dt-obs-azure
dynatrace/dynatrace-for-ai
Monitor and audit Azure infrastructure, resources, and security posture in Dynatrace.
What is dt-obs-azure?
This skill enables querying and analyzing Azure cloud resources across VMs, databases, storage, networking, Kubernetes, and App Service using Dynatrace Smartscape and DQL. Use it to inventory resources, monitor performance metrics, audit security compliance, manage organizational hierarchy, and optimize costs across subscriptions and resource groups.
- Query Azure resource inventory and topology across compute, networking, database, storage, and messaging services
- Monitor performance metrics (CPU, latency, throughput) and resource utilization
- Audit security posture including encryption, public access, NSG rules, and Key Vault access
- Analyze organizational hierarchy across tenants, subscriptions, and resource groups
- Investigate unattached resources, tag compliance, and resource lifecycle
- Plan capacity and identify cost-optimization opportunities
How to install dt-obs-azure
npx skills add https://github.com/dynatrace/dynatrace-for-ai --skill dt-obs-azure- Dynatrace environment with Azure monitoring enabled
- Azure subscription IDs and resource group names for scoping queries
- Access to Dynatrace DQL query interface
How to use dt-obs-azure
- 1.Install the skill using the provided npm command
- 2.Identify your task type (inventory, metrics, networking, security, cost, etc.) from the reference table
- 3.Load the appropriate reference file (e.g., metrics-performance.md, security-compliance.md) for detailed patterns
- 4.Use smartscapeNodes with AZURE_* entity types to query resources
- 5.Apply filters for subscription, resource group, and location to scope queries
- 6.Traverse relationships between resources (VMs to disks, VMSS to NSGs, etc.) using the traverse function
Use cases
- Inventory all Azure resources in a subscription and identify unattached or unused resources
- Audit NSG rules for overly permissive access (0.0.0.0/0) and investigate WAF false positives
- Monitor Azure SQL, Cosmos DB, and Redis performance and connection metrics
- Analyze AKS cluster infrastructure, VMSS scaling behavior, and container app deployments
- Track storage account encryption status and public access configurations
- Cloud infrastructure engineers managing Azure environments
- Security and compliance teams auditing Azure resource configurations
- DevOps and SRE teams monitoring Azure application infrastructure
- Cost optimization and FinOps teams analyzing Azure spending
- Platform teams managing multi-subscription Azure organizations
dt-obs-azure FAQ
Use `smartscapeNodes "AZURE_*" | filter azure.subscription == "<SUBSCRIPTION_ID>"` to list all resources. Combine with additional filters for resource group or location to narrow results.
Entity types follow the ARM resource provider path with AZURE_ prefix. Examples: AZURE_MICROSOFT_COMPUTE_VIRTUALMACHINES for VMs, AZURE_MICROSOFT_SQL_SERVERS_DATABASES for SQL databases, AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_NETWORKSECURITYGROUPS for NSGs. See the skill documentation for the complete list.
Use the `traverse` function with "*" as the relationship name (Azure relationships don't populate dt.traverse.relationship). Example: `traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_COMPUTE_DISKS"` to find disks attached to a VM.
Yes, load the security-compliance.md reference file to audit encryption status, public access settings, NSG rules, and Key Vault configurations. You can identify resources with overly permissive rules or missing encryption.
Load the cost-optimization.md and resource-management.md reference files to identify unattached resources, analyze SKU usage, find unused storage, and track resource lifecycle across your Azure environment.
Full instructions (SKILL.md)
Source of truth, from dynatrace/dynatrace-for-ai.
name: dt-obs-azure description: Azure cloud resources including VMs, VMSS, SQL Database, Storage, AKS, App Service, Functions, VNet networking, load balancers, Event Hubs, Container Apps, and Key Vault. Monitor Azure infrastructure, analyze resource usage, audit security posture, and manage organizational hierarchy across subscriptions and resource groups. license: Apache-2.0
Azure Cloud Infrastructure
Monitor and analyze Azure resources using Dynatrace Smartscape and DQL. Query Azure services, audit security, manage organizational hierarchy, and plan capacity across your Azure infrastructure.
