Azure Network Watcher

  • Author: Ronald Fung

  • Creation Date: 1 June 2023

  • Next Modified Date: 1 June 2024

A. Introduction

Azure Network Watcher provides tools to monitor, diagnose, view metrics, and enable or disable logs for resources in an Azure virtual network. Network Watcher is designed to monitor and repair the network health of IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service) products including virtual machines (VMs), virtual networks (VNets), application gateways, load balancers, etc.

Note

Network Watcher isn’t intended for and will not work for PaaS monitoring or Web analytics.

B. How is it used at Seagen

As a biopharma research company using Microsoft Azure, you can use Azure Network Watcher to monitor and diagnose network issues in your Azure infrastructure. Here are some ways you can use Azure Network Watcher:

  1. Traffic analysis: Azure Network Watcher can be used to analyze network traffic within your Azure infrastructure, helping you to identify potential performance issues or security threats.

  2. Connection troubleshooting: Azure Network Watcher can be used to troubleshoot connectivity issues between virtual machines (VMs) or subnets within your Azure infrastructure.

  3. Security group view: Azure Network Watcher can be used to view and analyze security group rules and their associated network traffic, helping you to identify potential security threats.

  4. IP flow verification: Azure Network Watcher can be used to verify that traffic is flowing as expected between two VMs or subnets within your Azure infrastructure.

  5. Network topology: Azure Network Watcher can be used to view and analyze the network topology of your Azure infrastructure, helping you to identify potential configuration issues.

  6. Packet capture: Azure Network Watcher can be used to capture and analyze network packets within your Azure infrastructure, helping you to diagnose network issues.

Overall, by leveraging Azure Network Watcher, you can effectively monitor and diagnose network issues in your Azure infrastructure, helping to ensure the performance, availability, and security of your cloud resources. By using Azure Network Watcher to analyze network traffic, troubleshoot connectivity issues, view and analyze security group rules, verify IP flow, view network topology, and capture network packets, you can effectively manage your Azure infrastructure and ensure that it meets the needs of your biopharma research company.

C. Features

Azure Network Watcher is a cloud-based monitoring and diagnostic service for Microsoft Azure that provides insights into the performance, availability, and security of your network infrastructure. Here are some of the key features of Azure Network Watcher:

  1. Traffic analysis: Azure Network Watcher can analyze network traffic within your Azure infrastructure, helping you to identify potential performance issues or security threats.

  2. Connection troubleshooting: Azure Network Watcher can troubleshoot connectivity issues between virtual machines (VMs) or subnets within your Azure infrastructure.

  3. Security group view: Azure Network Watcher can view and analyze security group rules and their associated network traffic, helping you to identify potential security threats.

  4. IP flow verification: Azure Network Watcher can verify that traffic is flowing as expected between two VMs or subnets within your Azure infrastructure.

  5. Network topology: Azure Network Watcher can view and analyze the network topology of your Azure infrastructure, helping you to identify potential configuration issues.

  6. Packet capture: Azure Network Watcher can capture and analyze network packets within your Azure infrastructure, helping you to diagnose network issues.

  7. Network performance monitoring: Azure Network Watcher can monitor network performance, including latency and packet loss, helping you to identify potential issues and improve network performance.

  8. Virtual Network Gateway diagnostics: Azure Network Watcher can diagnose issues with virtual network gateways, helping you to identify and troubleshoot connectivity issues.

  9. VPN diagnostics: Azure Network Watcher can diagnose issues with virtual private networks (VPNs), helping you to identify and troubleshoot connectivity issues.

  10. Integration: Azure Network Watcher can be integrated with other Azure services, including Azure Monitor and Azure Security Center, to provide a comprehensive view of your Azure infrastructure.

Overall, by leveraging Azure Network Watcher, you can effectively monitor and diagnose network issues in your Azure infrastructure, helping to ensure the performance, availability, and security of your cloud resources. By using Azure Network Watcher to analyze network traffic, troubleshoot connectivity issues, view and analyze security group rules, verify IP flow, view network topology, capture network packets, monitor network performance, diagnose virtual network gateway and VPN issues, and integrate with other Azure services, you can effectively manage your Azure infrastructure and ensure that it meets the needs of your organization.

