azure-mgmt-applicationinsights-dotnet

Azure.ResourceManager.ApplicationInsights (.NET)

Azure Resource Manager SDK for managing Application Insights resources for application performance monitoring.

Installation

dotnet add package Azure.ResourceManager.ApplicationInsights
dotnet add package Azure.Identity

Current Version: v1.0.0 (GA)
API Version: 2022-06-15

Environment Variables

AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID=<your-subscription-id> # Required: Azure subscription ID
AZURE_RESOURCE_GROUP=<your-resource-group> # Required: Azure resource group name
AZURE_APPINSIGHTS_NAME=<your-appinsights-component> # Required: Application Insights component name
AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod  # Required only if DefaultAzureCredential is used in production

Authentication

using Azure.Identity;
using Azure.ResourceManager;
using Azure.ResourceManager.ApplicationInsights;

// Local dev: DefaultAzureCredential. Production: set AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod or AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=<specific_credential>
var credential = new DefaultAzureCredential(
    DefaultAzureCredential.DefaultEnvironmentVariableName
);
// Or use a specific credential directly in production:
// See https://learn.microsoft.com/dotnet/api/overview/azure/identity-readme?view=azure-dotnet#credential-classes
// var credential = new ManagedIdentityCredential();
ArmClient client = new ArmClient(credential);

Resource Hierarchy

Subscription
└── ResourceGroup
    └── ApplicationInsightsComponent          # App Insights resource
        ├── ApplicationInsightsComponentApiKey  # API keys for programmatic access
        ├── ComponentLinkedStorageAccount      # Linked storage for data export
        └── (via component ID)
            ├── WebTest                        # Availability tests
            ├── Workbook                       # Workbooks for analysis
            ├── WorkbookTemplate               # Workbook templates
            └── MyWorkbook                     # Private workbooks

Core Workflows

1. Create Application Insights Component (Workspace-based)

using Azure.ResourceManager.ApplicationInsights;
using Azure.ResourceManager.ApplicationInsights.Models;

ResourceGroupResource resourceGroup = await client
    .GetDefaultSubscriptionAsync()
    .Result
    .GetResourceGroupAsync("my-resource-group");

ApplicationInsightsComponentCollection components = resourceGroup.GetApplicationInsightsComponents();

// Workspace-based Application Insights (recommended)
ApplicationInsightsComponentData data = new ApplicationInsightsComponentData(
    AzureLocation.EastUS,
    ApplicationInsightsApplicationType.Web)
{
    Kind = "web",
    WorkspaceResourceId = new ResourceIdentifier(
        "/subscriptions/<sub-id>/resourceGroups/<rg>/providers/Microsoft.OperationalInsights/workspaces/<workspace-name>"),
    IngestionMode = IngestionMode.LogAnalytics,
    PublicNetworkAccessForIngestion = PublicNetworkAccessType.Enabled,
    PublicNetworkAccessForQuery = PublicNetworkAccessType.Enabled,
    RetentionInDays = 90,
    SamplingPercentage = 100,
    DisableIPMasking = false,
    ImmediatePurgeDataOn30Days = false,
    Tags =
    {
        { "environment", "production" },
        { "application", "mywebapp" }
    }
};

ArmOperation<ApplicationInsightsComponentResource> operation = await components
    .CreateOrUpdateAsync(WaitUntil.Completed, "my-appinsights", data);

ApplicationInsightsComponentResource component = operation.Value;

Console.WriteLine($"Component created: {component.Data.Name}");
Console.WriteLine($"Instrumentation Key: {component.Data.InstrumentationKey}");
Console.WriteLine($"Connection String: {component.Data.ConnectionString}");

2. Get Connection String and Keys

ApplicationInsightsComponentResource component = await resourceGroup
    .GetApplicationInsightsComponentAsync("my-appinsights");

// Get connection string for SDK configuration
string connectionString = component.Data.ConnectionString;
string instrumentationKey = component.Data.InstrumentationKey;
string appId = component.Data.AppId;

Console.WriteLine($"Connection String: {connectionString}");
Console.WriteLine($"Instrumentation Key: {instrumentationKey}");
Console.WriteLine($"App ID: {appId}");

3. Create API Key

ApplicationInsightsComponentResource component = await resourceGroup
    .GetApplicationInsightsComponentAsync("my-appinsights");

ApplicationInsightsComponentApiKeyCollection apiKeys = component.GetApplicationInsightsComponentApiKeys();

// API key for reading telemetry
ApplicationInsightsApiKeyContent keyContent = new ApplicationInsightsApiKeyContent
{
    Name = "ReadTelemetryKey",
    LinkedReadProperties =
    {
        $"/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroupName}/providers/microsoft.insights/components/{component.Data.Name}/api",
        $"/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroupName}/providers/microsoft.insights/components/{component.Data.Name}/agentconfig"
    }
};

ApplicationInsightsComponentApiKeyResource apiKey = await apiKeys
    .CreateOrUpdateAsync(WaitUntil.Completed, keyContent);

Console.WriteLine($"API Key Name: {apiKey.Data.Name}");
Console.WriteLine($"API Key: {apiKey.Data.ApiKey}"); // Only shown once!

