RELEASE NOTES

Ability to view selected diagnostics items in the treeview
Till the previous version, beneath a storage account and hosted services all diagnostics items (trace logs, performance counters etc.) are displayed. In this new version we've added the capability so that you can customize the type of diagnostics items you wish to see. This setting can be changed by going into the configuration settings window as shown in the screenshot below:



Automatically start development storage service on application startup
With this version, we've added a feature which will try to automatically start the development storage service (if it is not running already) on application startup. If you do not wish to have this application automatically start the storage service, you can turn this setting off by going into the configuration settings window as shown in the screenshot below:

Separate preferences for Windows Azure Trace, Infrastructure, Event logs and Performance Counters
Till the previous version, preferences (like from/to date time etc.) were shared between Windows Azure trace, infrastructure, event logs and performance counters. In this version we've changed this functionality so that preferences for each of them will be separate. This will allow you to have finer control over what kind of data you would like to view for each log.

UI enhancement
Till the previous version, when searching for logs data did not bring any results the application automatically opens the search criteria window again. A number of users have found it annoying. We've changed the functionality in the current version where reopening of the search criteria window is option (by default it is set to reopen). To change this setting, please open Configuration Settings window and look for "Automatically show search criteria window when no results are found" setting under "General Settings" tab as shown in the screenshot below. By turning this option off, the window will not open automatically.

Windows Azure SDK 1.4 refresh
Recently Windows Azure SDK 1.4 was released. In this version we've refreshed the Windows Azure SDK assemblies required for "On Demand Transfer" and "Remote Diagnostics Management" features.

Bug fix in application configuration settings
A few users have reported the inability to use Azure Diagnostics Manager. On further inspection, the cause of this problem was found to be an incorrect setting in application configuration file. In this version we've fixed this issue.

Performance improvement
Some changes are implemented in Azure Diagnostics Manager which reduced the memory consumed by this application considerably when minimized.

Ability to filter by text when downloading trace and infrastructure logs data
While downloading trace and infrastructure logs data, now you can specify a partial text string which is contained in the log's message. Azure Diagnostics Manager will perform a "LIKE" search and download only those entries where message text contains this string. Furthermore, the criteria specified when filtering logs get carried over to the download logs window.

Bug fix with IIS logs and IIS failed request logs viewer
A bug was discovered in IIS logs and IIS failed request logs viewer which was preventing from all the logs being viewed in the event there are more than 5000 log entries for a particular deployment. This issue is fixed in this release.

Ability to filter by "Event Id" when viewing event logs
In this version, we've included a new feature which will let you filter events displayed by "Event Id". You can also include this filter to download events data as well. Please look at the screenshot below to see more about this feature:

Configurable expansion of hosted services nodes
Till the current version, Azure Diagnostics Manager automatically tries to find our active deployments in all the hosted services under a subscription node which could become cumbersome and time consuming if you have many hosted services under that subscription as Azure Diagnostics Manager will try and fetch this data for each and every hosted service. In this version, we have made this configurable so that you can instruct Azure Diagnostics Manager to fetch active deployments only for the hosted service that you wish to see the diagnostics data for. Please click on the release notes demo video below to see more details about this feature.

Definition for last "n" hours changed
Till the current version, when you are specifying search criteria and want to see the data for last 1 hour, Azure Diagnostics Manager gets the data for the last hour instead of going back 60 minutes from the current time. In this version, we have changed that so now if you select last 1 hour, Azure Diagnostics Manager will bring the data from last 60 minutes instead of last hour. Please click on the release notes demo video below to see more details about this feature.

Release Notes Screencast
Download High Quality WMV - OR - Watch it online on YouTube

Ability to reorder and show/hide columns in trace logs / infrastructure logs and events viewer
In this version, we've included a feature where you can customize which columns you want to see on the grid when viewing trace logs, infrastructure logs and events data. You can also set the order in which you want these columns to appear on the grid.
Reorder/show/hide columns demo

Dashboard improvement
Dashboard feature in Azure Diagnostics Manager by default queries and plots all performance counters being tracked by the applications running in Windows Azure. Most common feedback we received from our customers was the ability to choose the performance counters that gets plotted on the dashboard by default. We've included this feature in this release. With the latest version, you will now have three choices:

• Query and plot all performance counters by default: This is how the dashboard has been till the current version.
• Query all performance counters but plot only a few performance counters by default: If this feature is selected, then the application will query all performance counters, however only the performance counters selected by the user gets plotted on the chart by default. User can then check additional performance counters and they will be plotted as well on the chart. This will be the default behavior.
• Query selected performance counters and plot them all by default: This is basically a way to implement server side filtering on the amount of data that will get transferred from Azure storage to this application. A user can instruct Azure Diagnostics Manager to only bring data for certain performance counters and they get plotted on the chart by default.

