Create a Log Analytics workspace

This article shows you how to create a Log Analytics workspace. When you collect logs and data, the information is stored in a workspace. A workspace has a unique workspace ID and resource ID. The workspace name must be unique for a given resource group. After you've created a workspace, configure data sources and solutions to store their data there.

You need a Log Analytics workspace if you collect data from:

  • Azure resources in your subscription.
  • On-premises computers monitored by System Center Operations Manager.
  • Device collections from Configuration Manager.
  • Diagnostics or log data from Azure Storage.

Prerequisites

To create a Log Analytics workspace, you need an Azure account with an active subscription. You can create an account for free.

Permissions required

You need Microsoft.OperationalInsights/workspaces/write permissions to the resource group where you want to create the Log Analytics workspace, as provided by the Log Analytics Contributor built-in role, for example.

Create a workspace

Use the Log Analytics workspaces menu to create a workspace.

  1. In the Azure portal, enter Log Analytics in the search box. As you begin typing, the list filters based on your input. Select Log Analytics workspaces.

    Screenshot that shows the search bar at the top of the Azure home screen. As you begin typing, the list of search results filters based on your input.

  2. Select Add.

  3. Select a Subscription from the dropdown.

  4. Use an existing Resource Group or create a new one.

  5. Provide a name for the new Log Analytics workspace, such as DefaultLAWorkspace. This name must be unique per resource group.

  6. Select an available Region. For more information, see which regions Log Analytics is available in. Search for Azure Monitor in the Search for a product box.

    Screenshot that shows the boxes that need to be populated on the Basics tab of the Create Log Analytics workspace screen.

  7. Select Review + Create to review the settings. Then select Create to create the workspace. A default pricing tier of pay-as-you-go is applied. No charges will be incurred until you start collecting enough data. For more information about other pricing tiers, see Log Analytics pricing details.

Troubleshooting

When you create a workspace that was deleted in the last 14 days and in soft-delete state, the operation could have a different outcome depending on your workspace configuration:

  1. If you provide the same workspace name, resource group, subscription, and region as in the deleted workspace, your workspace will be recovered including its data, configuration, and connected agents.

  2. Workspace names must be unique for a resource group. If you use a workspace name that already exists, or is soft deleted, an error is returned. To permanently delete your soft-deleted name and create a new workspace with the same name, follow these steps:

    1. Recover your workspace.
    2. Permanently delete your workspace.
    3. Create a new workspace by using the same workspace name.

Next steps

Now that you have a workspace available, you can configure collection of monitoring telemetry, run log searches to analyze that data, and add a management solution to provide more data and analytic insights. To learn more: