Monitoring Agents - Multi-Cloud Manager

Overview

Monitoring agents collect telemetry data from virtual machines and send it to centralized monitoring services. Multi-Cloud Manager supports:

Azure Monitor Agent (AMA): Modern agent for Azure VMs
GCP Ops Agent: Unified agent for Compute Engine VMs

Both agents collect metrics and logs without requiring manual configuration on the VM.

Azure Monitor Agent (AMA)

About AMA

Azure Monitor Agent is the next-generation monitoring agent that replaces:

Log Analytics Agent (MMA/OMS)
Azure Diagnostics Extension
Telegraf agent

Advantages:

Data Collection Rules (DCR) for centralized configuration
Security through managed identity
Multi-homing to multiple workspaces
Support for both Windows and Linux
Enhanced security and performance

Check Agent Status

Verify if AMA is installed on a VM:

GET /api/azure/vm/{vm_name}/agent/status

Response:

{
  "vm": "webserver-01",
  "subscriptionId": "12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789abc",
  "resourceGroup": "production-rg",
  "extensions": [
    "AzureMonitorWindowsAgent",
    "BGInfo"
  ],
  "hasMMA": false,
  "hasAMA_Linux": false,
  "hasAMA_Windows": true
}

Implementation:

# From vmmonitor.py:106-142
compute_client, rg, vm_info = _get_vm_client_and_rg(vm_id, credential)

vm = compute_client.virtual_machines.get(rg, vm_id)
ext_list_result = compute_client.virtual_machine_extensions.list(rg, vm_id)
exts = ext_list_result.value

has_ama_linux = any(
    "AzureMonitorLinuxAgent" in (e.name + e.type) for e in exts
)
has_ama_windows = any(
    "AzureMonitorWindowsAgent" in (e.name + e.type) for e in exts
)
has_mma = any(
    "MicrosoftMonitoringAgent" in (e.name + e.type) for e in exts
)

Extension detection:

Checks VM extensions for agent presence
Distinguishes between Windows and Linux agents
Identifies legacy MMA installations

Install Azure Monitor Agent

Automatically install AMA on a VM:

POST /api/azure/vm/{vm_name}/agent/install

The system:

Detects the VM’s operating system (Windows/Linux)
Installs the appropriate AMA extension
Configures the agent with default settings

Implementation:

# From vmmonitor.py:148-207
# Detect OS type
vm = compute_client.virtual_machines.get(rg, vm_id)
os_type = vm.storage_profile.os_disk.os_type

if os_type == "Windows":
    ext_name = "AzureMonitorWindowsAgent"
    publisher = "Microsoft.Azure.Monitor"
else:
    ext_name = "AzureMonitorLinuxAgent"
    publisher = "Microsoft.Azure.Monitor"

ext_props = {
    "location": vm.location,
    "publisher": publisher,
    "virtual_machine_extension_type": ext_name,
    "type_handler_version": "1.0",
    "auto_upgrade_minor_version": True,
    "settings": {}
}

poller = compute_client.virtual_machine_extensions.begin_create_or_update(
    rg, vm_id, ext_name, ext_props
)
result = poller.result()

Response:

{
  "message": "AMA installed",
  "extension": "AzureMonitorWindowsAgent"
}

Windows Agent Details

Extension properties:

Name: AzureMonitorWindowsAgent
Publisher: Microsoft.Azure.Monitor
Type: AzureMonitorWindowsAgent
Version: 1.0 (auto-upgrade enabled)

System requirements:

Windows Server 2012 R2 or later
Windows 10 or later (for client OS)
.NET Framework 4.5 or later
TLS 1.2 enabled

Collected data:

Performance counters (CPU, memory, disk, network)
Windows Event Logs (System, Application, Security)
IIS logs (if IIS installed)
Custom logs and metrics

Linux Agent Details

Extension properties:

Name: AzureMonitorLinuxAgent
Publisher: Microsoft.Azure.Monitor
Type: AzureMonitorLinuxAgent
Version: 1.0 (auto-upgrade enabled)

System requirements:

Supported distributions: Ubuntu 16.04+, RHEL 7+, CentOS 7+, Debian 9+, SLES 12+
systemd required
Python 2.6+ or Python 3.5+

Collected data:

Performance counters (CPU, memory, disk, network)
Syslog messages
Custom logs and metrics

Agent Configuration

AMA is configured via Data Collection Rules (DCR), not on the VM itself.

After installing AMA, create and associate a DCR to start collecting data. See Log Analytics for DCR configuration.

Configuration flow:

Install AMA on VM
Create Data Collection Rule specifying what to collect
Associate DCR with VM
Data flows to Log Analytics workspace

Upgrade from MMA

If the VM has legacy MMA installed:

Install AMA

Install Azure Monitor Agent (both can coexist temporarily).

Migrate DCRs

Create Data Collection Rules equivalent to existing MMA configuration.

Verify Data Flow

Confirm data is flowing to Log Analytics via AMA.

Remove MMA

Uninstall the MicrosoftMonitoringAgent extension.

