Traffic analytics frequently asked questions (FAQ)

See Traffic analytics prerequisites for a list of the required prerequisites.

To learn how to check roles assigned to a user for a subscription, see List Azure role assignments using the Azure portal. If you can't see the role assignments, contact the respective subscription admin.

Yes, network security groups can be in different regions than your Log Analytics workspace region.

Yes.

No, traffic analytics doesn't support classic network security groups.

In the resource selection dropdown in the traffic analytics dashboard, the resource group of the Virtual Network resource must be selected, not the resource group of the virtual machine or network security group.

Yes. If you select an existing workspace, make sure that it has been migrated to the new query language. If you don't want to upgrade the workspace, you need to create a new one. For more information about Kusto Query Language (KQL), see Log queries in Azure Monitor.

Yes, your Azure storage account can be in one subscription, and your Log Analytics workspace can be in a different subscription.

Yes. You can configure flow logs to be sent to a storage account located in a different subscription, provided you have the appropriate privileges, and that the storage account is located in the same region as the network security group (network security group flow logs) or virtual network (virtual network flow logs). The destination storage account must share the same Microsoft Entra tenant of the network security group or virtual network.

No. All resources must be in the same tenant including network security groups (network security group flow logs), virtual networks (virtual network flow logs), flow logs, storage accounts and Log Analytics workspaces (if traffic analytics is enabled).

Yes.

No. If you delete the storage account that is used for flow logs, the data stored in Log Analytics workspace won't be affected. You can still view historic data in Log Analytics workspace (some metrics will be impacted) but traffic analytics will no longer process any new additional flow logs until you update the flow logs to use a different storage account.

Select a supported region. If you select a non-supported region, you receive a "Not found" error. For more information, see Traffic analytics supported regions.

The Microsoft.Insights provider must be registered for flow logging to work properly. If you aren't sure whether the Microsoft.Insights provider is registered for your subscription, see Azure portal, PowerShell, or Azure CLI instructions on how to register it.

The dashboard might take up to 30 minutes to show reports for the first time. The solution must first aggregate enough data for it to derive meaningful insights, then it generates reports.

Try the following options:

• Change the time interval in the upper bar.
• Select a different Log Analytics workspace in the upper bar.
• Try accessing traffic analytics after 30 minutes, if it was recently enabled.

If problems persist, raise concerns in the Azure support.

You might see this message because:

• Traffic analytics was recently enabled, and might not yet have aggregated enough data for it to derive meaningful insights.
• You're using the free version of the Log Analytics workspace, and it exceeded the quota limits. You might need to use a workspace with a larger capacity.

Try the suggested solutions for the previous question. If problems persist, raise concerns in the Azure support.

You're seeing the resources information on the dashboard; however, no flow-related statistics are present. Data might not be present because of no communication flows between the resources. Wait for 60 minutes, and recheck status. If the problem persists, and you're sure that communication flows among resources exist, raise concerns in the Azure support.

You can configure traffic analytics using Windows PowerShell version 6.2.1 and higher. To configure flow logging and traffic analytics for a specific network security group using PowerShell, see Enable network security group flow logs and traffic analytics.

Yes, you can use an Azure Resource Manager template or a Bicep file to configure traffic analytics. For more information, see Configure NSG flow logs using an Azure Resource Manager (ARM) template and Configure NSG flow logs using a Bicep file.

Traffic analytics is metered. The metering is based on processing of raw flow log data by the service. For more information, see Network Watcher pricing.
Enhanced logs ingested in Log Analytics workspace can be retained at no charge for up to first 31 days (or 90 days if Microsoft Sentinel is enabled on the workspace). For more information, see Azure Monitor pricing.

Default processing interval of traffic analytics is 60 minutes, however, you can select accelerated processing at 10 minutes intervals. For more information, see Data aggregation in traffic analytics.

Traffic analytics relies on Microsoft internal threat intelligence systems to deem an IP as malicious. These systems leverage diverse telemetry sources like Azure products and services, the Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit (DCU), the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC), and external feeds and build a lot of intelligence on top of it. Some of this data is Microsoft Internal. If a known IP is getting flagged as malicious, raise a support ticket to know the details.

Traffic analytics doesn't have built-in support for alerts. However, since traffic analytics data is stored in Log Analytics, you can write custom queries and set alerts on them. Follow these steps:

• You can use Log Analytics link in traffic analytics.
• Use the traffic analytics schema to write your queries.
• Select New alert rule to create the alert.
• See Create a new alert rule to create the alert.