When to Use This Skill
Use this skill when the user needs to work with Azure resources in Dynatrace. Load the reference file for the task type:
| Task | File to load |
|---|---|
| Inventory and topology queries | (no additional file — use core patterns below) |
| Query Azure metric timeseries (CPU, latency, throughput) | Load references/metrics-performance.md |
| VNet topology, subnets, NSGs, public IPs, VPN, peering | Load references/vnet-networking-security.md |
| Azure SQL, Cosmos DB, PostgreSQL, Redis investigation | Load references/database-monitoring.md |
| Functions, App Service, AKS infrastructure, Container Apps | Load references/serverless-containers.md |
| Azure LB, Application Gateway, Front Door, API Management | Load references/load-balancing-api.md |
| WAF rule analysis, false-positive investigation | Load references/load-balancing-api.md |
| Event Hubs, Service Bus, Event Grid | Load references/messaging-integration.md |
| Storage Accounts, Blob, File, Queue, Table | Load references/storage-monitoring.md |
| Unattached resources, tag compliance, lifecycle | Load references/resource-management.md |
| Cost savings, unused resources, SKU analysis | Load references/cost-optimization.md |
| Capacity headroom, VMSS scaling, quotas | Load references/capacity-planning.md |
| Security audit, encryption, public access, Key Vault | Load references/security-compliance.md |
| NSG rule analysis (0.0.0.0/0, open ports) | Load references/security-compliance.md |
| Storage account encryption/public access audit | Load references/security-compliance.md |
| Cost allocation, chargeback, ownership | Load references/resource-ownership.md |
| Determine orchestration context (AKS, VMSS, standalone) | Load references/workload-detection.md |
Core Concepts
Entity Types
Azure resources use the AZURE_* prefix and can be queried using the smartscapeNodes function. All Azure entities are automatically discovered and modeled in Dynatrace Smartscape. Entity type names are derived from the ARM resource provider path: /Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines becomes AZURE_MICROSOFT_COMPUTE_VIRTUALMACHINES. Sub-resources append with underscores: /Microsoft.Sql/servers/databases becomes AZURE_MICROSOFT_SQL_SERVERS_DATABASES.
Compute: AZURE_MICROSOFT_COMPUTE_VIRTUALMACHINES, AZURE_MICROSOFT_COMPUTE_VIRTUALMACHINESCALESETS, AZURE_MICROSOFT_COMPUTE_VIRTUALMACHINESCALESETS_VIRTUALMACHINES, AZURE_MICROSOFT_COMPUTE_DISKS, AZURE_MICROSOFT_COMPUTE_SSHPUBLICKEYS, AZURE_MICROSOFT_COMPUTE_VIRTUALMACHINES_EXTENSIONS
Networking: AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_VIRTUALNETWORKS, AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_VIRTUALNETWORKS_SUBNETS, AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_NETWORKSECURITYGROUPS, AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_PUBLICIPADDRESSES, AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_NETWORKINTERFACES, AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_LOADBALANCERS, AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_APPLICATIONGATEWAYS, AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_VIRTUALNETWORKGATEWAYS, AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_CONNECTIONS, AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_EXPRESSROUTECIRCUITS
