Simplify AKS observability with Azure Native New Relic Service

A Seamless Azure Native Journey to New Relic Intelligent Observability for AKS

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) environments are inherently dynamic. Applications can stretch across multiple clusters, namespaces, nodes, pods, and containers, constantly scaling and evolving. To maintain consistent visibility, platform teams often have to deploy and manage monitoring components separately across every cluster.

Fortunately, the Azure Native New Relic Service simplifies this undertaking by seamlessly integrating New Relic onboarding and management directly within Azure. This service offers customers the ability to:

• Set up a new New Relic account or link your existing account through Azure.

• Set up the forwarding of Azure platform metrics and logs directly to New Relic.

• Monitor the status of Azure resources efficiently.

• Streamline procurement and eligible New Relic charges via Azure Marketplace.

• Monitor several Azure subscriptions from one New Relic resource.

With added support for AKS extensions, users can expand this native management experience across their Kubernetes clusters.

Set Up New Relic Integration via the Azure Portal

The new setup follows the straightforward model used for other Azure Native integrations related to compute resources.

Within your Azure Native New Relic Service resource, you can easily navigate to:

New Relic Account Config > Azure Kubernetes Services, select your AKS cluster, and then click on Install Extension. Azure will automatically deploy the New Relic Kubernetes integration using the AKS cluster extensions framework.

Once the deployment is finished, you’ll see the installation status for your cluster. If needed, you can return to this interface to check the status or choose to Uninstall Extension when you no longer require monitoring.

AKS cluster extensions provide a consistent approach for installing and managing services on AKS through Azure Resource Manager. This ensures that customers enjoy a unified Azure control experience for deployment and lifecycle operations, rather than needing to perform separate, manual Helm installations for each cluster.

Gain Enhanced Visibility into Kubernetes Workloads

The extension facilitates the deployment of the New Relic Kubernetes integration to your selected AKS cluster. This integration grants comprehensive visibility over Kubernetes infrastructure and workloads, covering the health and performance of clusters, nodes, namespaces, deployments, pods, and containers.

Depending on the New Relic features you enable, you can also consolidate Kubernetes events, logs, and Prometheus metrics with application and Azure platform telemetry within New Relic. This allows application, platform, and site reliability engineers to troubleshoot issues across the entire stack without struggling to piece together disparate views.

With New Relic, teams can:

• Gauge resource consumption and health across clusters, nodes, pods, and containers.

• Spot unhealthy workloads, container restarts, and capacity constraints.

• Link Kubernetes infrastructure signals to application performance data.

• Navigate Kubernetes entities and their relationships through New Relic’s cluster experience.

• Craft customized dashboards, alerts, and operational workflows informed by telemetry from Azure and AKS.

This results in a more straightforward route from identifying an issue to comprehending its effect on applications and end-users.

Minimise Operational Toil with Unified Telemetry

For businesses running multiple AKS clusters, maintaining consistency is vital alongside visibility. Manual installations can lead to configuration inconsistencies, overlooked clusters, and increased effort whenever monitoring components need to be updated.

The Azure Native New Relic Service tackles these hurdles effectively by offering:

• Simplified onboarding: Install the integration directly via the Azure portal, eliminating the need for a separate deployment process.

• Centralized visibility: Review the status of your AKS extensions alongside other Azure resources linked to New Relic.

• Aligning with Azure governance: Use Azure Resource Manager and Azure role-based access control to govern management effectively.

• Lifecycle management made easy: Install or uninstall extensions using a consistent Azure workflow.

• Unified observability: Seamlessly connect AKS telemetry with application, infrastructure, log, and Azure platform data within New Relic.

This user experience is particularly valuable for platform teams aiming to standardize observability as a service while enabling development teams to leverage New Relic for troubleshooting and enhancing performance.

Get Started with New Relic

To kick off monitoring your AKS environment using Azure Native New Relic Service, follow these simple steps:

1. Visit the Marketplace offer listing or create an Azure Native New Relic Service resource in the Azure portal.
2. Navigate to New Relic account config > Azure Kubernetes Services.
3. Choose the AKS cluster you want to monitor.
4. Click Install Extension and confirm the installation.
5. After the installation status changes to Installed, open New Relic to access your Kubernetes data and set up the necessary dashboards and alerts for your environment.

If you encounter any technical issues, don’t hesitate to raise a support ticket and share your feedback.