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A company is using Azure Monitor to collect logs and metrics from various Azure resources. They have configured an alert rule that triggers when CPU utilization on a specific VM exceeds 90% for 5 minutes. When the alert triggers, they need to automatically send an email to the operations team, post a message to a Microsoft Teams channel, and trigger an Azure Function to perform automated remediation. Which Azure Monitor component should be configured to achieve these automated actions?

  1. AMetric alert rule
  2. BDiagnostic settings
  3. CLog Analytics workspace
  4. DAction group
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: D. Action group

An Action Group in Azure Monitor is a collection of notification preferences and actions that can be triggered by an Azure alert. It allows you to define multiple actions (email, Teams, Azure Function, etc.) to be executed when a specific alert condition is met, centralizing the response to alerts.

Why the other options are wrong

  • A. A metric alert rule defines the condition that triggers an alert, but it needs an action group to specify what happens when the alert fires.
  • B. Diagnostic settings configure where logs and metrics are sent (e.g., Log Analytics, storage account), not what actions to take on an alert.
  • C. Log Analytics workspace is where logs are collected and queried, but it doesn't directly define automated actions for alerts.

Azure Monitor Action Group

A collection of notification preferences and automated actions that Azure Monitor alerts can trigger, allowing for a centralized response to incidents.

  • Triggered by Azure alerts.
  • Combines multiple actions (email, SMS, webhook, function).
  • Centralizes alert response.

Memory trick: When an alert goes off, a 'group' of actions springs into motion.

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