Use the following query:

AzureNetworkAnalytics_CL
| where SubType_s == "FlowLog" and FlowType_s == "S2S" 
| where <Scoping condition>
| mvexpand vm = pack_array(VM1_s, VM2_s) to typeof(string)
| where isnotempty(vm) 
| extend traffic = AllowedInFlows_d + DeniedInFlows_d + AllowedOutFlows_d + DeniedOutFlows_d // For bytes use: | extend traffic = InboundBytes_d + OutboundBytes_d 
| make-series TotalTraffic = sum(traffic) default = 0 on FlowStartTime_t from datetime(<time>) to datetime(<time>) step 1 m by vm
| render timechart

For IPs, use the following query:

AzureNetworkAnalytics_CL
| where SubType_s == "FlowLog" and FlowType_s == "S2S" 
//| where <Scoping condition>
| mvexpand IP = pack_array(SrcIP_s, DestIP_s) to typeof(string)
| where isnotempty(IP) 
| extend traffic = AllowedInFlows_d + DeniedInFlows_d + AllowedOutFlows_d + DeniedOutFlows_d // For bytes use: | extend traffic = InboundBytes_d + OutboundBytes_d 
| make-series TotalTraffic = sum(traffic) default = 0 on FlowStartTime_t from datetime(<time>) to datetime(<time>) step 1 m by IP
| render timechart

For time, use format: yyyy-mm-dd 00:00:00

Use the following query:

AzureNetworkAnalytics_CL
| where SubType_s == "FlowLog" and FlowType_s == "S2S" 
//| where <Scoping condition>
| mvexpand vm = pack_array(VM1_s, VM2_s) to typeof(string)
| where isnotempty(vm) 
| extend traffic = AllowedInFlows_d + DeniedInFlows_d + AllowedOutFlows_d + DeniedOutFlows_d // For bytes use: | extend traffic = InboundBytes_d + utboundBytes_d
| summarize deviation = stdev(traffic) by vm

For IPs:

AzureNetworkAnalytics_CL
| where SubType_s == "FlowLog" and FlowType_s == "S2S" 
//| where <Scoping condition>
| mvexpand IP = pack_array(SrcIP_s, DestIP_s) to typeof(string)
| where isnotempty(IP) 
| extend traffic = AllowedInFlows_d + DeniedInFlows_d + AllowedOutFlows_d + DeniedOutFlows_d // For bytes use: | extend traffic = InboundBytes_d + OutboundBytes_d
| summarize deviation = stdev(traffic) by IP

Use the following query:

AzureNetworkAnalytics_CL
| where SubType_s == "FlowLog" and TimeGenerated between (startTime .. endTime)
| extend sourceIPs = iif(isempty(SrcIP_s), split(SrcPublicIPs_s," "), pack_array(SrcIP_s)),
destIPs = iif(isempty(DestIP_s), split(DestPublicIPs_s," "), pack_array(DestIP_s))
| mvexpand SourceIp = sourceIPs to typeof(string)
| mvexpand DestIp = destIPs to typeof(string)
| project SourceIp = tostring(split(SourceIp, "|")[0]), DestIp = tostring(split(DestIp, "|")[0]), NSGList_s, NSGRule_s, DestPort_d, L4Protocol_s, FlowStatus_s 
| summarize DestPorts= makeset(DestPort_d) by SourceIp, DestIp, NSGList_s, NSGRule_s, L4Protocol_s, FlowStatus_s

The geo map page contains two main sections:

• Banner: The banner at the top of the geo map provides buttons to select traffic distribution filters (for example, Deployment, Traffic from countries/regions, and Malicious). When you select a button, the respective filter is applied on the map. For example, if you select the Active button, the map highlights the active datacenters in your deployment.
• Map: Below the banner, the map section shows traffic distribution among Microsoft datacenters and countries/regions.

Keyboard navigation on the banner

• By default, the selection on the geo map page for the banner is the "Azure DCs" filter.
• To move to another filter, use either the Tab or the Right arrow key. To move backward, use either the Shift+Tab or the Left arrow key. Forward navigation is left to right, followed by top to bottom.
• Press Enter or the Down arrow key to apply the selected filter. Based on filter selection and deployment, one or multiple nodes under the map section are highlighted.
• To switch between banner and map, press Ctrl+F6.

