Can I use a different sample frequency in Azure Monitor for perfmon-based counters?

Question

I'm trying to collect perfmon-based counters from an Azure ARC-connected on-prem VM as generally described here https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-monitor/agents/data-collection-rule-azure-monitor-agent?tabs=portal and when I try to set the sampling frequency to a longer interval (5 minutes) instead of the default 60 seconds I get an error when PUTting the config:

"Data collection rule is invalid","details":[{"code":"InvalidDataSource","message":"Sampling frequency must be equal to 60 seconds for counters collected with Microsoft-InsightsMetrics stream."

Is this unchangeable at this time? I don't need 1-minute frequency and don't want to spend the money on the additional Azure resources to store it...

thanks

Martin

Answer 1

Hi - confirming for future readers that, using the API, I was able to create a data collection rule using Log Analytics as the destination and with a different collection frequency (5 minutes/300 seconds, in my case).

Martin

Answer 2

Apologies for the delayed response. Here are the updates regarding this issue:

1. When sending perf counters to Azure Metrics, only 60 seconds collection is supported, as that is how Azure Metrics are structured. This was always true of how it was collected, and other values were ignored, but gave the false impression that it was more or less frequent.
2. However, when sending perf metrics to the Log Analytics Perf table, variable collection frequencies are supported.

Currently, there are issues related to portal experience for DCR when trying to select "Log Analytics" as the destination for the perf data collection, which is being actively worked on. It is expected to be fixed in the next few weeks.

[Update 07/17] - As confirmed above, you may use the DCR API to create DCR with LA workspace as destination and varying frequency.

I apologize for the inconvenience due to this issue.