azure-resource-health-diagnose

Azure Resource Health & Issue Diagnosis

This workflow analyzes a specific Azure resource to assess its health status, diagnose potential issues using logs and telemetry data, and develop a comprehensive remediation plan for any problems discovered.

Prerequisites

• Azure MCP server installed and authenticated. Install from the official Microsoft source only: https://github.com/microsoft/azure-mcp (verify the repository owner is microsoft before installing). Do not install from forks or third-party mirrors.
• Target Azure resource identified (name and optionally resource group/subscription)
• Resource must be deployed and running to generate logs/telemetry
• Prefer Azure MCP tools (azmcp-*) over direct Azure CLI when available

Workflow Steps

Step 1: Get Azure Best Practices

Action: Retrieve diagnostic and troubleshooting best practices Tools: Azure MCP best practices tool Process:

1. Load Best Practices:
   • Execute Azure best practices tool to get diagnostic guidelines
   • Focus on health monitoring, log analysis, and issue resolution patterns
   • Use these practices to inform diagnostic approach and remediation recommendations

Step 2: Resource Discovery & Identification

Action: Locate and identify the target Azure resource Tools: Azure MCP tools + Azure CLI fallback Process:

1. Resource Lookup:

   • Preferred: Provide subscription ID/name and resource group for targeted lookup using az resource show --name <resource-name> --resource-group <resource-group-name> --subscription <subscription-id>.
   • If only resource name provided: Before searching across subscriptions, confirm with the user:

     "No subscription or resource group was specified. To locate this resource I will enumerate your accessible subscriptions and search each one. This may expose subscription-level metadata. Proceed? (y/n)" Proceed only on explicit confirmation. Use azmcp-subscription-list followed by az resource list --name <resource-name> --subscription <id> per subscription.

   • If multiple matches found, prompt user to specify subscription/resource group before continuing.
   • Gather detailed resource information:
     • Resource type and current status
     • Location, tags, and configuration
     • Associated services and dependencies

2. Resource Type Detection:

   • Identify resource type to determine appropriate diagnostic approach:
     • Web Apps/Function Apps: Application logs, performance metrics, dependency tracking
     • Virtual Machines: System logs, performance counters, boot diagnostics
     • Cosmos DB: Request metrics, throttling, partition statistics
     • Storage Accounts: Access logs, performance metrics, availability
     • SQL Database: Query performance, connection logs, resource utilization
     • Application Insights: Application telemetry, exceptions, dependencies
     • Key Vault: Access logs, certificate status, secret usage
     • Service Bus: Message metrics, dead letter queues, throughput

Step 3: Health Status Assessment

Action: Evaluate current resource health and availability Tools: Azure MCP monitoring tools + Azure CLI Process:

1. Basic Health Check:

   • Check resource provisioning state and operational status
   • Verify service availability and responsiveness
   • Review recent deployment or configuration changes
   • Assess current resource utilization (CPU, memory, storage, etc.)

2. Service-Specific Health Indicators:

   • Web Apps: HTTP response codes, response times, uptime
   • Databases: Connection success rate, query performance, deadlocks
   • Storage: Availability percentage, request success rate, latency
   • VMs: Boot diagnostics, guest OS metrics, network connectivity
   • Functions: Execution success rate, duration, error frequency

Step 4: Log & Telemetry Analysis

Action: Analyze logs and telemetry to identify issues and patterns Tools: Azure MCP monitoring tools for Log Analytics queries Process:

1. Find Monitoring Sources:

   • Use azmcp-monitor-workspace-list to identify Log Analytics workspaces
   • Locate Application Insights instances associated with the resource
   • Identify relevant log tables using azmcp-monitor-table-list

2. Execute Diagnostic Queries: Use azmcp-monitor-log-query with targeted KQL queries based on resource type. Before executing, substitute <target-resource-id> with the full Resource ID identified in Step 2.

