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Azure VM Inspector (Preview) collects selected guest operating-system logs and configuration files from a supported Azure virtual machine’s managed OS disk, packages them into a ZIP report, and saves the report to storage. Use it when you need evidence about a guest OS issue—not as a universal VM health test or an automatic repair tool. Availability, supported operating systems, and regions can change, so check Microsoft’s current support details before relying on it.
What VM Inspector collects—and what it does not do
VM Inspector uses the Microsoft Compute Diagnostic resource provider and a predefined manifest to read selected files from the VM’s managed OS disk in Azure blob storage. It compresses the collected material into a downloadable ZIP report and returns it to the selected storage account. Depending on the chosen diagnostic scenario, the report can include relevant event logs, settings, configurations, and registry keys.
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This is a collection and investigation aid: it does not automatically repair the VM, and it does not inspect every possible cause of an Azure VM problem. Interpret the report in the context of the incident and the specific files collected.
How to use Azure VM Inspector
- In the Azure portal, open the target virtual machine and select VM Inspector (Preview).
- Select or create a storage account for the report. Confirm that the people who need to retrieve or review the ZIP have access to that account.
- Choose the diagnostic scenario that best matches the suspected issue, then run it.
- Retrieve the ZIP report from the configured storage account and review the relevant logs or configuration files alongside the incident details.
For the first run, an operator needs Owner-level access at the subscription or VM scope so VM Inspector can be assigned the Disk Backup Reader role. An authorization failure during setup may therefore indicate missing permission for role assignment rather than a fault inside the guest operating system. See Microsoft’s VM Inspector error-message guidance.
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Microsoft documents that the first configured storage account is pinned at subscription level with regional affinity. Supported resource types in that subscription and region share the configuration, and changing it affects those resources. Treat the report as potentially sensitive: it contains OS logs and configuration data, so limit access and sharing according to your organization’s data-handling practices.
Check whether your VM is eligible
VM Inspector is not available for every VM. Microsoft’s live support list specifies supported operating systems and Azure regions; confirm the target VM against that list because coverage can change.
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The documentation lists Windows Server 2022, 2019, 2016, 2012 R2, 2012, 2008 R2, and 2008, along with Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, and 7. Linux support is for Azure-endorsed distributions, including CentOS, CoreOS, Debian, Flatcar Container Linux, Azure Linux, openSUSE, Oracle Linux Server, RHEL, SLES, and Ubuntu. The listed regions are Australia East, East US, East US2, North Europe, South Central US, Southeast Asia, UK South, West Central US, West Europe, and West US2. These are the versions and regions listed in Microsoft’s documentation, not a guarantee of permanent coverage.
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- Unmanaged OS disks or VMs.
- Encrypted OS disks or VMs.
- Ephemeral OS disks or VMs.
If the portal does not offer VM Inspector for a VM, check operating system and region support as well as disk type, encryption, and ephemeral status before treating the absence as an application error.
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Choose the diagnostic tool by the symptom
| Question or symptom | Starting point | What it provides |
|---|---|---|
| Need guest OS logs or configuration files | VM Inspector | Collects manifest-selected files from an eligible managed OS disk into a ZIP report; unsupported disk and encryption configurations still apply. |
| VM will not boot or startup state is unclear | Boot diagnostics | Provides Linux console output and screenshots for Windows and Linux. Microsoft says output and screenshots can take up to 10 minutes to appear in storage. |
| Need guest metrics or logs over time | Azure Monitor with Azure Monitor Agent and a data collection rule | Collects configured guest data for monitoring and historical investigation; guest collection requires the agent and a rule. |
| Investigating current CPU, disk-space, memory, or slow-performance conditions | Performance Diagnostics or PerfInsights | Provides current diagnostic insights. Performance Diagnostics does not analyze historical monitoring data; PerfInsights offers CPU, memory, and I/O analysis. |
| Common Guest Agent or overall VM health issue | VM Assist | Microsoft recommends its script-based Windows or Linux VM Assist diagnostic tools for common Guest Agent and VM health issues. |
These tools have different data sources and time horizons. For boot errors, consult Microsoft’s boot-error troubleshooting workflow, which starts by confirming the VM is started, considering whether recent Windows updates correlate with the failure, and reviewing Boot diagnostics. For Linux performance investigation, Microsoft’s performance troubleshooting guidance describes PerfInsights CPU, memory, and I/O analysis.
Quick Recap
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A practical troubleshooting sequence
- Classify the problem. Decide whether it is a boot failure, current performance degradation, guest OS log or configuration issue, Guest Agent or extension issue, or a gap in monitoring data.
- Match the tool to the question. Use Boot diagnostics for startup evidence, Azure Monitor for configured historical guest data, current-state diagnostics for present performance conditions, or VM Inspector when you need selected guest OS files.
- Verify eligibility before starting VM Inspector. Check the supported OS and region, managed OS disk requirement, and whether encryption or an ephemeral OS disk makes the VM unsupported.
- Resolve access and storage setup. For a first VM Inspector run, confirm that an Owner-level operator can assign Disk Backup Reader. Ensure report reviewers can access the selected storage account.
- Run the matching scenario and inspect its report. Retrieve the ZIP and relate the collected logs or settings to the time and symptoms of the incident.
- Escalate based on the evidence. Follow the relevant error-specific Microsoft procedure; if the issue remains unresolved, open an Azure support request.
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