Keyboard navigation on the map

• After you select any filter on the banner and press Ctrl+F6, focus moves to one of the highlighted nodes (Azure datacenter or Country/Region) in the map view.
• To move to other highlighted nodes in the map, use either Tab or the Right arrow key for forward movement. Use Shift+Tab or the Left arrow key for backward movement.
• To select any highlighted node in the map, use the Enter or Down arrow key.
• On selection of any such nodes, focus moves to the Information Tool Box for the node. By default, focus moves to the closed button on the Information Tool Box. To further move inside the Box view, use Right arrow and Left arrow keys to move forward and backward, respectively. Pressing Enter has same effect as selecting the focused button in the Information Tool Box.
• When you press Tab while the focus is on the Information Tool Box, the focus moves to the end points in the same continent as the selected node. Use the Right arrow and Left arrow keys to move through these endpoints.
• To move to other flow endpoints or continent clusters, use Tab for forward movement and Shift+Tab for backward movement.
• When the focus is on Continent clusters, use the Enter or Down arrow keys to highlight the endpoints inside the continent cluster. To move through endpoints and the close button on the information box of the continent cluster, use either the Right arrow or Left arrow key for forward and backward movement, respectively. On any endpoint, you can use Shift+L to switch to the connection line from the selected node to the endpoint. You can press Shift+L again to move to the selected endpoint.

Keyboard navigation at any stage

• The Esc key collapses the expanded selection.
• The Up-arrow key performs the same action as Esc. The Down arrow key performs the same action as Enter.
• Use Shift+Plus to zoom in, and Shift+Minus to zoom out.

The virtual networks topology page contains two main sections:

• Banner: The banner at the top of the virtual networks topology provides buttons to select traffic distribution filters (for example, Connected virtual networks, Disconnected virtual networks, and Public IPs). When you select a button, the respective filter is applied on the topology. For example, if you select the Active button, the topology highlights the active virtual networks in your deployment.
• Topology: Below the banner, the topology section shows traffic distribution among virtual networks.

Keyboard navigation on the banner

• By default, the selection on the virtual networks topology page for the banner is the "Connected VNets" filter.
• To move to another filter, use the Tab key to move forward. To move backward, use the Shift+Tab key. Forward navigation is left to right, followed by top to bottom.
• Press Enter to apply the selected filter. Based on the filter selection and deployment, one or multiple nodes (virtual network) under the topology section are highlighted.
• To switch between the banner and the topology, press Ctrl+F6.

Keyboard navigation on the topology

• After you have selected any filter on the banner and pressed Ctrl+F6, focus moves to one of the highlighted nodes (VNet) in the topology view.
• To move to other highlighted nodes in the topology view, use the Shift+Right arrow key for forward movement.
• On highlighted nodes, focus moves to the Information Tool Box for the node. By default, focus moves to the More details button on the Information Tool Box. To further move inside the Box view, use the Right arrow and Left arrow keys to move forward and backward, respectively. Pressing Enter has same effect as selecting the focused button in the Information Tool Box.
• On selection of any such nodes, you can visit all its connections, one by one, by pressing the Shift+Left arrow key. Focus moves to the Information Tool Box of that connection. At any point, the focus can be shifted back to the node by pressing Shift+Right arrow again.

The virtual subnetworks topology page contains two main sections:

• Banner: The banner at the top of the virtual subnetworks topology provides buttons to select traffic distribution filters (for example, Active, Medium, and Gateway subnets). When you select a button, the respective filter is applied on the topology. For example, if you select the Active button, the topology highlights the active virtual subnetwork in your deployment.
• Topology: Below the banner, the topology section shows traffic distribution among virtual subnetworks.

Keyboard navigation on the banner

• By default, the selection on the virtual subnetworks topology page for the banner is the "Subnets" filter.
• To move to another filter, use the Tab key to move forward. To move backward, use the Shift+Tab key. Forward navigation is left to right, followed by top to bottom.
• Press Enter to apply the selected filter. Based on filter selection and deployment, one or multiple nodes (Subnet) under the topology section are highlighted.
• To switch between the banner and the topology, press Ctrl+F6.

Keyboard navigation on the topology

• After you have selected any filter on the banner and pressed Ctrl+F6, focus moves to one of the highlighted nodes (Subnet) in the topology view.
• To move to other highlighted nodes in the topology view, use the Shift+Right arrow key for forward movement.
• On highlighted nodes, focus moves to the Information Tool Box for the node. By default, focus moves to the More details button on the Information Tool Box. To further move inside the Box view, use Right arrow and Left arrow keys to move forward and backward, respectively. Pressing Enter has same effect as selecting the focused button in the Information Tool Box.
• On selection of any such nodes, you can visit all its connections, one by one, by pressing Shift+Left arrow key. Focus moves to the Information Tool Box of that connection. At any point, the focus can be shifted back to the node by pressing Shift+Right arrow again.