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Get enhanced Azure cost visualization with SquaredUp 4.7

One of the big problems we hear about with Azure is managing costs and understanding where the money is being spent. In fact, when we launched SquaredUp for Azure back in 2019, the ability to visualize costs quickly became one of the most popular features. It helped our customers (and ourselves, too) get a grip on Azure costs – by making it easy to identify under-utilized resources and take the appropriate action to reduce costs.

Make sense of SCOM Alerts with SquaredUp 4.7

One of the most common complaints about SCOM is the noisiness of alerts from Management Packs. Getting on top of these alerts can be a huge challenge and often the thing that most gets in the way of an organization getting value out of SCOM. In SquaredUp for SCOM 4.7, our recent feature-packed update, we bring you three new alert-handling super-powers to help you get on top of alerts.

SquaredUp version 4.7 is here Our third release this year!

Summer is in full swing, and the latest release of SquaredUp for SCOM and SquaredUp for Azure is now available. Welcome to version 4.7! This release is jam-packed with great functionality which our Product Engineering teams here at SquaredUp have been working hard on for the last few months. Here’s a quick round up of everything that’s been added and enhanced in version 4.7. There will be a series of blog posts covering the features in the coming weeks so stay tuned for more.

Visualizing VMInsights data in SquaredUp

Following the release of Azure Monitor for VMs in January 2020, some changes have been made to how its performance data is stored in Log Analytics. The most significant of these changes is that this data is now stored in the InsightsMetrics table rather than in the Perf table, as we discussed in our ‘What is Azure VM Insights?’ article.

What is Azure VM Insights?

Microsoft recently announced general availability of Azure VM Insights, aka Azure Monitor for VM. This service is basically a set of features that allow you to monitor your VMs in more detail, from collecting the telemetry from your VM to displaying it meaningfully – all with a single click. I am satisfied with Azure VM Insights for the most part, but I also have some mixed feelings about it. Read on to find out why.

Azure Monitor Agents: their different functions

In the Azure Monitor Learning Path, we talked about metrics and collecting data in a Log Analytics workspace to be operated on with KQL. As a part of it, we also talked about Monitoring Solutions and how they help you collect data into the workspace that is more focused for specific purposes. In that series, our main focus was on the Log Analytics Agent and I briefly talked about Diagnostics extension.

SCOMathon 2020 Can virtual events actually be better than face-to-face ones?

The short answer is “yes they can” but let me elaborate. In 2009 I joined the team behind Mobile World Congress, an event brand that hosts over 100k attendees in Barcelona, 75k in Shanghai and 22k in Los Angeles. I spent the next 9 years with the GSM Association, owner of Mobile World Congress, and Global Expansion Summit organizing over 50 large scale events across all 5 continents.

Aggregating and Visualizing Data with Kusto

Got the basics down and ready to move on to more advanced aspects of Kusto? You’ve come to the right place! Here you will learn how to use aggregation functions, visualize query results and put your data into context. If you’re just getting started with Kusto, check out our ‘Jumpstart Guide to Kusto’ before starting on this one. Let’s get into it!