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 configured and authenticated
• 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:

   • If only resource name provided: Search across subscriptions using azmcp-subscription-list
   • Use az resource list --name <resource-name> to find matching resources
   • If multiple matches found, prompt user to specify subscription/resource group
   • 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:

   General Error Analysis:

   // Recent errors and exceptions
   union isfuzzy=true 
       AzureDiagnostics,
       AppServiceHTTPLogs,
       AppServiceAppLogs,
       AzureActivity
   | where TimeGenerated > ago(24h)
   | where Level == "Error" or ResultType != "Success"
   | summarize ErrorCount=count() by Resource, ResultType, bin(TimeGenerated, 1h)
   | order by TimeGenerated desc
   

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   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
   

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   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)
   

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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)
   

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2. Generate Detailed Report:

   # Azure Resource Health Report: [Resource Name]
   
   **Generated**: [Timestamp]  
   **Resource**: [Full Resource ID]  
   **Overall Health**: [Status with color indicator]
   
   ## 🔍 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]
   

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

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

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

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

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   📈 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