Database: AZURE_MICROSOFT_SQL_SERVERS, AZURE_MICROSOFT_SQL_SERVERS_DATABASES, AZURE_MICROSOFT_CACHE_REDIS, AZURE_MICROSOFT_CACHE_REDISENTERPRISE, AZURE_MICROSOFT_DOCUMENTDB_DATABASEACCOUNTS
Storage: AZURE_MICROSOFT_STORAGE_STORAGEACCOUNTS, AZURE_MICROSOFT_STORAGE_STORAGEACCOUNTS_BLOBSERVICES_CONTAINERS, AZURE_MICROSOFT_STORAGE_STORAGEACCOUNTS_FILESERVICES_SHARES, AZURE_MICROSOFT_STORAGE_STORAGEACCOUNTS_QUEUESERVICES_QUEUES, AZURE_MICROSOFT_STORAGE_STORAGEACCOUNTS_TABLESERVICES_TABLES
Kubernetes/Containers: AZURE_MICROSOFT_CONTAINERSERVICE_MANAGEDCLUSTERS, AZURE_MICROSOFT_CONTAINERSERVICE_MANAGEDCLUSTERS_AGENTPOOLS, AZURE_MICROSOFT_CONTAINERREGISTRY_REGISTRIES, AZURE_MICROSOFT_APP_CONTAINERAPPS, AZURE_MICROSOFT_APP_MANAGEDENVIRONMENTS, AZURE_MICROSOFT_APP_JOBS
App Service: AZURE_MICROSOFT_WEB_SITES, AZURE_MICROSOFT_WEB_SERVERFARMS, AZURE_MICROSOFT_WEB_SITES_FUNCTIONS
Messaging: AZURE_MICROSOFT_EVENTHUB_NAMESPACES, AZURE_MICROSOFT_EVENTHUB_NAMESPACES_EVENTHUBS, AZURE_MICROSOFT_SERVICEBUS_NAMESPACES, AZURE_MICROSOFT_SERVICEBUS_NAMESPACES_QUEUES, AZURE_MICROSOFT_SERVICEBUS_NAMESPACES_TOPICS, AZURE_MICROSOFT_SERVICEBUS_NAMESPACES_TOPICS_SUBSCRIPTIONS
Security/Identity: AZURE_MICROSOFT_KEYVAULT_VAULTS, AZURE_MICROSOFT_MANAGEDIDENTITY_USERASSIGNEDIDENTITIES
Monitoring: AZURE_MICROSOFT_OPERATIONALINSIGHTS_WORKSPACES, AZURE_MICROSOFT_INSIGHTS_COMPONENTS
API Management: AZURE_MICROSOFT_APIMANAGEMENT_SERVICE
Azure Organizational Hierarchy
Azure organizes resources in a three-level hierarchy: Tenant > Subscription > Resource Group. Every resource belongs to exactly one resource group within one subscription. Use these fields to scope queries:
filter azure.subscription == "08b9810e-..."
filter azure.resource.group == "my-rg"
filter azure.location == "eastus"
Combine these filters for precise scoping:
smartscapeNodes "AZURE_*"
| filter azure.subscription == "<SUBSCRIPTION_ID>"
and azure.resource.group == "<RESOURCE_GROUP>"
and azure.location == "<REGION>"
| summarize count = count(), by: {type}
| sort count desc
To see the organizational breakdown across your environment:
smartscapeNodes "AZURE_*"
| summarize resource_count = count(), by: {azure.subscription, azure.resource.group}
| sort resource_count desc
Common Azure Fields
All Azure entities include:
azure.subscription— Azure subscription GUIDazure.resource.group— Resource group nameazure.location— Azure region (e.g.,eastus,polandcentral)azure.resourceType— ARM resource type (e.g.,microsoft.compute/virtualmachines)azure.provisioning_state— Provisioning state (e.g.,Succeeded)azure.object— Full ARM resource JSON (see Configuration Parsing)cloud.provider— Alwaysazuretags— Resource tags (usetags[`key`])
Some entity types also have:
azure.resourceId— Full ARM resource ID (VMs and some others)azure.resourceName— Resource name (VMs and some others)azure.availabilityZones— Availability zone list (VMs)
Relationship Types
Azure entity relationships can be traversed using traverse. The dt.traverse.relationship field is not populated for Azure entities, so you must use "*" as the relationship name in all traversal commands.
