Exception Handling, Logging, and Notifications in Azure App Services: A Comprehensive Guide

Introduction
Azure App Services are cloud-based applications that enable developers to build, deploy, and manage applications on the cloud. As with any application, it is important to have the proper exception handling, logging, and notification practices in place to ensure the application runs smoothly and any issues can be quickly identified and resolved. In this blog post, we will discuss the best practices for exception handling, logging, and notifications for Azure App Services.

Exception Handling
Exception handling is one of the most important aspects of application development. It is important to properly handle exceptions to ensure the application runs smoothly and any unexpected errors can be quickly identified and resolved. When developing Azure App Services, it is important to use the Azure Application Insights feature to track and monitor application exceptions. This feature provides insight into application performance, errors, and exceptions and can help pinpoint the root cause of any issues.

Logging
Logging is an essential practice when developing applications, as it can provide valuable insight into how the application is performing and any potential issues that may arise.

Log Stream
Log Stream is a feature in Azure Monitor that allows users to quickly view and analyse log data from multiple sources in real-time. It allows users to quickly search and analyse log data, identify trends, and take action on any issues. Log Stream can help with troubleshooting, performance optimization, and security monitoring.

Diagnostics Settings
When developing Azure App Services, it is important to use the Azure Diagnostics feature to log application events, errors, and exceptions. This feature provides detailed logging.

1. Select the App Service from the list of services.
2. Select the Diagnostic Settings option from the left navigation pane.
3. Configure the settings including the type of logging and the frequency of logging.
4. Configure the type of metrics that should be collected, the metrics that should be collected, and the metrics that should be used to trigger alerts.
5. Configure the retention period for the collected data and the type of data that should be stored in the log files.
6. Azure Storage account is for Archive logs for audit, offline analysis or backup. Compared to using Azure Monitor Logs or a Log Analytics workspace, Storage is less expensive, and logs can be kept there indefinitely

Azure Application Insights
Azure Application Insights is a great tool for tracking and monitoring your application. It can provide detailed information about errors and exceptions, as well as performance metrics and other useful information.

For example, you can use Application Insights to monitor the performance of your web application. You can track the number of requests and response times, as well as the performance of individual requests. You can also track exceptions and errors, and get detailed information about when and where they occur.

Additionally, you can use Application Insights to monitor the performance of your backend services, such as databases and queues. You can track the number of requests and response times, as well as the performance of individual requests. You can also track exceptions and errors, and get detailed information about when and where they occur.

Alerts & Notifications
Alerts are typically sent out in response to a specific trigger, such as a critical system error.

Notifications are messages sent to one or more users to notify them that an alert has been created.

For more details please refer Azure app service monitoring and alerts.

Exception handling, logging, alerts and notifications are essential to the reliable operation of Azure App Services. With the right configuration and setup, these are the features can ensure that your services are operating efficiently and securely. This comprehensive guide provides an overview of each of these features, as well as basic instructions on how to configure them. With this guide, you'll be able to make sure that your Azure App Services are running smoothly and securely.