4. Create Web Test (Availability Test)

WebTestCollection webTests = resourceGroup.GetWebTests();

// URL Ping Test
WebTestData urlPingTest = new WebTestData(AzureLocation.EastUS)
{
    Kind = WebTestKind.Ping,
    SyntheticMonitorId = "webtest-ping-myapp",
    WebTestName = "Homepage Availability",
    Description = "Checks if homepage is available",
    IsEnabled = true,
    Frequency = 300, // 5 minutes
    Timeout = 120,   // 2 minutes
    WebTestKind = WebTestKind.Ping,
    IsRetryEnabled = true,
    Locations =
    {
        new WebTestGeolocation { WebTestLocationId = "us-ca-sjc-azr" },  // West US
        new WebTestGeolocation { WebTestLocationId = "us-tx-sn1-azr" },  // South Central US
        new WebTestGeolocation { WebTestLocationId = "us-il-ch1-azr" },  // North Central US
        new WebTestGeolocation { WebTestLocationId = "emea-gb-db3-azr" }, // UK South
        new WebTestGeolocation { WebTestLocationId = "apac-sg-sin-azr" }  // Southeast Asia
    },
    Configuration = new WebTestConfiguration
    {
        WebTest = """
            <WebTest Name="Homepage" Enabled="True" Timeout="120" 
                     xmlns="http://microsoft.com/schemas/VisualStudio/TeamTest/2010">
                <Items>
                    <Request Method="GET" Version="1.1" Url="https://myapp.example.com" 
                             ThinkTime="0" Timeout="120" ParseDependentRequests="False" 
                             FollowRedirects="True" RecordResult="True" Cache="False" 
                             ResponseTimeGoal="0" Encoding="utf-8" ExpectedHttpStatusCode="200" />
                </Items>
            </WebTest>
        """
    },
    Tags =
    {
        { $"hidden-link:/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroupName}/providers/microsoft.insights/components/my-appinsights", "Resource" }
    }
};

ArmOperation<WebTestResource> operation = await webTests
    .CreateOrUpdateAsync(WaitUntil.Completed, "webtest-homepage", urlPingTest);

WebTestResource webTest = operation.Value;
Console.WriteLine($"Web test created: {webTest.Data.Name}");

5. Create Multi-Step Web Test

WebTestData multiStepTest = new WebTestData(AzureLocation.EastUS)
{
    Kind = WebTestKind.MultiStep,
    SyntheticMonitorId = "webtest-multistep-login",
    WebTestName = "Login Flow Test",
    Description = "Tests login functionality",
    IsEnabled = true,
    Frequency = 900, // 15 minutes
    Timeout = 300,   // 5 minutes
    WebTestKind = WebTestKind.MultiStep,
    IsRetryEnabled = true,
    Locations =
    {
        new WebTestGeolocation { WebTestLocationId = "us-ca-sjc-azr" }
    },
    Configuration = new WebTestConfiguration
    {
        WebTest = """
            <WebTest Name="LoginFlow" Enabled="True" Timeout="300"
                     xmlns="http://microsoft.com/schemas/VisualStudio/TeamTest/2010">
                <Items>
                    <Request Method="GET" Version="1.1" Url="https://myapp.example.com/login" 
                             ThinkTime="0" Timeout="60" />
                    <Request Method="POST" Version="1.1" Url="https://myapp.example.com/api/auth" 
                             ThinkTime="0" Timeout="60">
                        <Headers>
                            <Header Name="Content-Type" Value="application/json" />
                        </Headers>
                        <Body>{"username":"testuser","password":"{{TestPassword}}"}</Body>
                    </Request>
                </Items>
            </WebTest>
        """
    },
    Tags =
    {
        { $"hidden-link:/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroupName}/providers/microsoft.insights/components/my-appinsights", "Resource" }
    }
};

await webTests.CreateOrUpdateAsync(WaitUntil.Completed, "webtest-login-flow", multiStepTest);

6. Create Workbook

WorkbookCollection workbooks = resourceGroup.GetWorkbooks();

WorkbookData workbookData = new WorkbookData(AzureLocation.EastUS)
{
    DisplayName = "Application Performance Dashboard",
    Category = "workbook",
    Kind = WorkbookSharedTypeKind.Shared,
    SerializedData = """
    {
        "version": "Notebook/1.0",
        "items": [
            {
                "type": 1,
                "content": {
                    "json": "# Application Performance\n\nThis workbook shows application performance metrics."
                },
                "name": "header"
            },
            {
                "type": 3,
                "content": {
                    "version": "KqlItem/1.0",
                    "query": "requests\n| summarize count() by bin(timestamp, 1h)\n| render timechart",
                    "size": 0,
                    "title": "Requests per Hour",
                    "timeContext": {
                        "durationMs": 86400000
                    },
                    "queryType": 0,
                    "resourceType": "microsoft.insights/components"
                },
                "name": "requestsChart"
            }
        ],
        "isLocked": false
    }
    """,
    SourceId = component.Id,
    Tags =
    {
        { "environment", "production" }
    }
};

