We have deployed SiteCore applications in azure. We use Azure IaaS and not PaaS services.  So is there a way for us to monitor the sitecore apps through SCOM? if so, how can we set up the SCOM infrastructure - in terms of servers we need, AD set up etc., Currently we don't Sync AD with azure. Azure is separate where IT remote into the VM and develop apps and publish to different region and we are using traffic manager (not CDN).  As we finish the sitecore deployment, we need to find a way to monitor the apps and sql databases etc., what's the best practice? thankyou

I think below link will answer your question:

http://windowsitpro.com/windows-azure/using-operations-manager-windows-azure-iaas

More Information:

http://www.concurrency.com/blog/monitoring-azure-iaas-with-operations-manager-2012-the-basics-scom-opsmgr/

http://www.concurrency.com/blog/monitoring-azure-iaas-with-operations-manager-2012-part-2-scom-opsmgr/

thanks Ibrahim. but since we don't have any on-premise server (we do everything on the cloud), could we use Azure VM to install ops manager? If so, what would be a typical hardware requirements to monitor 2 to 4 Application Server (where site core is installed) 

Hi,

You can install SCOM 2012 R2 on Azure IaaS:

https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/systemcenter/en-US/0873431a-4db9-4adc-b8e8-e434d44c17b2/hosting-scom-in-the-cloud-?forum=operationsmanagergeneral

SCOM 2012 R2 requirements and prerequisites are listed here:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn249696.aspx

Using SCOM 2012 R2 you can monitor your .NET and Java applications deployed on Azure IaaS servers managed by SCOM 2012 R2 Agent.

https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd/NorthAmerica/2013/MDC-B402#fbid=

But there is an alternative to SCOM from application performance monitoring standpoint - if you own Visual Studio Online subscription, you may try AppInsights:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn481095.aspx

http://kevingreeneitblog.blogspot.ru/2014/03/application-insights-deep-dive-part-1.html

Depending on the type of monitoring you are after (App-related or more infrastructure-related) you could be trying out these SaaS services

Visual Studio Online Application Insights http://www.visualstudio.com/products/what-is-visual-studio-online-vs

Azure Operational Insights https://opinsights.azure.com/

But yes you can also install OpsMgr in Azure IaaS but it does need AD (not necessarily you AD synced with WAAD - can be just a small domain dedicated to the SCOM management group).

Thank you Daniele - ops insight seems to be interesting. do I need install agent within my azure VMs?

Yes for Azure IaaS VMs. Onboarding instructions https://preview.opinsights.azure.com/instructions

We will have PaaS (cloud services) support to read data from WAD very soon, see idea tracked here http://feedback.azure.com/forums/267889-azure-operational-insights/suggestions/6628738-add-support-for-operational-insights-in-azure-paas

TechEd presentation http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd/Europe/2014/CDP-B343

that's awesome. thank you. Originally I intended to have SCOM to monitor the VM but it seems I can get away with this and use this service. one overhead with SCOM down :)

OpInsights isn't a replacement for OpsMgr at this stage is more incrementally adding value to it and directionally extending monitoring for the hybrid world.

Especially if you have on-premises assets, using System Center is very valuable and allows more customization and granular control.

But if all you assets are in Azure, I see your point and that's where we are directionally going.

Hello Daniele, we have similar situation where all our assets are in the Azure Cloud - IaaS.  we are contemplating on whether to install Ops Mngr in Azure from monitoring perspective or just use Azure Operational Insight;  or would there be benefit to combing Ops Manager with Insight?  three options and want to know which would be the ideal options. 

System Center Operations Manager is still our flagship monitoring product - largely due to the richness and breadth of its management packs http://aka.ms/mpcatalog that cover most well-known off the shelf workloads and monitor them without your staff needing to be an expert on each of those technologies.
It is supported to run it in Azure and use it with Azure IaaS VMs if you want to do so.

Operations Manager also included some APM technology - this scenario later evolved into AppInsights, largely targeting Developer scenarios for custom-built applications, and it provides additional capabilities in the APM space: instrumentation for your Web application/pages and Windows Phone/Store app to show usage, performance and availability. Also look at the thread here https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/azure/en-US/fff4c467-fb4f-4f22-9ad1-b118d31c281a/azure-operationalapplication-insights?forum=opinsights

Operational Insights is a log intelligence solution for ITPro's for analyzing servers and server logs and provides out of the box insight into several aspects of the server, from configuration changes, log reporting, update and malware assessment, SQL assessment etc. It also provides a way for you to quickly search through the collected data.
This is valuable on its own, but also makes for a great complement to OpsMgr since it helps with all sort of slicing and dicing and troubleshooting scenarios that need large volumes of data, which OpsMgr's databases and consoles weren't optimal to deal with; at the same time OpsMgr provides real time alerting today, which for OpInsights is a future item in the backlog http://feedback.azure.com/forums/267889-azure-operational-insights/suggestions/6519198-long-running-saved-searches-or-scheduled-that-ca - but OpInsights can work as a modern 'web console' to triage OpsMgr alerts with the alert management intelligence pack http://blogs.technet.com/b/momteam/archive/2014/11/12/manage-your-operations-manager-alerts-from-azure-operational-insight-with-the-new-alert-management-intelligence-pack.aspx and even on the go thru the mobile app http://blogs.technet.com/b/momteam/archive/2014/11/24/access-your-operational-insights-on-the-go.aspx

As you said, there are various options, and the landscape is evolving rapidly - the best one choice, or a combination of these - i.e. see this thread https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/azure/en-US/50ecdf2e-0e35-4fba-927a-5ba52f726405/add-operational-insights-to-cloud-service-during-publish?forum=opinsights is the one that works for you, your workloads, your application, and the way your teams work.