Key traversal pairs:
- VM → Disks:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_COMPUTE_DISKS" - VM → NICs:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_NETWORKINTERFACES" - VM → VMSS:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_COMPUTE_VIRTUALMACHINESCALESETS" - VM → Availability Zones:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_RESOURCES_LOCATIONS_AVAILABILITYZONES" - VM ← Extensions:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_COMPUTE_VIRTUALMACHINES_EXTENSIONS", direction:backward - VMSS → AKS Clusters:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_CONTAINERSERVICE_MANAGEDCLUSTERS" - VMSS → Subnets:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_VIRTUALNETWORKS_SUBNETS" - VMSS → NSGs:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_NETWORKSECURITYGROUPS" - VMSS → LB Backend Pools:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_LOADBALANCERS_BACKENDADDRESSPOOLS" - Subnet → VNet:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_VIRTUALNETWORKS" - Subnet → NSG:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_NETWORKSECURITYGROUPS" - Subnet ← VMSS:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_COMPUTE_VIRTUALMACHINESCALESETS", direction:backward - NSG ← NICs:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_NETWORKINTERFACES", direction:backward - NSG ← Subnets:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_VIRTUALNETWORKS_SUBNETS", direction:backward - LB → Backend Pools:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_LOADBALANCERS_BACKENDADDRESSPOOLS" - LB → Frontend IPs:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_LOADBALANCERS_FRONTENDIPCONFIGURATIONS" - LB → LB Rules:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_LOADBALANCERS_LOADBALANCINGRULES" - SQL Server ← SQL Databases:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_SQL_SERVERS_DATABASES", direction:backward - Storage Account ← Blob Containers:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_STORAGE_STORAGEACCOUNTS_BLOBSERVICES_CONTAINERS", direction:backward - Storage Account ← File Shares:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_STORAGE_STORAGEACCOUNTS_FILESERVICES_SHARES", direction:backward - AKS ← VMSS:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_COMPUTE_VIRTUALMACHINESCALESETS", direction:backward - AKS ← Agent Pools:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_CONTAINERSERVICE_MANAGEDCLUSTERS_AGENTPOOLS", direction:backward - AKS ← NSGs:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_NETWORKSECURITYGROUPS", direction:backward - AKS ← Public IPs:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_PUBLICIPADDRESSES", direction:backward - AKS → Public IPs:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_PUBLICIPADDRESSES" - Web Site → App Service Plan:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_WEB_SERVERFARMS" - Web Site ← Functions:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_WEB_SITES_FUNCTIONS", direction:backward - Container App → Managed Environment:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_APP_MANAGEDENVIRONMENTS" - EventHub Namespace ← Event Hubs:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_EVENTHUB_NAMESPACES_EVENTHUBS", direction:backward - ServiceBus Namespace ← Queues:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_SERVICEBUS_NAMESPACES_QUEUES", direction:backward - ServiceBus Namespace ← Topics:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_SERVICEBUS_NAMESPACES_TOPICS", direction:backward - ServiceBus Topic ← Subscriptions:
traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_SERVICEBUS_NAMESPACES_TOPICS_SUBSCRIPTIONS", direction:backward - Use
fieldsKeep:{field1, field2}to carry fields through multi-hop traversals - After a single-hop traverse, use
dt.traverse.history[0][id]to get the source entity ID, thenlookupto resolve the source entity name:| fieldsAdd sourceId = dt.traverse.history[0][id] | lookup [smartscapeNodes "SOURCE_TYPE" | fields name, id], sourceField: sourceId, lookupField: id, prefix: "src." - After multi-hop traversals,
dt.traverse.history[-N]works for fields carried viafieldsKeep
Azure Metric Naming Convention
Dynatrace ingests Azure Monitor metrics and exposes them using this naming pattern:
cloud.azure.<provider_namespace>.<resource_type>.<MetricName>
The <provider_namespace> uses underscores within the namespace (e.g., microsoft_compute) and <resource_type> is lowercase (e.g., virtualmachines). Hierarchy levels are dot-separated: microsoft_sql.servers.databases. <MetricName> is the Azure Monitor metric name.
Examples:
| Azure Monitor metric | Dynatrace metric key |
|---|---|
VM Percentage CPU | cloud.azure.microsoft_compute.virtualmachines.PercentageCPU |
SQL DB cpu_percent | cloud.azure.microsoft_sql.servers.databases.cpu_percent |
Storage Ingress | cloud.azure.microsoft_storage.storageaccounts.Ingress |
Event Hub IncomingMessages | cloud.azure.microsoft_eventhub.namespaces.IncomingMessages |
Service Bus IncomingMessages | cloud.azure.microsoft_servicebus.namespaces.IncomingMessages |
App Service HttpResponseTime | cloud.azure.microsoft_web.sites.HttpResponseTime |
Load Balancer ByteCount | cloud.azure.microsoft_network.loadbalancers.ByteCount |
AKS node_cpu_usage_percentage | cloud.azure.microsoft_containerservice.managedclusters.node_cpu_usage_percentage |
Cosmos DB TotalRequestUnits | cloud.azure.microsoft_documentdb.databaseaccounts.TotalRequestUnits |
Redis serverLoad | cloud.azure.microsoft_cache.redis.serverLoad |
App Gateway TotalRequests | cloud.azure.microsoft_network.applicationgateways.TotalRequests |
To query a metric:
timeseries cpu = avg(cloud.azure.microsoft_compute.virtualmachines.PercentageCPU),
by: {dt.smartscape_source.id},
from: now()-1h
| limit 10
Important: Never refer to these as "Azure Monitor alerts" or "Azure Monitor metrics" in output. Dynatrace monitors Azure resources natively through its Azure integration — these are Dynatrace metrics ingested from Azure.
