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

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)

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.

Add a trace Event into your logs in a Canvas app example with a Custom Dimension

Trace("Practice | Dimension " & txtMarker.Text, TraceSeverity.Information, {appCode:"Prac-01",appInfo:"Custom Dimensions button clicked"})

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)

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 (this post)

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

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

Overview: If you are using ALM/DTAP environments, I want to ensure all my environments are logging to the correct Log Analytics/App Insights.  This needs to cover all services such as Canvas Apps, Functions, Service Bus,...

Canvas Apps: Open the Canvas app in Edit mode, Select "App", and check the instrumentation key points at the correct App Insights instance.

1. Ensure you have setup an application key in each Canvas App you build.

2. Ensure you turn on the logging feature (provides more logging)

3. Write custom logs (here I'm doing it using the Trace Function in a Canvas Power App

Trace("Practice | Info (1) | " & txtMarker.Text,TraceSeverity.Information)

4. Ensure you are in run mode (edit and play mode does not log)

5. Open App Insights or Log Analytics, and check the trace is coming in

Series

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)

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 (this post)

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

App Insights for Power Platform - Part 10 - Custom Connector enable logging (this post)

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

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

Series

App Insights for Power Platform - Part 1 - Series Overview 

App Insights for Power Platform - Part 2 - App Insights and Azure Log Analytics  (this post)

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

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

 There are two ways to setup App Insights:

1. Classical approach (soon to be removed), and
2. The Version 2 approach also refereed to as the workspace based app Insights approach.

Image1. The Version 2/Workspace-based App Insights approach stores all new logs in Log Analytics storage.

More: Using App Insights using "version 2".  The original app insights stored it's logs within itself, this is sometimes refereed to as "classic app insights".  Classic App Insights is being deprecated so version 2 is compulsory from early 2024.  "Version 2" stores App Insights Logs in a workspace (Azure Log Analytics).

We need all our service i.e. Canvas apps, Dataverse, Power Automate, APIM, ESB, Key Vault, Azure Functions to store operation logs in App Insights workspace based approach.  We shall discuss Canvas App Logging in <App Insights for Power Platform - Part 3 - Canvas App Logging>.

Note: Operations logged to app insights store under the hood consist of 3 parts: 

1. App Id to log to

2. Content to put into the Log analytics for full logging

3. Metric data.

Setup App Insights

Open The Azure Portal.

In your subscription, you need a resource group and storage, go and add the log analytics and the app insights.

Setup the Log Analytics instance to connect the App Insights instance too.  The free tier is normally sufficient for demo purposes.

Setup App Insights using a Workspace/Log Analytics, and pls name your resources properly.

View your logs

App Insights is integrated well with all Azure services and are easily accessible.  We will go into the AppInsights Blade and look at the Logs, I added this query that will look for all logs and ordered them to show the latest first.

Note: The logs are stored in Log analytics.  To view the logs you can either use App Insights or Log analytics and the syntax is slightly different, see the image below:

Terminology Worth Understanding:

App Insights stores data in Log Analytics, you can read/write thru App Insights or Log analytics.  There is also Azure Metrics.  All of these services fall under the umbrella term of Azure Monitor.  When writing to the logs, the data is made up of 3 parts. 1, identifier for the log 2, Log analytics data that can be queried and 3, metric data. 

APIM Monitoring & Logging via Portal:

Sample Kusto Queries:

// Function used to call APIM

dependencies 

| where cloud_RoleName == "azure-func-name-01"

| where type  == "HTTP"

| where target !contains "login"

| order by timestamp desc 

// Check Outbound APIM 

requests 

| where cloud_RoleName == "devapim North Europe"

| order by timestamp desc 

// Backend data is in the customDimensions logged by APIM

dependencies   

| where type == "Backend"

| order by timestamp desc 

| extend req = tostring(customDimensions["Request-Body"])

//| project  timestamp, id, req

| where req contains "BJ69 TFF"

// Retrieve Canvas app data based on customDimensions logged 

pageViews

| extend 

    AppName = tostring(customDimensions["ms-appName"]),

       Env = tostring(customDimensions["ms-environmentId"]),

    LastSuccess = datetime_diff('minute', now(), timestamp)

| where AppName == "Bus Revenue Inspection"

| summarize by Env 

//| summarize arg_max(timestamp, *), Count = count() by AppName

//| order by LastSuccess desc

//| project LastSuccess, NoOfPageViews = Count

Example querying Azure Log Analytics for Traces I raised from a Canvas App

// KQL syntax varies slightly when querying the Log analtics rather than App Insights. 

AppTraces

| where Message contains "App Loaded with Events issue - Compliance Subject"

| extend 

    AppName = tostring(Properties["ms-appName"]),

    Env = tostring(Properties["myappEnvironment"]) // Properties is used instead of customDimensions

| order by TimeGenerated desc

Series

App Insights for Power Platform - Part 1 - Series Overview 

App Insights for Power Platform - Part 2 - App Insights and Azure Log Analytics (this post)

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

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