What are VM Metrics?
Azure provides a rich set of performance counters for Virtual Machines. These metrics help you monitor health, optimize performance, and set up alerts for proactive management.
Commonly Used Metrics
CPU Percentage
Disk Read Ops
Disk Write Ops
Network In (Bytes)
Network Out (Bytes)
Available Memory (MB)
Metric Definitions
| Metric | Description | Unit | Aggregation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage CPU | Average CPU utilization across all cores. | % | Average |
| Disk Read Bytes | Total bytes read from all disks. | Bytes | Total |
| Disk Write Bytes | Total bytes written to all disks. | Bytes | Total |
| Network In Total | Incoming network traffic. | Bytes | Total |
| Network Out Total | Outgoing network traffic. | Bytes | Total |
| Available Memory Bytes | Amount of free memory available to the VM. | Bytes | Average |
How to Retrieve Metrics
Use Azure Monitor REST API, Azure CLI, PowerShell, or the Azure portal.
az monitor metrics list \
--resource /subscriptions/{subId}/resourceGroups/{rg}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/{vmName} \
--metric "Percentage CPU" "Network In Total" "Network Out Total"