Introduction

If you use Datadog to monitor your Azure Compute resources, then you can now take advantage of Cloudability's Datadog integration to help you reduce wasted spend by optimizing your resource usage.  Cloudability fully supports Datadog multiple organizational accounts. 

Cloudability uses your Datadog credentials to ingest utilization metrics and generate accurate rightsizing recommendations, which now includes for Azure Compute virtual machine resources.

Using an APM like Datadog makes it easy to generate and collect the necessary resource utilization metrics (such as guest memory metrics, which can be difficult to instrument at scale) to get an accurate picture of how the resource is being utilized leading to an accurate rightsizing recommendation. Learn more about Datadog and their product offerings here.

Benefits

• Improved Recommendations - Utilization data provided by Datadog offers higher precision, as metric sampling occurs at a higher frequency when compared to the native provider.  As a result, we are able to leverage this increased precision to discover an additional 15-20% cost savings opportunities over the default platform metrics.
• Increased Coverage  - By completing the Datadog Azure Integration referenced below you will benefit from easier and increased coverage of virtual machine resources, receiving Rightsizing recommendations and corresponding cost savings opportunities.

Prerequisites

• Complete Cloudability Integration with Datadog

Configuration

• Complete the Datadog Azure Integration, for each Subscription containing Virtual Machines, 
  • Note this step includes installing the Datadog Agent on each virtual machine

Validation

Within 24 hours after the Datadog Azure Integration has been completed, you will see Rightsizing Recommendations informed by utilization metrics from Datadog.   Note the Data Source column will now display `Datadog` if the recommendation was informed by utilization data from Datadog.