Radimaging Ltd - Paul Beck's Technical Working Notes for Microsoft Technology: App Insights for Power Platform - Part 3

App Insights for Power Platform - Part 4 - Model App Logging

App Insights for Power Platform - Part 5 - Logging for APIM

App Insights for Power Platform - Part 6 - Power Automate Logging

App Insights for Power Platform - Part 7 - Monitoring Azure Dashboards

App Insights for Power Platform - Part 8 - Verify logging is going to the correct Log analytics

App Insights for Power Platform - Part 9 - Power Automate Licencing

App Insights for Power Platform - Part 10 - Custom Connector enable logging

App Insights for Power Platform - Part 11 - Custom Connector Behaviour from Canvas Apps Concern

Overview: Logging & monitoring for Canvas apps is done in two parts: App Insights, and using the Canvas app Monitor. This post focuses on logging via App Insights.

Note: Once a solution that contains a Instrumentation key, they app logging key cannot be alter unless you make the environment have unmanaged layers. You can use PowerCli and compose a new managed solution for each DTAP environment but it's a new compile for each environment.

Example:

In the annotated diagram below including a log snippet.

1. Canvas App has an instrumentation key, the log captures the front end action

2. Calls to Dataverse & Power automate Flows are logged (relies on step 1)

3. Custom connector is calling an Azure Function (Function is logging to Log Analytics or app Insights),

4. the function logs into APIM and sends APIM a request (APIM logging is setup on the end points), and

5. APIM sends an outbound API request and captures the response (relies on step 4)

Note in this example I have Correlation tracking enabled on the Canvas App to get the full timeline, as shown below, it has been an experimental feature for a few years now.

When I turn off the Correlation, it is not as easy to trace items from start to finish. All I get by default is the steps 3&4 data in my transaction search timeline.

All 5 pieces are still captured but the timeline has to be pieced together for tracing.

I would also enable the preview feature for logging as well as the experimental if the clients governance allows experimental features to be turned on.

Summary: Always add as many logging features as possible in Canvas Apps, think about where your logs go and also setup logging on Azure services to transaction can be traced.

App Insights for Power Platform - Part 1 - Series Overview

App Insights for Power Platform - Part 2 - App Insights and Azure Log Analytics

App Insights for Power Platform - Part 3 - Canvas App Logging (Instrumentation key) (this post)