   General Error Analysis:

   // Recent errors and exceptions — scoped to target resource
   // Replace <target-resource-id> with the Resource ID identified in Step 2
   union isfuzzy=true
       AzureDiagnostics,
       AppServiceHTTPLogs,
       AppServiceAppLogs
   | where TimeGenerated > ago(24h)
   | where _ResourceId =~ "<target-resource-id>"
   | where Level == "Error" or ResultType != "Success"
   | summarize ErrorCount=count() by Resource, ResultType, bin(TimeGenerated, 1h)
   | order by TimeGenerated desc

   [OPTIONAL — run only if tenant-level audit activity is relevant] AzureActivity is a tenant-wide audit log. Query only when explicitly requested by the user, and only after substituting the actual resource ID:

   // AzureActivity is a tenant-wide audit log. Query only when explicitly requested.
   AzureActivity
   | where TimeGenerated > ago(24h)
   | where _ResourceId =~ "<target-resource-id>"
   | where ActivityStatusValue != "Success"
   | project TimeGenerated, OperationNameValue, ActivityStatusValue, Caller, ResourceGroup
   | order by TimeGenerated desc

   Performance Analysis:

   // Performance degradation patterns
   Perf
   | where TimeGenerated > ago(7d)
   | where ObjectName == "Processor" and CounterName == "% Processor Time"
   | summarize avg(CounterValue) by Computer, bin(TimeGenerated, 1h)
   | where avg_CounterValue > 80

   Application-Specific Queries:

   // Application Insights - Failed requests
   requests
   | where timestamp > ago(24h)
   | where success == false
   | summarize FailureCount=count() by resultCode, bin(timestamp, 1h)
   | order by timestamp desc
   
   // Database - Connection failures
   AzureDiagnostics
   | where ResourceProvider == "MICROSOFT.SQL"
   | where Category == "SQLSecurityAuditEvents"
   | where action_name_s == "CONNECTION_FAILED"
   | summarize ConnectionFailures=count() by bin(TimeGenerated, 1h)

3. Pattern Recognition:

   • Identify recurring error patterns or anomalies
   • Correlate errors with deployment times or configuration changes
   • Analyze performance trends and degradation patterns
   • Look for dependency failures or external service issues

Step 5: Issue Classification & Root Cause Analysis

Action: Categorize identified issues and determine root causes Process:

1. Issue Classification:

   • Critical: Service unavailable, data loss, security breaches
   • High: Performance degradation, intermittent failures, high error rates
   • Medium: Warnings, suboptimal configuration, minor performance issues
   • Low: Informational alerts, optimization opportunities

2. Root Cause Analysis:

   • Configuration Issues: Incorrect settings, missing dependencies
   • Resource Constraints: CPU/memory/disk limitations, throttling
   • Network Issues: Connectivity problems, DNS resolution, firewall rules
   • Application Issues: Code bugs, memory leaks, inefficient queries
   • External Dependencies: Third-party service failures, API limits
   • Security Issues: Authentication failures, certificate expiration

3. Impact Assessment:

   • Determine business impact and affected users/systems
   • Evaluate data integrity and security implications
   • Assess recovery time objectives and priorities

Step 6: Generate Remediation Plan

Action: Create a comprehensive plan to address identified issues Process:

1. Immediate Actions (Critical issues):

   • Emergency fixes to restore service availability
   • Temporary workarounds to mitigate impact
   • Escalation procedures for complex issues

2. Short-term Fixes (High/Medium issues):

   • Configuration adjustments and resource scaling
   • Application updates and patches
   • Monitoring and alerting improvements

3. Long-term Improvements (All issues):

   • Architectural changes for better resilience
   • Preventive measures and monitoring enhancements
   • Documentation and process improvements

4. Implementation Steps:

   • Prioritized action items with specific Azure CLI commands
   • Testing and validation procedures
   • Rollback plans for each change
   • Monitoring to verify issue resolution

Step 7: User Confirmation & Report Generation

Action: Present findings and get approval for remediation actions Process:

1. Display Health Assessment Summary:

   🏥 Azure Resource Health Assessment
   
   📊 Resource Overview:
   • Resource: [Name] ([Type])
   • Status: [Healthy/Warning/Critical]
   • Location: [Region]
   • Last Analyzed: [Timestamp]
   
   🚨 Issues Identified:
   • Critical: X issues requiring immediate attention
   • High: Y issues affecting performance/reliability  
   • Medium: Z issues for optimization
   • Low: N informational items
   
   🔍 Top Issues:
   1. [Issue Type]: [Description] - Impact: [High/Medium/Low]
   2. [Issue Type]: [Description] - Impact: [High/Medium/Low]
   3. [Issue Type]: [Description] - Impact: [High/Medium/Low]
   
   🛠️ Remediation Plan:
   • Immediate Actions: X items
   • Short-term Fixes: Y items  
   • Long-term Improvements: Z items
   • Estimated Resolution Time: [Timeline]
   
   ❓ Proceed with detailed remediation plan? (y/n)

2. Generate Detailed Report:

   # Azure Resource Health Report: [Resource Name]
   
   **Generated**: [Timestamp]  
   **Resource**: [Full Resource ID]  
   **Overall Health**: [Status with color indicator]
   
   > ⚠️ **IMPORTANT — Manual Review Required**: The Azure CLI commands in the Remediation Plan below are generated based on observed diagnostics and are provided for human review only. Do not execute these commands autonomously. Validate each command against your specific environment, permissions, and change-management requirements before running it manually.
   
   ## 🔍 Executive Summary
   [Brief overview of health status and key findings]
   
   ## 📊 Health Metrics
   - **Availability**: X% over last 24h
   - **Performance**: [Average response time/throughput]
   - **Error Rate**: X% over last 24h
   - **Resource Utilization**: [CPU/Memory/Storage percentages]
   
   ## 🚨 Issues Identified
   
   ### Critical Issues
   - **[Issue 1]**: [Description]
     - **Root Cause**: [Analysis]
     - **Impact**: [Business impact]
     - **Immediate Action**: [Required steps]
   
   ### High Priority Issues  
   - **[Issue 2]**: [Description]
     - **Root Cause**: [Analysis]
     - **Impact**: [Performance/reliability impact]
     - **Recommended Fix**: [Solution steps]
   
   ## 🛠️ Remediation Plan
   
   ### Phase 1: Immediate Actions (0-2 hours)
   ```bash
   # Critical fixes to restore service
   [Azure CLI commands with explanations]

   Phase 2: Short-term Fixes (2-24 hours)

   # Performance and reliability improvements
   [Azure CLI commands with explanations]

   Phase 3: Long-term Improvements (1-4 weeks)

   # Architectural and preventive measures
   [Azure CLI commands and configuration changes]

   📈 Monitoring Recommendations

   • Alerts to Configure: [List of recommended alerts]
   • Dashboards to Create: [Monitoring dashboard suggestions]
   • Regular Health Checks: [Recommended frequency and scope]

   ✅ Validation Steps

   • Verify issue resolution through logs
   • Confirm performance improvements
   • Test application functionality
   • Update monitoring and alerting
   • Document lessons learned

   📝 Prevention Measures

   • [Recommendations to prevent similar issues]
   • [Process improvements]
   • [Monitoring enhancements]

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Error Handling

• Resource Not Found: Provide guidance on resource name/location specification
• Authentication Issues: Guide user through Azure authentication setup
• Insufficient Permissions: List required RBAC roles for resource access
• No Logs Available: Suggest enabling diagnostic settings and waiting for data
• Query Timeouts: Break down analysis into smaller time windows
• Service-Specific Issues: Provide generic health assessment with limitations noted

Success Criteria

• ✅ Resource health status accurately assessed
• ✅ All significant issues identified and categorized
• ✅ Root cause analysis completed for major problems
• ✅ Actionable remediation plan with specific steps provided
• ✅ Monitoring and prevention recommendations included
• ✅ Clear prioritization of issues by business impact
• ✅ Implementation steps include validation and rollback procedures