Configuration Parsing with azure.object
The azure.object field contains the full ARM resource JSON. Parse it with the azjson alias:
parse azure.object, "JSON:azjson"
The JSON is wrapped in a configuration key:
{
"configuration": {
"id": "<ARM resource ID>",
"name": "<resource name>",
"type": "<ARM resource type>",
"location": "<region>",
"sku": { ... },
"properties": { ... },
"zones": [...]
},
"tags": { ... }
}
Access patterns:
- Properties:
azjson[configuration][properties][field] - SKU:
azjson[configuration][sku][name] - Kind:
azjson[configuration][kind] - Zones:
azjson[configuration][zones]
Common configuration fields by service:
- VM:
properties.hardwareProfile.vmSize,properties.storageProfile.imageReference.offer,properties.storageProfile.osDisk.osType,properties.extended.instanceView.powerState.displayStatus - VMSS:
sku.name(VM size),sku.capacity(instance count),tags.aks-managed-poolName - NSG:
properties.securityRules[](custom rules array),properties.securityRules[].properties.direction,properties.securityRules[].properties.access,properties.securityRules[].properties.sourceAddressPrefix - Storage Account:
kind(e.g., StorageV2),sku.name,properties.accessTier,properties.supportsHttpsTrafficOnly,properties.allowBlobPublicAccess,properties.encryption.keySource - SQL Server:
properties.fullyQualifiedDomainName,properties.publicNetworkAccess,properties.minimalTlsVersion - SQL Database:
sku.name(tier),sku.capacity(DTU/vCore),properties.status,properties.zoneRedundant - AKS:
properties.kubernetesVersion,properties.powerState.code,properties.networkProfile.networkPlugin,properties.enableRBAC - Web Site:
kind(e.g.,functionapp,linux),properties.state,properties.defaultHostName,properties.siteConfig.linuxFxVersion - Container App:
properties.runningStatus,properties.template.containers[].image,properties.template.scale.minReplicas,properties.template.scale.maxReplicas - Event Hub Namespace:
sku.name,properties.kafkaEnabled,properties.zoneRedundant - Service Bus Namespace:
sku.name(Basic/Standard/Premium),properties.zoneRedundant,properties.minimumTlsVersion,properties.publicNetworkAccess,properties.disableLocalAuth,properties.status - Service Bus Queue:
properties.maxSizeInMegabytes,properties.enablePartitioning,properties.deadLetteringOnMessageExpiration,properties.maxDeliveryCount,properties.lockDuration,properties.requiresDuplicateDetection,properties.status - Key Vault:
properties.enableRbacAuthorization,properties.enableSoftDelete,properties.publicNetworkAccess - Redis:
properties.sku.name,properties.hostName,properties.redisVersion,properties.enableNonSslPort - Cosmos DB:
kind(e.g., GlobalDocumentDB),properties.EnabledApiTypes,properties.consistencyPolicy.defaultConsistencyLevel - Load Balancer:
sku.name,tags.aks-managed-cluster-name - App Gateway:
properties.sku.name,properties.sku.tier,properties.operationalState,properties.webApplicationFirewallConfiguration.enabled,properties.webApplicationFirewallConfiguration.firewallMode(Detection/Prevention),properties.webApplicationFirewallConfiguration.ruleSetType,properties.webApplicationFirewallConfiguration.ruleSetVersion,properties.webApplicationFirewallConfiguration.disabledRuleGroups[],properties.webApplicationFirewallConfiguration.exclusions[],properties.firewallPolicy.id
Query Patterns
All Azure queries build on four core patterns. Master these and adapt them to any entity type.
