Microsoft 365 Monitoring

Microsoft 365 - An Overview

Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) refers to a group of subscription plans that provide productivity software like access to Office applications plus and related services. This includes server that are enabled over the internet (cloud services), such as Lync web conferencing and Exchange Online hosted email for business and additional online storage with OneDrive and Skype world minutes for home.

There are different tiers to Microsoft 365, such as personal, home and business. In its most basic form, you get access to full Office desktop apps, mobile apps for Android and iOS, OneDrive storage, Skype minutes and more. For business users, Microsoft 365 also offers service subscriptions for e-mail and social networking services through hosted versions of Exchange Server, SharePoint Office Online, Microsoft Teams, and integration with Yammer. 

Monitoring Microsoft 365 - What we do

Applications Manager's Office 365 monitoring provides operational intelligence into Microsoft 365 applications, including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Microsoft Teams. You can view a holistic picture of the health and performance of Microsoft 365 deployments and associated services using custom, interactive dashboards.

  • Exchange Online - Gather long-term data and present detailed reports for Exchange Online, such as mailbox statistics, Exchange Online service health, endpoint connectivity and dozens of other details.
  • SharePoint Online - Get detailed metrics into the health and affected tenant count of SharePoint Online services, including Access Services, Office Web Apps, Yammer components, etc. Applications Manager also keeps track of the TCP connectivity of various SharePoint Online endpoints as well as the performance of SharePoint applications and sites.
  • Microsoft Teams - Track the key performance metrics such as the health status of services, connectivity status and response time of various endpoints. Obtain useful insights about the number of members and channels of all the teams in your organization, and get complete information on the usage statistics based on various devices and activity types.

Note: Microsoft 365 monitoring is supported only on Windows installations of Applications Manager Versions till 16300. While, versions from 16310 supports Microsoft 365 monitoring in both Windows and Linux. Also, Powershell mode is supported in Windows, but not in Linux.

Applications Manager offers comprehensive performance monitoring for Microsoft 365, enabling admins to minimize downtime and performance degradation as well as take corrective actions before any problems arise. The latest monitoring capabilities in Applications Manager also include:

  • Microsoft 365 License Reporting and Management - Stay on top of the provisioning of licenses; manage user licenses in bulk and know the actual Assigned License Count under each service type. Get organization license information like Consumed Licenses, Locked out units, Suspended Units, Unassigned Licenses, Total User Count, License and Tenant Name.
  • Microsoft 365 Service Health - You can view the health of Microsoft 365, and associated services  on the Service health page. If you are experiencing problems with a cloud service, you can check the service health to see its Affected Tenant Count and Last Updated Time to determine if a resolution in progress before you call support or spend time troubleshooting.
  • Endpoints Connectivity - Keep track of the TCP connectivity of various Microsoft 365 endpoints.
  • Fix Performance Problems Faster - Get instant notifications of common performance issues with a cloud service; check the service health to diagnose service incidents, drill down to their root cause and resolve them quickly to ensure smooth and uninterrupted service delivery. Ensure Microsoft 365 applications are consistently delivering a high-quality experience for end users
  • User activity and Device activation - This helps to monitor active and inactive users for each service and also the number of users who have activated their account in each OS (Windows, Android, MAC, IOS, Linux)

Note : Existing Configured Alarms / Reports will not be accessible once you upgrade to Applications Manager versions from 16310.

In this help document, you will learn how to get started with Microsoft 365 monitoring using Applications Manager.

Creating a new Microsoft 365 monitor

Mode of Monitoring: PowerShell, REST API (Supported since Version 16310)

Prerequisites for monitoring Microsoft 365 metrics: Click here

Using the REST API to add a new Microsoft 365 monitor: Click here

For Applications Manager versions 16310 onwards :

  1. Click on New Monitor and choose Microsoft 365.
  2. Enter the Display Name of the Microsoft 365 monitor.
  3. Enter the Domain Name/Tenant Name used to sign up for Microsoft 365 account in the Tenant Name text field. Example: The tenant name for apm@apmtest.onmicrosoft.com is apmtest
  4. Select the required Microsoft 365 Services: Exchange Online, Sharepoint Online or Microsoft Teams.
    Note: From Applications Manager versions 16690, all the services in the list will be selected by default.
  5. Enter the Directory (tenant) ID of the Microsoft Entra Application.
  6. Enter the Application (client) ID of the Microsoft Entra Application.
  7. Enter the value of the Client Secret generated for the Microsoft Entra Application.
  8. Enable the Enable monitoring via PowerShell option to monitor Exchange Online Mailbox and SharePoint Online Sites via PowerShell (Live Data).
    • Enter the User Email and Password in the respective fields of the Microsoft 365 account which will be used to fetch data via PowerShell script.
    • Ensure that the above user has Global Reader and SharePoint Administrator roles assigned.
    • Enter the desired Timeout for the PowerShell script execution.

