Free Insights for Arc-Enabled Servers with Azure Resource Graph

Azure Arc-enabled servers provide a seamless bridge between on-premises, multi-cloud, and edge environments. They allow for centralized management of a diverse range of resources. At the heart of this management is Azure Resource Graph, a powerful querying tool that lets you extract valuable insights about your Arc-enabled servers, all at no extra cost!

In this post, we’ll explore the types of metadata you can uncover using Azure Resource Graph for Arc-enabled servers and demonstrate how these insights empower IT administrators to efficiently manage and secure their environments. Best of all, this valuable data is collected as standard information for every Arc-enabled server.

What is Azure Resource Graph?

Azure Resource Graph is a service that offers a unified way to query your Azure resources. It’s optimized for performance and scale, enabling administrators to instantly retrieve detailed information about their infrastructure. And here’s the kicker: Resource Graph queries are entirely free, making it an ideal solution for monitoring and extracting metadata from Arc-enabled servers.

Key Insights You Can Extract from Arc-Enabled Servers

The table below highlights some of the most commonly used properties you can retrieve for Arc-enabled servers, complete with sample output values, Resource Graph queries, and property names.

Try it Yourself: Simple Asset Inventory of Arc-Enabled Servers

To create a simple asset inventory of Arc-enabled servers, you can use a query like this:

Resources
| where type == 'microsoft.hybridcompute/machines'
| extend Type = case(
    tostring(properties.detectedProperties.model) == "Virtual Machine", "Virtual",
    "Physical"
)
| extend networkProfile = properties.networkProfile
| mv-expand networkInterfaces = networkProfile.networkInterfaces
| project
	ComputerName = id,
    FQDN = tostring(properties.dnsFqdn),
    Domain = tostring(properties.domainName),
    OS = strcat(toupper(substring(tostring(properties.osName), 0, 1)),   substring(tostring(properties.osName), 1)),
    Type,
    OSName = tostring(properties.osSku),
    LicenseChannel = tostring(properties.licenseProfile.licenseChannel),
    BuildNumber = tostring(properties.osVersion),
    Processor = tostring(properties.detectedProperties.processorNames),
    Cores = tostring(properties.detectedProperties.coreCount),
    Memory = tostring(properties.detectedProperties.totalPhysicalMemoryInGigabytes),
    IPAddresses = networkInterfaces.ipAddresses,
    MSSQLPresent = tostring(properties.detectedProperties.mssqldiscovered), 
    CloudProvider = tostring(properties.detectedProperties.cloudprovider),
    Manufacturer = tostring(properties.detectedProperties.manufacturer),
    Model = tostring(properties.detectedProperties.model),
    AssetTag = properties.detectedProperties.smbiosAssetTag,
    AgentVersion = tostring(properties.agentVersion),
    AgentStatus = tostring(properties.status),
    Tags = tags

This query pulls detailed information about Arc-enabled servers, including their type (virtual or physical), operating system, processor details, memory, network configurations, and other critical asset information. It helps in managing and monitoring the infrastructure effectively.

With access to all this metadata, you have limitless possibilities for creating impactful visualizations. You can leverage tools like Azure Workbooks or Power BI to design meaningful and visually appealing dashboards for your Arc-enabled server estate. Similar to the Azure Workbook down below.

Conclusion

Azure Resource Graph provides a wealth of information for Arc-enabled servers, ranging from system configuration to licensing and compliance. By leveraging this tool, IT administrators can gain actionable insights without adding costs. Whether you’re monitoring network configurations, hardware details, or agent statuses, Resource Graph equips you with the visibility needed to maintain a healthy and secure hybrid environment.

Start experimenting with Resource Graph today and unlock the full potential of your Arc-enabled servers.

Thanks for reading!