to Azure Virtual Machines

Adding tags to Azure VMs is straightforward and can be done via the Azure Portal, Azure CLI, or PowerShell. Below is a step-by-step guide for the Azure Portal:

1. Log in to the Azure Portal.
2. Navigate to Virtual Machines in the left-hand menu.
3. Select the VM you want to tag from the list.
4. Click on the Tags option in the VM's menu.
5. Add key-value pairs to define your tags. For example:
   • Key: Environment, Value: Production
   • Key: Owner, Value: Finance
6. Click Save to apply the tags.

 

Using Azure CLI, you can also add tags with the following command:

az resource tag --tags Environment=Production Owner=Finance --name <resource-name> --resource-group <resource-group-name> --resource-type "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines"

 

Automation with ScienceLogic Azure PowerPack

The ScienceLogic Azure PowerPack introduces Run Book Automation (RBA) that uses VM tags to enable or disable data collection. Specifically, the "Disable By VM Tag" action allows administrators to disable monitoring for specific VMs based on their assigned tags.

 

This automation is particularly useful for scenarios such as:

• Disabling monitoring for development or test environments.
• Optimizing monitoring costs by focusing only on production resources.
• Dynamically managing resource monitoring based on organizational policies.

 

Configuration Steps for Disabling VMs by Tag

 

1. Modify “Disable By VM Tag” Action

The first step in implementing this automation is to define the tag criteria. Here’s how you can modify the parameters:

1. Navigate to the Action Policy Manager page in the SL1 platform.
2. Locate the “Microsoft Azure: Disable By VM Tag” action.
3. Edit the DISABLE_TAGS snippet with your desired key-value pairs. The format should

    be

   DISABLE_TAGS = [('Key1', 'Value1'), ('Key2', 'Value2')]

    

   For example, to disable VMs tagged with an environment key of “Development” or “Test”

   DISABLE_TAGS = [('Environment', 'Development'), ('Environment', 'Test')]

    

4. Save the changes to apply your configuration.

 

 

2. Enable the Necessary Event Policy

ScienceLogic requires enabling the “Component Device Record Created” event policy to trigger automation:

1. Go to the Event Policy Manager page.
2. Search for the “Component Device Record Created” event policy.
3. Set its Operational State to “Enabled.”
4. Save your changes.

3. Activate the Run Book Automation Policy

To ensure that the automation works as intended:

1. Open the Automation Policy Manager.
2. Locate the “Microsoft Azure: Disable and Discover from IP” Run Book Automation policy.
3. Enable the policy and save the configuration.

4. Preserve Your Configuration

To avoid losing these settings during future updates:

1. Navigate to the Behavior Settings page.
2. Enable the “Selective PowerPack Field Protection” option.
3. Save the changes.

 

Benefits of Using “Disable By VM Tag” Automation

1. Cost Optimization: Reduces monitoring costs by disabling unnecessary data collection.
2. Operational Efficiency: Automates routine tasks, allowing teams to focus on critical operations.
3. Dynamic Management: Adjusts resource monitoring dynamically based on real-time needs.

 

Conclusion

Disabling Azure VMs by tag using ScienceLogic’s Azure PowerPack is an efficient way to manage resources and control costs. By leveraging automated Run Book Actions and event policies, organizations can enforce consistent monitoring policies while minimizing manual intervention. Start leveraging the “Disable By VM Tag” feature today to enhance your Azure resource management strategy.

 

Azure Powerpack can be downloaded from

https://support.sciencelogic.com/s/release-version/aBu0z000000XZSICA4/microsoft-azure