Azure Management: Exploring Top Open Source Azure Management Tools for Success

Steve Rastall (Founder & CEO) 13-Jul-2023 09:10:00

IG CloudOps Azure Managed Cloud Service Azure support Azure monitoring

Introduction

Management of your Azure environment is crucial for maximising productivity and optimising resources but it can be a headache. While Azure provides powerful built-in management tools, open-source alternatives offer additional flexibility and customisation options. They also offer the option to monitor across multiple cloud providers and hybrid environments.

In this blog post, we will explore four top open-source Azure management tools: Zabbix for monitoring, Jenkins for automation, Saltstack for security (SecOps), and Prometheus for application monitoring. We'll also discuss how a comprehensive cloud management platform like CloudOps brings together these capabilities, along with other tools, in a single management dashboard.

Monitoring with Zabbix

A key component of Azure administration is monitoring, which enables you to keep tabs on the efficiency and condition of your resources. Leading provider of monitoring software, Zabbix, provides a comprehensive tool for monitoring Azure infrastructure, virtual machines, app, and more.

Zabbix gives you the ability to quickly discover problems and take preventative action because of its wide variety of metrics, customisable dashboards, and proactive alerting. Because it is open-source, you may customise it and integrate it with other tools to create a versatile monitoring system that is suited to your requirements. (As part of CloudOps this is a turn-key element with the platform)

Automation with Jenkins

Automation simplifies routine tasks and enhances productivity. Jenkins offers powerful automation capabilities. By leveraging Jenkins's automation features, you can streamline repetitive tasks, such as scaling Azure resources, provisioning VMs, or managing storage. Jenkins's user-friendly interface and extensive API support enable seamless integration with Azure services, allowing you to automate complex workflows. By reducing manual intervention, you can free up valuable time and resources, improving overall efficiency. (As part of CloudOps Jenkins is a core component that's turned on day one)

Security (SecOps) and Orchestration with Saltstack

Security of your Azure environment is paramount. Saltstack, an open-source configuration management and remote execution tool, provides robust security features for Azure management.

With Saltstack, you can enforce security policies, manage access controls, and perform vulnerability assessments. Its centralised management console allows for easy configuration and compliance management across Azure resources. Saltstack's strong encryption and secure communication protocols help protect sensitive data. By utilizing Saltstack for Azure security, you can strengthen your overall security hardening and mitigate potential risks. (Saltstack is a turn-key element of CloudOps read more here)

It's not just your cloud infrastructure that needs to be secure, your application end-points need to be as well. This is why we also integrate PENtest tools application penetration testing capabilities into CloudOps.

Application Monitoring with Prometheus

In addition to infrastructure and resource monitoring, application monitoring is essential for ensuring optimal performance and user experience. Prometheus, an open-source monitoring and alerting toolkit, offers extensive capabilities for application monitoring in Azure. With its wide range of connectors, Prometheus can integrate seamlessly into various application frameworks and architectures.

It enables you to collect and analyze metrics, monitor service health, and trigger alerts based on predefined rules. Prometheus empowers developers and operations teams to gain insights into application performance, troubleshoot issues, and optimise Azure applications effectively.

Prometheus requires additional set-up once you have a CloudOps agreement in place. If you want to monitor an application you need to check if it has a connector or if you need to do some development on your own applications to include the Prometheus libraries. Either way, Prometheus has quickly become the market leader in this space and gives you a powerful set of monitoring options.

The Power of CloudOps

While particular features are offered by individual tools like Zabbix, Jenkins, Saltstack, and Prometheus, administering several tools independently can be time-consuming.

In this situation, CloudOps is useful!

Monitoring, automation, security, application monitoring, and other Azure management capabilities are all combined into a single, integrated dashboard by the comprehensive cloud management platform CloudOps. With CloudOps, you can combine the benefits of numerous tools into a single, centralised interface, including Zabbix for monitoring, Jenkins for automation, Saltstack for security, Prometheus for application monitoring, and many more. This centralised CloudOps platform streamlines Azure administration improves visibility and enables effective operations in your Azure system.

By embracing such a cloud management platform, you can streamline your Azure operations, improve productivity, and achieve success in your cloud journey. So take the next step and speak to us today.

Or book a test drive and find out more about what CloudOps can do for your team.