Configuring Azure Activity Logs: Fine-tuning Diagnostic Settings for Efficient Monitoring

Diagnostic settings in Azure are used to configure the collection and export of diagnostic data for Azure resources. They allow you to specify which types of logs and metrics to collect, and where to send that data for analysis and storage.

In particular, Diagnostic settings are used to configure the destination and format of the Azure Activity Log, which records all the operations performed on resources in a subscription, including successful and failed actions. By configuring Diagnostic settings, you can specify which categories of data to collect, such as administrative, service health, or resource health logs, and then send that data to various destinations, such as Azure Storage accounts, Event Hubs, Log Analytics workspaces, or Azure Monitor Metrics.

Diagnostic settings enable you to centralize log data from various sources, including Azure services and on-premises resources, into a single location for monitoring and analysis. They also allow you to control the retention period for log data, which is important for compliance and auditing purposes.

Types of logs

Administrative logs are logs that track administrative activities, such as changes to user permissions, system settings, or application configurations. They are typically used to audit administrative actions and troubleshoot issues related to system or application management.