// Note: Workbook ID should be a new GUID
string workbookId = Guid.NewGuid().ToString();

ArmOperation<WorkbookResource> operation = await workbooks
    .CreateOrUpdateAsync(WaitUntil.Completed, workbookId, workbookData);

WorkbookResource workbook = operation.Value;
Console.WriteLine($"Workbook created: {workbook.Data.DisplayName}");

7. Link Storage Account

ApplicationInsightsComponentResource component = await resourceGroup
    .GetApplicationInsightsComponentAsync("my-appinsights");

ComponentLinkedStorageAccountCollection linkedStorage = component.GetComponentLinkedStorageAccounts();

ComponentLinkedStorageAccountData storageData = new ComponentLinkedStorageAccountData
{
    LinkedStorageAccount = new ResourceIdentifier(
        "/subscriptions/<sub-id>/resourceGroups/<rg>/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/<storage-account>")
};

ArmOperation<ComponentLinkedStorageAccountResource> operation = await linkedStorage
    .CreateOrUpdateAsync(WaitUntil.Completed, StorageType.ServiceProfiler, storageData);

8. List and Manage Components

// List all Application Insights components in resource group
await foreach (ApplicationInsightsComponentResource component in 
    resourceGroup.GetApplicationInsightsComponents())
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Component: {component.Data.Name}");
    Console.WriteLine($"  App ID: {component.Data.AppId}");
    Console.WriteLine($"  Type: {component.Data.ApplicationType}");
    Console.WriteLine($"  Ingestion Mode: {component.Data.IngestionMode}");
    Console.WriteLine($"  Retention: {component.Data.RetentionInDays} days");
}

// List web tests
await foreach (WebTestResource webTest in resourceGroup.GetWebTests())
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Web Test: {webTest.Data.WebTestName}");
    Console.WriteLine($"  Enabled: {webTest.Data.IsEnabled}");
    Console.WriteLine($"  Frequency: {webTest.Data.Frequency}s");
}

// List workbooks
await foreach (WorkbookResource workbook in resourceGroup.GetWorkbooks())
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Workbook: {workbook.Data.DisplayName}");
}

9. Update Component

ApplicationInsightsComponentResource component = await resourceGroup
    .GetApplicationInsightsComponentAsync("my-appinsights");

// Update using full data (PUT operation)
ApplicationInsightsComponentData updateData = component.Data;
updateData.RetentionInDays = 180;
updateData.SamplingPercentage = 50;
updateData.Tags["updated"] = "true";

ArmOperation<ApplicationInsightsComponentResource> operation = await resourceGroup
    .GetApplicationInsightsComponents()
    .CreateOrUpdateAsync(WaitUntil.Completed, "my-appinsights", updateData);

10. Delete Resources

// Delete Application Insights component
ApplicationInsightsComponentResource component = await resourceGroup
    .GetApplicationInsightsComponentAsync("my-appinsights");
await component.DeleteAsync(WaitUntil.Completed);

// Delete web test
WebTestResource webTest = await resourceGroup.GetWebTestAsync("webtest-homepage");
await webTest.DeleteAsync(WaitUntil.Completed);

Key Types Reference

Application Types

Web Test Locations

Best Practices

1. Use workspace-based — Workspace-based App Insights is the current standard
2. Link to Log Analytics — Store data in Log Analytics for better querying
3. Set appropriate retention — Balance cost vs. data availability
4. Use sampling — Reduce costs for high-volume applications
5. Store connection string securely — Use Key Vault or managed identity
6. Enable multiple test locations — For accurate availability monitoring
7. Use workbooks — For custom dashboards and analysis
8. Set up alerts — Based on availability tests and metrics
9. Tag resources — For cost allocation and organization
10. Use private endpoints — For secure data ingestion

Error Handling

using Azure;

try
{
    ArmOperation<ApplicationInsightsComponentResource> operation = await components
        .CreateOrUpdateAsync(WaitUntil.Completed, "my-appinsights", data);
}
catch (RequestFailedException ex) when (ex.Status == 409)
{
    Console.WriteLine("Component already exists");
}
catch (RequestFailedException ex) when (ex.Status == 400)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Invalid configuration: {ex.Message}");
}
catch (RequestFailedException ex)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Azure error: {ex.Status} - {ex.Message}");
}

SDK Integration

Use the connection string with Application Insights SDK:

// Program.cs in ASP.NET Core
builder.Services.AddApplicationInsightsTelemetry(options =>
{
    options.ConnectionString = configuration["ApplicationInsights:ConnectionString"];
});

// Or set via environment variable
// APPLICATIONINSIGHTS_CONNECTION_STRING=InstrumentationKey=...;IngestionEndpoint=...

Related SDKs

Reference Links