For option number 2, and 3 by default we'll include "\Processor(_Total)\% Processor Time" in the list of performance counters to be plotted on the chart. User will have an option of manually selecting additional performance counters for filtering. Alternately if the Dashboard feature has been accessed through a subscription node, a user can instruct the application to query the diagnostics data being captured and fetch the performance counters list from the diagnostics.



Preserve layout preference
In current version we've included a feature where in the application remembers the state of docked panels (visible or collapsed) between application restarts in the following screens: Dashboard, Events Viewer, Trace Logs Viewer, and Infrastructure Logs Viewer.

Preserve message formatting
In this version, we've made some changes so that message formatting is preserved when viewing messages in Trace Logs and Infrastructure Logs Viewer.

Live data retention period
Till the current version when viewing live data, the application was keeping all the data in application memory. This was leading to severe performance degradation when the application was kept running for a long time. In this version, we've included a feature where if you're viewing live data then after a certain amount of time (default being 4 hours) the application will automatically start removing the old data items from the memory. The maximum number of hours to keep the live data in memory is configurable through configuration settings window as shown in picture below:



On demand transfer improvement
A performance related issue was reported in On Demand Transfer screen when you have many instances of your application running. The application was trying to create an instance of RoleInstanceDiagnosticsManager for all the instance irrespective of the fact it was selected or not. In this version we've fixed that. Now the application will create instances of this object for only the instances which are selected.

Hiding Y-Axis when viewing performance counter charts in dashboard
In this version, we've made some changes to our dashboard feature so that when you uncheck a performance counter checkbox to hide that performance counter, it's Y-Axis is also removed.

Purge logs data
In this version, we've included a feature which will allow you to purge historic diagnostics data. You can search for old data based on date/time ranges and additional filters and the application will delete the data from Windows Azure Storage.
Purge performance counters data demo
Purge event/trace/infrastructure logs data demo

Partial text search in Trace/Infrastructure Logs
In this version, we've included a feature which will allow you to search for certain text string contained in the messages of trace and infrastructure logs. Application will do a "LIKE" search on the message body to filter and display the logs which contain this search string.
Partial text search demo

New icon for Azure Diagnostics Manager
Most of the users use both Cloud Storage Studio and Azure Diagnostics Manager side by side. When both are minimized, since their logos are nearly identical it was very difficult to identify the applications by icons. We're pleased to announce new icons for both Azure Diagnostics Manager and Cloud Storage Studio. Cloud Storage Studio's icon will be changed in its next release.

Improved network resilience
Till now, if for some reason the application was not able to connect to Windows Azure, it would give up after retrying request for 3 times. In this version, we've included a feature where the application will continuously try and connect to Windows Azure if there is an issue with the Internet connectivity. This will ensure the continuity of the data when viewing under LIVE mode. We've also included a feature where you can specify a retry interval i.e. after how many seconds the application should retry the last request in the event when that last request failed.

Miscellaneous improvements

• In Events, Trace Logs and Infrastructure Logs Viewer as more data comes if an entry is selected that item will remain selected.
• Fixed a bug with Trace and Infrastructure Logs Viewer where under certain circumstances the data was duplicated.

Live Version
This is the first release of production version of Azure Diagnostics Manager. Following table summarizes different versions (editions) of Azure Diagnostics Manager:

Following table summarizes the volume pricing available for Azure Diagnostics Manager:

Auto application update notification In this version, we've included a feature which will notify you if your application was updated and provides you with an option to view the changes incorporated in the latest release.



Server side filtering
For Events, Trace and Infrastructure logs we are including "Server Side Filtering" feature where you can instruct Azure Diagnostics Manager to bring data only for certain logs (only applicable to Event Viewer) and log levels (applicable to all three logs). This will reduce the amount of data that is sent to Azure Diagnostics Manager. By default, Azure Diagnostics Manager will bring all data based on other conditions specified.



