---
title: Azure Monitor vs. Azure Polling
source: https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/infrastructure/microsoft-azure-integrations/get-started/azure-monitor-vs-azure-polling
---

> #### ⚠️ IMPORTANT
>
> Use Azure Monitor to collect Azure metrics at scale. Azure Polling will be deprecated soon.

## Comparison overview

| Feature                      | Azure Polling                                       | Azure Monitor                                                                                                                                       |
| ---------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Integration setup**        | Requires a separate integration per Azure service   | Single integration covers all supported resources                                                                                                   |
| **New service support**      | Requires building and maintaining a new integration | New Azure services are [available](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-monitor/reference/metrics-index) in New Relic with minimal changes |
| **Service coverage**         | `~30 Azure services`                                | All Azure services supported by Azure Monitor                                                                                                       |
| **Minimum polling interval** | 5 minutes                                           | 1 minute                                                                                                                                            |

## Limitations of Azure Polling

Azure Polling has known limitations that affect data reliability and cost. Migrate to Azure Monitor before Azure Polling is deprecated in a future release.

**Resource type-specific configuration**

Each polling configuration is scoped to a single resource type and cannot be generalized.

> #### 💡 TIP
>
> Azure Monitor uses the Metrics Batch API to retrieve metrics across multiple resources in a single request, eliminating the need for resource-specific configurations.

**Hardcoded metrics**

Metrics are statically defined at configuration time. Changes to available metrics on the Azure side are not reflected automatically.

> #### 💡 TIP
>
> Azure Monitor retrieves all available metrics dynamically, without requiring manual updates.

**Limited service coverage**

Azure Polling supports approximately 30 resource types with no planned expansion.

> #### 💡 TIP
>
> Azure Monitor supports all resource types that Azure itself supports.

**High API call volume**

The polling model issues a large number of individual API calls, which can trigger Azure API throttling and increase costs.

> #### 💡 TIP
>
> Azure Monitor's Metrics Batch API consolidates requests across multiple resources, significantly reducing API call volume and the risk of throttling.

**Risk of data loss**

Azure Polling tracks timestamps at the resource level. When metrics for a given resource type are reported at different time frequencies, data points may be missed or dropped during collection.

> #### 💡 TIP
>
> Azure Monitor tracks timestamps at the individual metric level, ensuring accurate alignment regardless of varying reporting frequencies across metrics within the same resource.

**New Relic support**

Azure Polling will be deprecated soon, so there would be minimal support if there are any new requests.

> #### 💡 TIP
>
> Azure Monitor will be improved actively so that they provide first class experience to customers.