      Note: We have transitioned from PowerShell to Graph API for Microsoft 365 monitoring, as PowerShell commands were taking longer to execute for large datasets and required administrative privileges. However, the Graph API provides only archived data. To monitor live data, PowerShell mode should still be used, keeping in mind the need for elevated user privileges and the additional time required to fetch extensive resources.

  9. Click Add Monitor(s). This discovers Microsoft 365 from the network and starts monitoring them.

For Applications Manager versions till 16300 :

  1. Click on New Monitor link. Choose Microsoft 365.
  2. Specify the Display Name of the Microsoft 365 monitor.
  3. Enter the Domain Name/Tenant Name used to sign up for Microsoft 365. Example: The tenant name for apm@apmtest.onmicrosoft.com is apmtest
  4. Enter the Microsoft 365 admin account User Email.
  5. Enter the Password for the Microsoft 365 admin email.
  6. Choose Microsoft 365 Services: Exchange Online, Sharepoint Online or Microsoft Teams.
  7. Enable the Service Health Monitoringoption to monitor the Service Health information. After enabling, specify the following details:
    • Tenant ID: Enter the Tenant ID of the tenant in which the applicaton is created to monitor the service health.
    • Client ID: Enter the Client ID/Application ID of the applicaton created to monitor the service health.
    • Client Secret: Enter the Client Secret created in the applicaton created to monitor the service health.
    Note: Service Health monitoring is mandatory to monitor Microsoft Teams in Applications Manager.
  8. Specify the polling interval in minutes and timeout in seconds.
  9. Choose the Monitor Group from the combo box with which you want to associate Microsoft 365 monitor (optional). You can choose multiple groups to associate your monitor.
  10. Click Add Monitor(s). This discovers Microsoft 365 from the network and starts monitoring them.
Note:
  • The primary and recommended mode of data collection is using Microsoft Graph API. The data fetched via Graph API is a consolidated report generated on a daily basis.
  • To monitor live data, use the PowerShell mode of monitoring by enabling Enable monitoring via PowerShell. Refer prerequisites.
  • PowerShell mode of monitoring needs Administrative user privileges to execute the commands and may also cause delayed data collection if the resource has a large number of Mailboxes or Sites. In such cases, Graph API mode is recommended.
  • Refer more for the best practices to be followed while adding monitor.

Create a new Microsoft 365 Monitor - Demo video

Note: The Microsoft 365 admin account used for monitoring must be assigned the below roles: Microsoft Teams administrator (Only till 16300), Global Reader or SharePoint administrator.

Monitored Parameters

Go to the Monitors Category View by clicking the Monitors tab. Click on the Microsoft 365 monitors under the Cloud Apps table. Displayed is the Microsoft 365 bulk configuration view distributed into three tabs:

    • Availability tab displays the availability history for the past 24 hours or 30 days.
    • Performance tab displays the health status and events for the past 24 hours or 30 days.
    • List view enables you to perform bulk admin configuration.

Click on the monitor name to see all the server details listed under the following tabs:

Overview

* Note: 
  • Total License Count, Consumed License count and Unassigned Licenses metrics are renamed as "Total Valid Licenses", "Consumed Valid Licenses" and "Unassigned Valid Licenses" from Applications Manager version 173400.
  • Consumed Invalid Licenses metric is supported from Applications Manager version 173400.
  • Locked Out Units metric is not supported from version 16310 to 173300.
 
ParameterDescription
User Details
Total User Count The total number of users for the Microsoft 365 subscription.
Licensed User Count The number of user accounts with license.
Unlicensed User Count The number of user accounts without license.
License Usage
Unassigned License Percentage The percentage of licenses available for assignment.
Consumed License Percentage The percentage of licenses that have been assigned to users.
License Details *
License Name The name of the license plan.
Total Valid Licenses The number of licenses that have been purchased for a specific licensing plan.
Consumed License Percentage The percentage of licenses that have been assigned to users.
Unassigned License Percentage The percentage of licenses available for assignment.
Consumed Valid Licenses The number of users assigned with a valid license.
Unassigned Valid Licenses The number of licenses available for assignment.
Consumed Invalid Licenses The number of users assigned with an invalid license.
Warning Units The number of licenses in a licensing plan that you haven't renewed, and that will expire after the 30-day grace period.
Locked Out Units The number of accounts that have been locked out.
Suspended Units The number of accounts that have been suspended
License status Overall status of the license. Possible values are Enabled, Warning, Suspended, Deleted and Locked out.
Microsoft 365 Service Health Details
Service ID ID of the Microsoft 365 service.
Service Name Name of the service.
Service Status Overall status of the service. Possible values are serviceOperational, investigating, restoringService, verifyingService, serviceRestored, postIncidentReviewPublished, serviceDegradation, serviceInterruption, extendedRecovery, falsePositive, investigationSuspended, resolved, mitigatedExternal, mitigated, resolvedExternal, confirmed, reported, or unknownFutureValue.
Microsoft 365 Service Issue Details
Service ID - Feature Group - Feature - Issue ID Indicates the Service ID, Feature Group, Feature, and Issue ID of the Microsoft 365 service issue.
Issue Status Status of the service issue. Possible values are serviceOperational, investigating, restoringService, verifyingService, serviceRestored, postIncidentReviewPublished, serviceDegradation, serviceInterruption, extendedRecovery, falsePositive, investigationSuspended, resolved, mitigatedExternal, mitigated, resolvedExternal, confirmed, reported, and unknownFutureValue.
Issue Type Type of the service issue. Possible values are advisory, incident, or unknownFutureValue.
Issue Origin Origin of the service issue. Possible values are microsoft, thirdParty, customer, or unknownFutureValue.
Issue Description Indicates the description for the service issue.
Hour(s) since issue occurred Amount of time (in hours) elapsed since the issue has occurred.
Issue Start Time Timestamp at which the service issue was started.
Last Modified Time Timestamp at which service issue was last modified.
Endpoints Connectivity
Endpoint The Microsoft 365 endpoint / URL.
Port The port on which endpoint / URL is accessible.
Status The status of endpoint/ URL.
Reason The reason for the Status of the endpoint. This parameter is supported from Applications Manager version 16310.
Response Time The time taken for connecting to endpoint/URL.

