Improve the observability of Logic Apps (standard) workflows with Application Insights

Microsoft recently announced Public Preview Enhancements for Logic Apps Standard in Application Insights. These enhancements give developers deeper insight into the performance and health of standard Logic Apps, making it easier to diagnose problems and optimize performance.

Logic Apps is Microsoft’s automated workflow offering, and the Logic App Standard tier allows developers to run workflows anywhere. Standard is generally available from June 2021.

Application Insights is an Azure service that allows users to monitor the performance and usage of their applications. Public Preview Enhancements for Logic Apps (Standard) allows developers to gain deeper insight into the performance of their logic apps, including monitoring and analyzing the execution of certain operations within a logic app.

With the new feature, developers can enable Application Insights integration for their Logic Apps (Standard) projects from the Azure portal or by changing the application settings. This feature requires the Functions V4 runtime, which is automatically enabled for new Logic Apps (Standard) instances.

Once enabled, developers can view various metrics and logs for their Logic Apps (Standard) workflows, such as the number of runs, errors, triggers, actions, and custom events. They can also use the Application Insights query language (Kusto) to analyze and visualize data.

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In addition, users can leverage Application Insights’ distributed tracing functionality to trace the end-to-end flow of their Logic Apps (Standard) workflows across multiple services and components. This feature graphically represents the execution of a workflow, as well as the duration, state, and dependencies of each step.

Kent WeareMicrosoft’s Logic Apps Principal Program Manager told InfoQ:

We’ve improved how Azure Logic Apps (standard) emits telemetry based on customer feedback. Customers want more control over how events are emitted and the schema used to do so. Storing Application Insights is a cost that customers have to bear, so we wanted to be as efficient as possible and give them control over telemetry filtered at the source.

He also added:

One feature I’m particularly excited about is including connector metadata in our emitted events. Connectors are a big part of our value proposition, and organizations want to understand what connectors and workflows they’re using. Providing this type of inventory data in a simple query makes management and maintenance much easier for customers.

The new feature is currently in public preview and available in all regions that support Logic Apps (Standard). Additionally, Microsoft encourages developers to provide feedback and suggestions for improvements through Logic Apps User Voice.