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Azure Network Watcher

Skill

Expert knowledge for Azure Network Watcher development including troubleshooting, decision making, limits & quotas, security, configuration, and integrations & coding patterns. Use when configuring VNet/NSG flow logs, Traffic Analytics, packet capture, Connection Monitor migration, or VPN monitoring, and other Azure Network Watcher related development tasks. Not for Azure Monitor (use azure-monitor), Azure Virtual Network (use azure-virtual-network), Azure Networking (use azure-networking), Azure Firewall (use azure-firewall).

Source: /skills/azure-network-watcher/SKILL.md

Install Skill

Azure Network Watcher Skill

This skill provides expert guidance for Azure Network Watcher. Covers troubleshooting, decision making, limits & quotas, security, configuration, and integrations & coding patterns. It combines local quick-reference content with remote documentation fetching capabilities.

How to Use This Skill

IMPORTANT for Agent: Use the Category Index below to locate relevant sections. For categories with line ranges (e.g., L35-L120), use read_file with the specified lines. For categories with file links (e.g., [security.md](security.md)), use read_file on the linked reference file

IMPORTANT for Agent: If metadata.generated_at is more than 3 months old, suggest the user pull the latest version from the repository. If mcp_microsoftdocs tools are not available, suggest the user install it: Installation Guide

This skill requires network access to fetch documentation content:

  • Preferred: Use mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch with query string from=learn-agent-skill. Returns Markdown.
  • Fallback: Use fetch_webpage with query string from=learn-agent-skill&accept=text/markdown. Returns Markdown.

Category Index

Category Lines Description
Troubleshooting L34-L44 Diagnosing and fixing outbound connectivity, NSG/admin rule issues, and VPN gateway/on-prem VPN problems, plus automating VPN monitoring with Azure Network Watcher.
Decision Making L45-L51 Guidance for migrating network monitoring: moving from classic Connection Monitor and Network Performance Monitor tests, and switching NSG flow logs to VNet flow logs.
Limits & Quotas L52-L56 How to configure and run Network Watcher packet capture, storage and filtering options, and the key limits/quotas (size, duration, concurrency) that apply to captures
Security L57-L65 Securing Network Watcher: RBAC and least-privilege setup, Zero Trust segmentation with Traffic Analytics, investigating security issues, and protecting VNet flow logs with managed identities.
Configuration L66-L81 Configuring and managing Network Watcher agents and VNet/NSG flow logs, including schemas, filtering, Traffic Analytics, AKS monitoring, and deployment via ARM, Bicep, and Azure Policy
Integrations & Coding Patterns L82-L87 Using Network Watcher programmatically: triggering packet captures from Functions alerts, querying Traffic Analytics with KQL, and provisioning VNet flow logs via Terraform.

Troubleshooting

Topic URL
Diagnose outbound connection issues with Network Watcher https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/connection-troubleshoot-manage
Troubleshoot NSG and admin rules with NSG diagnostics https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/diagnose-network-security-rules
Resolve common Azure Network Watcher issues https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/frequently-asked-questions
Diagnose on-premises VPN connectivity to Azure with Network Watcher https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/network-watcher-diagnose-on-premises-connectivity
Automate VPN connectivity monitoring with Azure Automation and Network Watcher https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/network-watcher-monitor-with-azure-automation
Troubleshoot VPN gateways and connections with Azure CLI https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/vpn-troubleshoot-cli
Troubleshoot VPN gateways and connections with PowerShell https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/vpn-troubleshoot-powershell

Decision Making

Topic URL
Migrate from Connection Monitor classic to new Connection Monitor https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/migrate-to-connection-monitor-from-connection-monitor-classic
Migrate tests from Network Performance Monitor to Connection Monitor https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/migrate-to-connection-monitor-from-network-performance-monitor
Migrate from NSG flow logs to VNet flow logs https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/nsg-flow-logs-migrate

Limits & Quotas

Topic URL
Use Network Watcher packet capture and understand its limits https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/packet-capture-overview

Security

Topic URL
Configure RBAC permissions for Azure Network Watcher https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/rbac-permissions
Secure Azure Network Watcher deployment and data access https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/secure-network-watcher
Investigate network security issues with Traffic Analytics prompts https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/traffic-analytics-insights
Apply Zero Trust segmentation using Traffic Analytics https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/traffic-analytics-zero-trust
Secure VNet flow logs with managed identities https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/vnet-flow-logs-managed-identity

Configuration

Topic URL
Install and manage Azure Monitor Agent on Arc servers https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/connection-monitor-install-azure-monitor-agent
Understand Connection Monitor Log Analytics data schemas https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/connection-monitor-schema
Configure and manage Network Watcher Agent VM extension https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/network-watcher-agent-manage
Configure and manage Azure NSG flow logs https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/nsg-flow-logs-manage
Govern Traffic Analytics with Azure Policy https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/traffic-analytics-policy-portal
Understand Traffic Analytics schema and aggregation https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/traffic-analytics-schema
Configure AKS traffic monitoring with VNet flow logs https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/vnet-flow-logs-aks-scenarios
Deploy Network Watcher flow logs with Bicep https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/vnet-flow-logs-bicep
Configure filtering for Azure VNet flow logs https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/vnet-flow-logs-filtering
Configure and manage Azure virtual network flow logs https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/vnet-flow-logs-manage
Enforce VNet flow logs with Azure Policy https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/vnet-flow-logs-policy
Deploy Network Watcher flow logs via ARM template https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/vnet-flow-logs-template

Integrations & Coding Patterns

Topic URL
Trigger Network Watcher packet captures from Azure Functions alerts https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/packet-capture-alert-triggered
Analyze Traffic Analytics data with KQL queries https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/traffic-analytics-queries
Provision Azure VNet flow logs with Terraform https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/network-watcher/vnet-flow-logs-terraform