Display date/time option
Windows Azure Diagnostics stores all date/time values in UTC. Till the current version, we were displaying these values in UTC. Now you have an option of viewing these date/time values in UTC (default) or based on your local date/time. If latter option is selected, then the application will convert these date/time values from UTC to local date/time.



Miscellaneous improvements

• In Events, Trace Logs and Infrastructure Logs Viewer as more data comes it will prepended to the existing data instead of being appended. This will ensure that the latest data is always available on top.

Public Beta Version
This version is our first public beta release of Azure Diagnostics Manager.

Dashboard
In this version, we have included a "Dashboard" feature where you can monitor performance counters, event logs, and trace logs of the applications. This feature provides live information about these three in a single screen.
Dashboard demo

Proxy support
In this version, we have included limited proxy server support so that you can use Azure Diagnostics Manager from behind a proxy server. Proxy settings can be set from the configuration settings window.

Miscellaneous improvements

• Remote Diagnostics Management: We have now included a feature for you to save "Performance Counters" in application preferences so that you don't have to select them from the dropdown list again and again. Furthermore we've provided a text field for you to enter the counter name manually instead of selecting them from the dropdown list.
• General UI enhancements: We have now included two buttons on top to connect to Azure Storage Accounts and Hosted Services. You can also connect to them using "Connect to ..." dropdown list as well.

Common improvements

• Remember Preferences: Now you can instruct Azure Diagnostics Manager to remember date/time, deployment id, storage account name, live v/s historical data feed option preferences so that you don't have to type in this information again and again. Furthermore you can also instruct ADM to apply these preferences by default and not open the search criteria window. The preferences are grouped by Table based logs (Events, Performance Counters, Trace, and Infrastructure) and Directory based logs i.e. all Table based logs will share the same preferences. You can change the preferences at any time by clicking on the "Calendar" icon.
• Stop Request: Now you can stop any running request.
• Refresh: We're including a "Refresh" feature where you can get the latest data. Please note that this feature is only available when you're viewing LIVE data. It is not available when viewing historical data. This is how it is implemented: Let's say you've set the refresh frequency to be 5 minutes. Assuming the application gets the data from say 10:55 AM to 11:00 AM. Now the time is say 11:03 AM and you click on Refresh button. Application will try and bring the data from 11:00 AM to 11:03 AM.
• Search criteria can be invoked any time: Earlier if a request was in progress, search criteria window can't be opened. Now it can be opened any time.
• Ability to specify date/time either in UTC or local: Now you can specify if the date/time you're specifying is UTC date/time or local date/time. Since Azure stores everything in UTC, the application will not do any date/time conversions if you specify date/time as UTC.

New Features

• Performance Counters Charts now support zoom in/out: To zoom in, just click on the chart and drag your mouse and select an area. That particular area will be zoomed in. To zoom out, click on the Zoom Out button.
• Ability to see multiple performance counters in one chart.
• Ability to view either performance counters chart by role instances (which was there in the previous version) or by roles.
• In Trace/Infrastructure logs message is now included in the main grid so that you don't have to click on each log entry to view the messages.
• Quick Configuration Button in On Demand Transfer: In the previous version, you would need to configure each and every transfer option (event logs, iis logs etc.) separately. Now we've included a "Quick Configuration" button which will launch a window where you can configure all transfer options together.
• User does not have to specify a storage account every time On Demand Transfer tab is opened. The application will remember the storage account preference. If you want to change that, just click on the key icon to select another storage account.
• Bug Fix: There was a bug in On Demand Transfer function where in if your role name contained any character which would make an azure queue's name invalid (e.g. dot [.] charater), On Demand transfer functionality was not working. This is fixed in this release.
• Color Coded Role Instances: Now the role instances are color coded based on their current status.
• Performance Counter names are now sorted alphabetically in Remote Diagnostics Management.

Crash dumps viewer
This version includes Crash Dumps Viewer feature using which you can search for and download crash dump logs created by your application.

On demand transfer
This version provides you the capability to transfer diagnostics data stored in your application's VM to Windows Azure Storage.

Remote diagnostics management
This version provides you the capability to manage diagnostics information (add/remove performance counters etc.) without redeploying your applications.

First Release
This is the first release of the application in private beta. This version included support for viewing event logs, trace logs, infrastructure logs, IIS logs, IIS failed request logs and performance counters.