GCP Ops Agent

About Ops Agent

The Ops Agent is Google Cloud’s unified agent that combines:

Monitoring agent: Collects system and application metrics
Logging agent: Collects and forwards logs

Previously, these were separate agents (Stackdriver Monitoring and Logging agents). Benefits:

Single agent installation
Automatic updates
Improved performance
Better integration with Cloud Monitoring and Cloud Logging

Check Agent Status

Verify if Ops Agent is installed and reporting:

GET /api/gcp/vm/{project_id}/{instance_id}/agent/status

Implementation:

# From vmmonitor.py:174-224
credentials = SessionCredentials(gcp_account)
client = monitoring_v3.MetricServiceClient(credentials=credentials)

now = datetime.utcnow().replace(tzinfo=pytz.UTC)
interval = monitoring_v3.TimeInterval(
    end_time=now,
    start_time=now - timedelta(minutes=10)
)

# Check for agent uptime metric
filter_query = (
    f'metric.type = "agent.googleapis.com/agent/uptime" AND '
    f'resource.labels.instance_id = "{instance_id}"'
)

results = client.list_time_series(request=request)
has_data = any(True for _ in results)

Response:

{
  "hasOpsAgent": true,
  "message": "Ops Agent jest aktywny."
}

Detection method:

Queries the agent.googleapis.com/agent/uptime metric
Checks for data in the last 10 minutes
Reports active only if agent is currently reporting

Install Ops Agent

Install Ops Agent on a Compute Engine VM:

POST /api/gcp/vm/{project_id}/{instance_id}/agent/install

The system:

Detects the VM’s operating system
Generates the appropriate installation script
Executes the script via OS Config API

Implementation:

# From vmmonitor.py:226-303
# Detect OS type
req = compute_client.instances().aggregatedList(
    project=project_id,
    filter=f"id = {instance_id}"
)

for inst in instances:
    if 'guestOsFeatures' in inst:
        for feature in inst['guestOsFeatures']:
            if 'WINDOWS' in feature['type']:
                os_type = 'WINDOWS'

if os_type == 'WINDOWS':
    install_script = "Start-Process -FilePath \"https://dl.google.com/cloudagents/windows/google-cloud-ops-agent-msi.exe\" -ArgumentList \"/allusers /quiet\" -Wait"
    command_type = types.RunGuestCommandRequest.CommandType.POWERSHELL
else:
    install_script = "curl -sSO https://dl.google.com/cloudagents/add-google-cloud-ops-agent-repo.sh && sudo bash add-google-cloud-ops-agent-repo.sh --also-install"
    command_type = types.RunGuestCommandRequest.CommandType.SHELL

osconfig_client = osconfig_v1.OsConfigServiceClient(credentials=credentials)
request_body = types.RunGuestCommandRequest(
    name=f"projects/{project_id}/locations/{zone}/instances/{instance_id}",
    command=types.RunGuestCommandRequest.Command(
        type_=command_type,
        script=install_script
    )
)

response = osconfig_client.run_guest_command(request=request_body)

Response:

{
  "message": "Zainicjowano instalację Ops Agent (LINUX) na VM 'instance-1'.",
  "operation_name": "projects/my-project/locations/us-central1-a/instances/1234567890/operations/..."
}

Linux Installation Script

# From vmmonitor.py:278
curl -sSO https://dl.google.com/cloudagents/add-google-cloud-ops-agent-repo.sh
sudo bash add-google-cloud-ops-agent-repo.sh --also-install

What it does:

Downloads the Ops Agent repository configuration
Adds the repository to package manager
Installs google-cloud-ops-agent package
Starts the agent services

Supported distributions:

Ubuntu 18.04, 20.04, 22.04
Debian 10, 11
CentOS 7, 8
RHEL 7, 8, 9
Rocky Linux 8, 9

Windows Installation Script

# From vmmonitor.py:275
Start-Process -FilePath "https://dl.google.com/cloudagents/windows/google-cloud-ops-agent-msi.exe" -ArgumentList "/allusers /quiet" -Wait

What it does:

Downloads the Ops Agent MSI installer
Runs silent installation for all users
Configures Windows services
Starts the agent

Supported versions:

Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022
Windows 10, 11 (for client OS)

Agent Configuration

Ops Agent uses a YAML configuration file: Location:

Linux: /etc/google-cloud-ops-agent/config.yaml
Windows: C:\Program Files\Google\Cloud Operations\Ops Agent\config\config.yaml

Default configuration:

logging:
  receivers:
    syslog:
      type: syslog
  service:
    pipelines:
      default_pipeline:
        receivers: [syslog]

metrics:
  receivers:
    hostmetrics:
      type: hostmetrics
      collection_interval: 60s
  service:
    pipelines:
      default_pipeline:
        receivers: [hostmetrics]

Customization:

Edit the config file on the VM
Restart the agent: sudo service google-cloud-ops-agent restart
Or deploy via OS Config policies for fleet-wide configuration

Collected Metrics

Ops Agent automatically collects:

Metric	Description
`agent.googleapis.com/agent/uptime`	Agent uptime in seconds
`agent.googleapis.com/cpu/utilization`	CPU usage percentage
`agent.googleapis.com/memory/percent_used`	Memory usage percentage
`agent.googleapis.com/disk/percent_used`	Disk usage percentage
`agent.googleapis.com/network/traffic`	Network bytes sent/received
`agent.googleapis.com/processes/count`	Number of running processes