Pattern 1: Resource Discovery
List resources by type, filter by subscription/resource group/region/tags, summarize counts:
smartscapeNodes "AZURE_*"
| filter azure.subscription == "<SUBSCRIPTION_ID>" and azure.location == "<REGION>"
| summarize count = count(), by: {type}
| sort count desc
To list a specific type, replace "AZURE_*" with the entity type (e.g., "AZURE_MICROSOFT_COMPUTE_VIRTUALMACHINES"). Add | fields name, azure.subscription, azure.resource.group, azure.location, ... to select specific columns. Use tags[`TagName`] for tag-based filtering.
Pattern 2: Configuration Parsing
Parse azure.object JSON for detailed configuration fields:
smartscapeNodes "AZURE_MICROSOFT_COMPUTE_VIRTUALMACHINES"
| parse azure.object, "JSON:azjson"
| fieldsAdd vmSize = azjson[configuration][properties][hardwareProfile][vmSize],
osType = azjson[configuration][properties][storageProfile][osDisk][osType]
| summarize vm_count = count(), by: {vmSize, osType, azure.location}
Pattern 3: Relationship Traversal
Follow relationships between resources. Use "*" for the relationship name since Azure does not populate dt.traverse.relationship:
smartscapeNodes "AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_LOADBALANCERS"
| parse azure.object, "JSON:azjson"
| fieldsAdd lbSku = azjson[configuration][sku][name]
| traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_NETWORK_LOADBALANCERS_BACKENDADDRESSPOOLS", fieldsKeep:{lbSku, name, id}
| fieldsAdd backendPoolName = name
| traverse "*", "AZURE_MICROSOFT_COMPUTE_VIRTUALMACHINESCALESETS", direction:backward, fieldsKeep:{backendPoolName, id}
| fieldsAdd loadBalancerName = dt.traverse.history[-2][name],
loadBalancerId = dt.traverse.history[-2][id],
backendPoolId = dt.traverse.history[-1][id]
Key differences from AWS traversals:
- Always use
"*"as the relationship name (relationship type names are empty for Azure) - Azure relationships primarily follow a parent-child hierarchy: sub-resources link backward to parent resources
- AKS is a major relationship hub with backward links from VMSS, NSGs, LBs, Public IPs, Agent Pools, and Managed Identities
Pattern 4: Tag-Based Ownership
Group resources by any tag for ownership/chargeback:
smartscapeNodes "AZURE_*"
| filter isNotNull(tags[`<TAG_NAME>`])
| summarize resource_count = count(), by: {tags[`<TAG_NAME>`], type}
| sort resource_count desc
Common Azure tags: tags[`ACE:CREATED-BY`], tags[`dt_owner_email`], tags[`dt_owner_team`], tags[`project`], tags[`managed-by`]. Replace "AZURE_*" with a specific type to scope to one service.
Find untagged resources: | filter arraySize(tags) == 0
Reference Guide
Load reference files for detailed queries when the core patterns above need service-specific adaptation.