D. Where Implemented

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E. How it is tested

Testing Azure Network Watcher involves verifying that the service is properly configured and that it is effectively monitoring and diagnosing network issues in your Azure infrastructure. Here are some steps you can take to test Azure Network Watcher:

  1. Verify configuration: Verify that Azure Network Watcher is properly configured and integrated with your Azure account and resources.

  2. Test traffic analysis: Test Azure Network Watcher by analyzing network traffic within your Azure infrastructure, ensuring that the service is effectively identifying potential performance issues or security threats.

  3. Test connection troubleshooting: Test Azure Network Watcher by troubleshooting connectivity issues between virtual machines (VMs) or subnets within your Azure infrastructure, ensuring that the service is effectively diagnosing connectivity issues.

  4. Test security group view: Test Azure Network Watcher by viewing and analyzing security group rules and their associated network traffic, ensuring that the service is effectively identifying potential security threats.

  5. Test IP flow verification: Test Azure Network Watcher by verifying that traffic is flowing as expected between two VMs or subnets within your Azure infrastructure, ensuring that the service is effectively verifying IP flow.

  6. Test network topology: Test Azure Network Watcher by viewing and analyzing the network topology of your Azure infrastructure, ensuring that the service is effectively identifying potential configuration issues.

  7. Test packet capture: Test Azure Network Watcher by capturing and analyzing network packets within your Azure infrastructure, ensuring that the service is effectively diagnosing network issues.

  8. Test network performance monitoring: Test Azure Network Watcher by monitoring network performance, including latency and packet loss, ensuring that the service is effectively identifying potential issues and improving network performance.

  9. Test virtual network gateway diagnostics: Test Azure Network Watcher by diagnosing issues with virtual network gateways, ensuring that the service is effectively identifying and troubleshooting connectivity issues.

  10. Test VPN diagnostics: Test Azure Network Watcher by diagnosing issues with virtual private networks (VPNs), ensuring that the service is effectively identifying and troubleshooting connectivity issues.

Overall, testing Azure Network Watcher involves verifying that the service is effectively monitoring and diagnosing network issues in your Azure infrastructure. By taking these steps, you can ensure that you are effectively using Azure Network Watcher to manage your Azure infrastructure and ensure that it meets the needs of your organization.

F. 2023 Roadmap

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G. 2024 Roadmap

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H. Known Issues

Like any software or service, there may be known issues or limitations with Azure Network Watcher that users should be aware of. Here are some of the known issues with Azure Network Watcher:

  1. Limited coverage: Azure Network Watcher may not provide full coverage for all network resources in your Azure infrastructure, particularly if you are using third-party or non-Microsoft network devices.

  2. Limited diagnostic capabilities: While Azure Network Watcher provides powerful diagnostic capabilities, there may be limitations to its ability to diagnose certain network issues.

  3. Complexity: Azure Network Watcher can be complex to configure and use, particularly for organizations with limited experience in network monitoring and diagnostics.

  4. Cost: Azure Network Watcher can be expensive, particularly for organizations that require advanced network monitoring and diagnostic capabilities or that require a high level of support and customization.

  5. Integration: While Azure Network Watcher can be integrated with other Azure services, there may be compatibility issues that need to be addressed.

  6. Reliability: Azure Network Watcher may experience occasional outages or service disruptions, which can impact the availability of network monitoring and diagnostic capabilities.

Overall, while Azure Network Watcher offers a powerful tool for monitoring and diagnosing network issues in your Azure infrastructure, users must be aware of these known issues and take steps to mitigate their impact. This may include carefully managing costs to ensure that they stay within their budget, carefully configuring the service to meet the specific needs of their network infrastructure, and carefully monitoring network activity to ensure that the service is effectively monitoring and diagnosing network issues. By taking these steps, users can ensure that they are effectively using Azure Network Watcher to manage their Azure infrastructure and ensure that it meets the needs of their organization.

[x] Reviewed by Enterprise Architecture

[x] Reviewed by Application Development

[x] Reviewed by Data Architecture