Last week we began looking in depth at Microsoft Operations Management Suite, as part of an ongoing series to help you understand how the diverse feature set comes together. Our current focus area is Log Analytics, which allows you to take advantage of cloud resources to analyze log data from across a hybrid IT environment. One of the great things about a cloud service is that we can add features rapidly, expanding the value available to you as a user. Today we’re going to look at some of the things that have been added to the Log Analytics capabilities of Operations Management Suite in just the last 90 days.
Alert notification and automated remediation
Log analytics is about taking action on what you learn from correlating data across multiple sources. Alert notification in Operations Management Suite makes it easier to drive actions based on changing data. You can set up alerts so that if a search finds a specific set of results, an email will be sent to a list of recipients that you define in advance. Alternatively, you can trigger the execution of an Automation runbook to remediate the problem. You can also do both, so that your list of recipients is notified while the problem is being corrected.
Alert notification is designed for flexibility. Alerts can be based on any of your saved searches, and you set the timing for how often the search is repeated. You also define the parameters for acceptable results. Both lightweight and easy to manage, alerts are a key new element for Log Analytics, allowing you to build in “auto-remediation” for common problems. You can find out more about how to use this feature here.
Support for Linux, including containers
A major challenge for IT operations today is managing across both Windows and Linux. Too often, you have to choose between specialized tools that are primarily designed for one platform or the other, giving you limited visibility across the full environment. We’ve added support for Linux to Operations Management Suite to help you get a big picture view of events and information. With the OMS agent for Linux, you can collect Syslog events and performance metrics. Connecting into Docker, you can gather container logs, metrics, and inventory. You can also integrate with Linux management tools, specifically Zabbix and Nagios, for alerts. For more detail, check out this blog post.
Mobile apps for iOS, Android and Windows Phone
Information is most valuable when it’s timely, and that means you need to be able to get to it easily from a variety of devices. The mobile app for Operations Management Suite gives you access to your personalized dashboards, solutions and saved search queries. You can download the app here.
Crowd-sourced information on patching time
Last week, we talked about update assessment, and how Operations Management Suite gives you information on how long patching can take based on the experience of other users. We’re already hearing from customers about how that information is helping them ensure that patching takes place within very tight timing windows. That’s another new feature that was recently added, expanding the ways you can benefit from cloud-based management.
If you want to see all these features in action, check out our free trial for Operations Management Suite.
There’s lots more coming for Operations Management Suite in the next 90 days. Stay tuned! And if you’re interested in the Linux capabilities specifically, check back later this week for the continuation of our tour of Log Analytics.