automation-vm-change-tracking.md

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Track changes in your Azure virtual machines | Microsoft Docs	Use change tracking to track changes in the files and registry on your virtual machines.	automation	automation	eslesar	carmonm	tysonn	azure-service-management		automation		article		infrastructure	09/25/2017	eslesar

Track changes in your Azure virtual machines

By enabling change tracking, you can track changes to files and Windows registry keys on your virtual machines. Identifying configuration changes can help you pinpoint operational issues.

You can enable change tracking directly from your Azure virtual machine.

If you do not have an Azure virtual machine, you can create one by following the instructions in the Windows quickstart or Linux quickstart article.

Sign in to the Azure portal

Sign in to the Azure portal.

Enable change tracking for an Azure virtual machine

1. In the left pane of the Azure portal, select Virtual machines.

2. In the list, select a virtual machine.

3. In the virtual machine window, under Operations, select Change tracking.

   
   The Enable Update Management window opens.

   Validation is performed to determine whether change tracking is enabled for this virtual machine. If change tracking is not enabled, a banner is displayed, giving you the option to enable the solution.

   

4. To enable the solution, select the banner. If you do not have the following items, they are added automatically:

   • Log Analytics workspace
   • Automation account

5. Select a Log Analytics work space to store data logs from change tracking, select an Automation account to track changes, and then select Enable.
   A status bar notifies you that the solution is being enabled. This process can take up to 15 minutes.

Configure change tracking

After change tracking is enabled, the Change tracking window appears.

To choose which files and registry keys to track, select Edit settings.

The Workspace Configuration window opens.

In the Workspace Configuration window, add the Windows registry keys, Windows files, or Linux files to be tracked, as outlined in the next three sections.

Add a Windows registry key

1. On the Windows Registry tab, select Add.
   The Add Windows Registry for Change Tracking window opens.

   

2. Under Enabled, select True.

3. In the Item Name box, enter a friendly name.

4. (Optional) In the Group box, enter a group name.

5. In the Windows Registry Key box, enter the name of the registry key you want to track.

6. Select Save.

Add a Windows file

1. On the Windows Files tab, select Add.
   The Add Windows File for Change Tracking window opens.

   

2. Under Enabled, select True.

3. In the Item Name box, enter a friendly name.

4. (Optional) In the Group box, enter a group name.

5. In the Enter Path box, enter the full path and file name of the file you want to track.

6. Select Save.

Add a Linux file

1. On the Linux Files tab, select Add.
   The Add Linux File for Change Tracking window opens.

   

2. Under Enabled, select True.

3. In the Item Name box, enter a friendly name.

4. (Optional) In the Group box, enter a group name.

5. In the Enter Path box, enter the full path and file name of the file you want to track.

6. In the Path Type box, select either File or Directory.

7. Under Recursion, to track changes for the specified path and all files and paths under it, select On. To track only the selected path or file, select Off.

8. Under Use Sudo, to track files that require the sudo command to access, select On. Otherwise, select Off.

9. Select Save.

View changes

In the Change tracking window, you can view the changes in each of the various categories for your virtual machine over time.

You can select the categories and time range of changes to view. At the top of the window, you can view a graphical representation of changes over time. At the bottom of the window, you can view a list of recent changes.

View change-tracking log data

Change tracking generates log data that is sent to Log Analytics. To search the logs by running queries, select Log Analytics at the top of the Change tracking window.

To learn more about running and searching log files in Log Analytics, see Log Analytics.

Next steps

• To learn more about change tracking, see Track software changes in your environment with the Change Tracking solution.
• To learn more about managing updates for your virtual machines, see Update Management solution in OMS.