
Microsoft Azure Supercharges Observability with OpenTelemetry Support!
2025-06-23
Author: Jacques
Revolutionizing Azure Logic Apps and Functions
Microsoft has just unveiled exciting enhancements that empower Azure Logic Apps and Azure Functions with OpenTelemetry support! This expansion promises to elevate your observability game to new heights.
What is OpenTelemetry?
OpenTelemetry (OTel) is a cutting-edge, open-source observability framework backed by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF). It offers a unified method to generate, collect, and export logs, metrics, and traces, while seamlessly integrating with various observability backends like Azure Monitor and Grafana Tempo. Say goodbye to vendor-specific tools—OpenTelemetry brings interoperability right to your fingertips!
Enhanced Diagnostic Capabilities!
For teams utilizing Azure Logic Apps, especially those in hybrid or on-premises setups, alongside Azure Functions, OpenTelemetry enhances diagnostic capabilities far beyond the standard Application Insights telemetry. This change enables improved correlation between host and application code, ensuring consistent and standards-based data generation.
Easy Configuration for Your Environment!
Getting started with OpenTelemetry in Azure is a breeze! Simply update the host.json file to enable the "telemetryMode": "OpenTelemetry" setting. Additionally, configure your application settings for the OTLP exporter endpoint, and voila—you can do this via Visual Studio Code or the Azure Portal. Perfect for adapting to various hosting environments like Workflow Standard Plan or Hybrid containers!
A Vision for Comprehensive Observability!
Microsoft’s commitment to OpenTelemetry stretches beyond just Logic Apps and Functions, aiming to deliver a thorough and standardized observability experience across its entire cloud ecosystem. Through Azure Monitor and other local tools, Microsoft provides a suite of products designed for effortless telemetry data collection.
Key Innovations in OpenTelemetry Strategy!
1. **Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry Distro**: This customized version of the OpenTelemetry SDK is your one-stop solution for logs, metrics, and traces across essential programming languages including .NET, Java, and Python. Automatic instrumentation is also supported for Java and Python apps running in App Service.
2. **End-to-End Observability with Azure SDKs**: These SDKs are instrumented with OpenTelemetry APIs to facilitate seamless data flow and tracing.
3. **.NET Aspire Stack**: This powerful cloud-native solution comes with default observability features powered by OpenTelemetry, allowing developers to monitor real-time signals during debugging.
4. **Azure Monitor Application Insights**: Utilizing OpenTelemetry, this application performance monitoring tool enhances the way you visualize architecture and identify issues.
5. **Azure Container Apps**: An automatic OpenTelemetry agent gathers data effortlessly, ensuring no manual configuration is required!
6. **Edge and Multicloud Solutions**: The innovations such as OpenTelemetry Collector and Azure Data Explorer Exporter facilitate real-time data ingestion and routing from edge environments, currently in public preview.
Insights from Key Players!
David Fowler, a key figure in Azure development, recently expressed his enthusiasm on Twitter about the robust support for Azure Functions in Aspire and the ongoing efforts to make OpenTelemetry universally available, ensuring smooth local development against various emulators.
Current Limitations and Future Possibilities!
Right now, OpenTelemetry in Logic Apps supports HTTP, Service Bus, and Event Hub trigger types, but the metrics export feature is still in the works. While OpenTelemetry support for Azure Functions is currently in preview, users should note some limitations, such as the Azure portal's lack of support for log streaming and recent function invocation traces when configured for OTel.
Stay tuned for more updates as Microsoft continues to transform observability in the cloud!