Collected Logs

Ops Agent automatically collects: Linux:

Syslog messages (/var/log/syslog or /var/log/messages)
Auth logs (/var/log/auth.log)
Custom application logs (configurable)

Windows:

Windows Event Logs (System, Application, Security)
IIS logs (if IIS installed)
Custom application logs (configurable)

Permissions

Azure AMA Permissions

Required roles:

Virtual Machine Contributor or Owner on the VM
Monitoring Contributor on the resource group

Service principal permissions:

{
  "actions": [
    "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/extensions/write",
    "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/extensions/read",
    "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/extensions/delete"
  ]
}

GCP Ops Agent Permissions

Required IAM roles:

compute.instanceAdmin.v1 (to use OS Config API)
osconfig.guestPolicyAdmin (for fleet-wide deployment)

Service account permissions: The VM’s service account needs:

logging.logEntries.create
monitoring.timeSeries.create

Use the default Compute Engine service account or create a dedicated service account with monitoring permissions.

Troubleshooting

Azure AMA Installation Failed

Common causes:

VM not running
Insufficient permissions
VM Agent (Azure Guest Agent) not running
Network connectivity issues

Solution:

Verify VM is running
Check VM Agent status in Azure Portal
Verify network allows outbound HTTPS to Azure endpoints
Review extension error logs in Azure Portal

GCP Ops Agent Installation Failed

Common causes:

OS Config API not enabled
VM doesn’t have Guest Environment installed
Insufficient IAM permissions
Unsupported OS version

Solution:

Enable OS Config API: gcloud services enable osconfig.googleapis.com
Verify Guest Environment: sudo systemctl status google-guest-agent
Check IAM permissions on the VM
Confirm OS is supported

No Metrics After Installation

Azure:

Wait 5-10 minutes for initial data
Ensure DCR is associated with the VM
Verify DCR is configured correctly
Check Log Analytics workspace permissions

GCP:

Wait 3-5 minutes for initial data
Verify agent status with /agent/status endpoint
Check Cloud Monitoring permissions
Review agent logs: journalctl -u google-cloud-ops-agent

Agent Stopped Working

Azure:

Check if VM was restarted or reimaged
Verify extension is still installed
Review Windows Event Viewer or Linux syslog for errors

GCP:

Check agent service status: sudo systemctl status google-cloud-ops-agent
Review agent logs: sudo journalctl -u google-cloud-ops-agent -n 100
Restart agent: sudo systemctl restart google-cloud-ops-agent

Agent Comparison

Feature	Azure Monitor Agent	GCP Ops Agent
Configuration	Data Collection Rules (centralized)	YAML file on VM
Installation	VM Extension	Package manager
Updates	Automatic (minor versions)	Automatic via package updates
Multi-workspace	Yes (via DCRs)	No (single project)
Custom metrics	Yes (via DCR)	Yes (via config)
Cost	No agent cost (data ingestion charged)	No agent cost (data ingestion charged)
Legacy agents	Replaces MMA/OMS	Replaces separate monitoring/logging agents

Best Practices

Deploy During Provisioning

Install monitoring agents during VM creation to ensure complete telemetry from the start.

Use Automation

Use VM extensions (Azure) or startup scripts (GCP) to install agents automatically.

Monitor Agent Health

Set up alerts for agent failures or missing heartbeats.

Keep Agents Updated

Enable auto-upgrade for minor versions to get latest features and fixes.

Next Steps

Log Analytics

Configure Data Collection Rules for Azure VMs

Metrics Collection

View metrics collected by agents

Get Started

Authentication

Core Features

Virtual Machines

Containers

Storage

Networking

Monitoring & Logs

Deployment

​Overview

​Azure Monitor Agent (AMA)

​About AMA

​Check Agent Status

​Install Azure Monitor Agent

​Windows Agent Details

​Linux Agent Details

​Agent Configuration

​Upgrade from MMA

​GCP Ops Agent

​About Ops Agent

​Check Agent Status

​Install Ops Agent

​Linux Installation Script

​Windows Installation Script

​Agent Configuration

​Collected Metrics

​Collected Logs

​Permissions

​Azure AMA Permissions

​GCP Ops Agent Permissions

​Troubleshooting

​Agent Comparison

​Best Practices

Deploy During Provisioning

Use Automation

Monitor Agent Health

Keep Agents Updated

​Next Steps

Log Analytics

Metrics Collection

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Azure Monitor Agent (AMA)

About AMA

Check Agent Status

Install Azure Monitor Agent

Windows Agent Details

Linux Agent Details

Agent Configuration

Upgrade from MMA

GCP Ops Agent

About Ops Agent

Check Agent Status

Install Ops Agent

Linux Installation Script

Windows Installation Script

Agent Configuration

Collected Metrics

Collected Logs

Permissions

Azure AMA Permissions

GCP Ops Agent Permissions

Troubleshooting

Agent Comparison

Best Practices

Next Steps