Version Azure Monitor data collection rules like production routing code

Bottom line: Azure Monitor data collection rules (DCRs) define what data is collected, its incoming schema, transformations, and destinations. Data collection rule associations connect supported resources to those rules. A one-line transformation or association change can suppress, reshape, duplicate, or reroute operational and security telemetry. Govern DCRs as production routing code.

Source fact: what Microsoft documents

Microsoft’s DCR overview describes DCRs as part of an extract, transform, and load-like collection process. Depending on the scenario, a rule identifies data sources, the incoming schema, transformations, and destinations.

For Azure Monitor Agent and several other documented scenarios, a data collection rule association (DCRA) links a resource to a DCR. Microsoft states that the relationship can be many-to-many: a rule can be associated with multiple resources, and a resource can have multiple associations within service limits. Other scenarios specify a DCR in an ingestion call or apply a workspace transformation rule. DCRs are Azure resources with regional behavior, infrastructure-as-code support, and service limits. Some portal experiences create and manage them on the administrator’s behalf.

What the source does not establish

An installed Azure Monitor Agent does not prove the desired rule is associated, the source is readable, the transformation preserves needed fields, or the destination receives data on time. A DCR does not create source events that the OS or application never emits. Filtering may reduce cost and noise while also deleting forensic context before storage. Multiple rules can produce intentional or accidental duplication and cost.

Applicability questions

Which operational, security, audit, and compliance questions require each source and field?

Which resources should have which DCRAs, and are overlapping rules intentional?

What transformations filter, parse, redact, or route data, and what happens to unmatched records?

Which region, destination, data collection endpoint, network path, and service limits apply?

Who owns schema changes in the source and queries, alerts, workbooks, or detections downstream?

DSE recommendation: controlled next steps

The following steps are DSE recommendations based on the cited source.

Assign a service owner and data owner to every DCR, DCRA pattern, transformation, and destination.

Store rule definitions and association logic in version control with review, test, deployment, and rollback.

Send canary records through a nonproduction or narrow scope and verify source, schema, transformation, destination, latency, and downstream query behavior.

Reconcile expected resources with actual DCRAs and agent health. Detect orphaned, stale, overlapping, and manually created rules.

Measure volume, ingestion failures, transformation drops, latency, and cost after each change.

Verification and evidence

Preserve DCR and DCRA definitions, versions, regions, destinations, transformations, owners, and approvals.

Record canary input and resulting stored output without exposing sensitive production data.

Demonstrate downstream alerts, queries, and workbooks still function with the new schema and fields.

Compare expected and actual resource associations and investigate telemetry gaps or duplication.

Official references

Data collection rules (DCRs) in Azure Monitor — Microsoft