| Reference | When to load | Key content |
|---|---|---|
| vnet-networking-security.md | VNet topology, subnets, NSGs, public IPs, VPN, peering | VNet/subnet mapping, NSG blast radius, public IP detection |
| database-monitoring.md | Azure SQL, Cosmos DB, Redis Cache | Service tier distribution, zone redundancy, public access checks |
| serverless-containers.md | Functions, App Service, AKS infra, Container Apps | Runtime distribution, App Service Plan mapping, AKS node pools |
| load-balancing-api.md | Load Balancers, Application Gateways, API Management | LB backend pool traversal, App Gateway routing, APIM config |
| messaging-integration.md | Event Hubs, Service Bus, Event Grid | Namespace inventory, Kafka enablement, throughput unit analysis |
| storage-monitoring.md | Storage Accounts, Blob, File, Queue, Table | SKU distribution, access tier, encryption audit, public access |
| resource-management.md | Resource audits, tag compliance, lifecycle | Unattached disks, tag coverage, provisioning state analysis |
| cost-optimization.md | Cost savings, unused resources, sizing | VM SKU analysis, unattached disks, deallocated VMs |
| capacity-planning.md | Capacity analysis, scaling, utilization | VMSS headroom, subnet IP counts, AKS node pool sizing |
| security-compliance.md | Security audits, encryption, public access, Key Vault | NSG rule analysis, TLS version audit, public endpoint detection, encryption checks |
| resource-ownership.md | Chargeback, ownership, cost allocation | Tag-based grouping, subscription/resource-group summaries |
| workload-detection.md | Determine orchestration context and resolution path | AKS node, VMSS member, standalone VM detection for blast radius analysis |
| metrics-performance.md | Query metric timeseries for a specific resource | DQL timeseries patterns for VM, SQL, Storage, Event Hub, LB, App Service, AKS, Cosmos DB, Redis, App Gateway |
Best Practices
Query Optimization
- Filter early by subscription, resource group, and region
- Use specific entity types (avoid
"AZURE_*"wildcards when possible) - Limit results with
| limit Nfor exploration - Use
isNotNull()checks before accessing nested fields
Configuration Parsing
- Always parse
azure.objectwith JSON parser:parse azure.object, "JSON:azjson" - Use consistent field naming:
fieldsAdd configField = azjson[configuration][properties][field] - Access SKU via
azjson[configuration][sku][name](not insideproperties) - Check for null values after parsing — not all entity types have the same properties structure
- Use
toString()for complex nested objects
Organizational Hierarchy
- Always scope queries by
azure.subscriptionin multi-subscription environments - Use
azure.resource.groupto narrow to a team or application boundary - Combine
azure.locationfor region-specific analysis - Use
summarize ... by: {azure.subscription, azure.resource.group}for organizational breakdowns
Tagging Strategy
- Use
tags[`key`]for filtering (backtick-quoted key names) - Check
arraySize(tags)for untagged resources - Track tag coverage with summarize operations
- Common ownership tags:
dt_owner_email,dt_owner_team,ACE:CREATED-BY
Limitations and Notes
Smartscape Limitations
- Azure object configuration requires parsing with
parse azure.object, "JSON:azjson" - Azure metrics are available as Dynatrace metrics using the
cloud.azure.*naming convention (see Azure Metric Naming Convention) - Resource discovery depends on Azure integration configuration in Dynatrace
- Tag synchronization may have slight delays
Relationship Traversal
- Azure relationship type names are empty — always use
"*"as the relationship name intraversecommands - Use
direction:backwardfor reverse relationships (e.g., sub-resources to parent) - Use
fieldsKeepto maintain important fields through traversal - Access traversal history with
dt.traverse.history[0][id]for single-hop source entity ID; uselookupto resolve source entity name - For multi-hop traversals,
dt.traverse.history[-N]accesses fields carried viafieldsKeep - Azure relationships primarily follow parent-child hierarchy patterns
- AKS is a major relationship hub — expect many backward relationships converging on AKS cluster entities
AKS Coverage
- This skill covers AKS infrastructure-layer entities only (clusters, agent pools, VMSS, networking)
- For Kubernetes workload-layer observability (pods, deployments, services, namespaces), defer to the
dt-obs-kubernetesskill
General Tips
- Use
getNodeName()for human-readable resource names - Handle null values gracefully with
isNotNull()andisNull() - Combine subscription, resource group, and region filters for large environments
- Use
countDistinct()for unique resource counts - The
azure.resourceTypefield is lowercase ARM format (e.g.,microsoft.compute/virtualmachines) — useful for filtering but not for entity type matching
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Monitor host and process infrastructure metrics including CPU, memory, disk, network, and technology inventory.

dt-obs-kubernetes
Monitor Kubernetes clusters, pods, nodes, and workloads with Dynatrace DQL queries.

dt-obs-logs
Query, filter, and analyze Dynatrace logs using DQL for troubleshooting and error pattern detection.

dt-obs-predictive-analytics
Forecast resource saturation, detect trends, and identify anomalies across Dynatrace infrastructure using time-series analysis.