Usage

Note: 
  • The metrics under the Usage tab are available from Applications Manager version 16470.
  • * indicates that the metric is available in Applications Manager versions 16310-16460 under the the Overview tab.
 
ParameterDescription
Collected Date
Usage Report Collected Date The date at which Microsoft 365 last updated the reports archive.
Microsoft 365 Users *
Microsoft 365 Active Users The total number of Active users in Microsoft 365.
Microsoft 365 Inactive Users The total number of Inactive users in Microsoft 365.
Microsoft 365 Users - Service Wise *
Active Users The total number of Active users in a Microsoft 365 service.
Inactive Users The total number of Inactive users in a Microsoft 365 Service.
Microsoft 365 Service User Details *
Service Name Name of the Microsoft 365 service.
Active Users The total number of active users.
Inactive Users The total number of inactive users.
Subscriptions Activation Details
Subscription Name The name of the Microsoft 365 subscription.
Subscriptions Assigned The number of users who have enabled the subscription.
Subscriptions Activated The number of users who have activated the subscription.
Activated on Shared Computer The number of users who have activated the subscription on a single, shared computer.
Microsoft 365 Device Activation Details *
Subscription Name The name of the Microsoft 365 subscription.
Windows The number of users who have activated their account on Windows OS.
Mac The number of users who have activated their account on Mac OS.
iOS The number of users who have activated their account on iOS.
Android The number of users who have activated their account on Android.
Active Application Users
Active Outlook Users The number of active users in the Outlook application.
Active Word Users The number of active users in the Word application.
Active Excel Users The number of active users in the Excel application.
Active PowerPoint Users The number of active users in the PowerPoint application.
Active OneNote Users The number of active users in the OneNote application.
Active Teams Users The number of active users in the Teams application.
Active Application Users across platforms
Active Windows Users The number of active users on the Windows platform.
Active Mac Users The number of active users on the Mac platform.
Active Mobile Users The number of active users on the Mobile platform.
Active Web Users The number of active users on the Web platform.
Groups Details
Total Groups The total number of groups available.
Active Groups The number of active groups.
Inactive Groups The number of inactive groups.
 
Note:  All the metrics under Usage tab is mapped under Performance polling. To change the polling interval, go to Settings → Performance polling and choose Optimize Data Collection tab, choose Microsoft 365 as the Monitor Type, Microsoft 365 Usage Statistics as the Metric Name and enable data collection at every poll or configure custom time intervals. (Default and preferred time interval is 12 hours). These are Microsoft Graph API reports (archive) data.

Management

This table displays the status of client secret expirations across all Azure AD applications within the tenant, providing visibility into upcoming expirations (next 30 days) and past expirations (last 10 days). 

ParameterDescription
Client Secret Expiry Details
Client Secret ID  The unique identifier of the client secret.
Application The name of the Azure AD application the client secret belongs to.
Expires On The date and time of the client secret's expiration.
Days to Expire The number of days until the client secret's expiration. A value of 0 days with the status 'Expired' means the secret expired recently, within the past 10 days.
Status Colour coded messages represent the current status of the client secret:
  • Expired
  • Expiring Today
  • Expiring Soon

Note:  The Client Secret Expiry Details metric is mapped under Performance polling. To adjust the polling interval, navigate to Settings → Performance Polling. In the Optimize Data Collection tab, select Microsoft 365 as the Monitor Type and Client Secret Expiry Details as the Metric Name. Choose 'Configure a custom interval' and set the polling interval to at least 12 hours.

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