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experi18's avatar
experi18
Brass Contributor
Nov 04, 2024

How to Get a Unified View of Virtual Machines and VMSS in Azure Portal?

Hi everyone,

 

I’m currently managing both Virtual Machines and Virtual Machine Scale Sets (VMSS) in the Azure Portal. While I have good visibility over these resources individually, they’re displayed separately, which makes it a bit confusing when I want to see the total number of VMs across my entire environment.

 

I’m wondering if there’s any way to get a more unified view that consolidates both standalone Virtual Machines and VMSS instances for easier management. If anyone has suggestions or knows of any features that could help, I’d be grateful for the advice.

 

Thanks in advance for your help!

  • kyazaferr's avatar
    kyazaferr
    Steel Contributor
    Nov 13, 2024

    Azure Resource Groups

    One way to see both VMs and VMSS instances together is to organize them under a common resource group. While this doesn't provide a native view that merges them entirely, it helps you group related resources and makes it easier to manage and navigate between them.

    Steps:

    1. In the Azure Portal, go to Resource Groups.
    2. Create a new resource group (or select an existing one).
    3. Add both your VMs and VMSS to the same resource group.

    Although this doesn't directly combine the resources in a single list, it makes it easier to view all the related resources in one place.

    2. Azure Resource Explorer

    You can use Azure Resource Explorer, a powerful tool that allows you to browse all your Azure resources programmatically. This tool doesn't provide a visual consolidated view in the portal itself, but you can use it to gather data on both VMs and VMSS instances in one place.

    You can navigate to the Azure Resource Explorer in the portal by searching for "Resource Explorer" and using it to search for resources across your subscription. This allows you to see both types of resources in one list by querying them.

    3. Azure Dashboard

    You can create a custom Azure Dashboard to consolidate information about both your VMs and VMSS instances. With a dashboard, you can display key metrics, resource details, and status of both VMs and VMSS together in one place.

    Steps:

    1. In the Azure Portal, go to Dashboard.
    2. Click on + New Dashboard to create a new custom dashboard.
    3. Add Tiles for both VMs and VMSS instances by searching for them using the "Add a resource" option.
    4. Use the Azure Monitor or VM Insights tiles to aggregate useful information on both VMs and VMSS instances.

    This provides a unified view that can include things like health, metrics, and status for all your VMs and VMSS instances.

    4. Azure Monitor - Virtual Machines + VMSS Insights

    You can use Azure Monitor with VM Insights to get a unified view of both VMSS and standalone VMs' health, performance, and monitoring data. It provides detailed insights into the VM infrastructure, including monitoring multiple VMs and VMSS in a centralized view.

    Steps:

    1. In the Azure Portal, go to Azure Monitor.
    2. Under Insights, select Virtual Machines.
    3. You can see both VM and VMSS metrics and performance data on the same page. If you're managing both VMSS and standalone VMs, this is an efficient way to monitor and get a consolidated view.

    5. Azure CLI or PowerShell Scripting

    If you prefer a more programmatic approach, you can use Azure CLI or PowerShell to pull a combined list of both VMs and VMSS instances in your subscription. Here's an example of how you can list both using Azure CLI:# List all VMs az vm list --output table # List all VMSS az vmss list --output table

     

    You can then pipe these results into a script or a custom dashboard if you need a more tailored, automated solution.

    6. Azure Cost Management + Billing

    If your main concern is seeing a unified view of your VMs and VMSS for cost analysis, you can use Azure Cost Management to group both types of resources in a consolidated billing report.

    1. Go to Cost Management + Billing in the Azure portal.
    2. Under Cost Analysis, filter resources by Resource Group, Tag, or Resource Type to view VMs and VMSS together.
    3. You can set custom tags to group resources by application, environment, or other classifications to consolidate reporting.

    Conclusion

    While there isn't a single native feature in the Azure Portal that combines both Virtual Machines and VMSS in one unified view, using Resource Groups, Azure Monitor, and Custom Dashboards can help consolidate their management and visibility. Additionally, PowerShell or Azure CLI scripts can automate the gathering of both VM and VMSS information in one place.

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