Microsoft Azure Event Hubs data input configuration fields

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 4 minutes to read
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    Summary of Microsoft Azure Event Hubs data input configuration fields

    This document details the configuration fields for setting up Microsoft Azure Event Hubs data input within ServiceNow, specifically for the Zurich release. It guides customers on how to configure and manage the input form to stream log data from Azure Event Hubs into their ServiceNow instance via MID Servers or MID Server clusters, highlighting important requirements and limitations.

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    Basic Configuration

    • Name and Description: Required fields to identify and describe the data input.
    • Execute on: Choose between a specific MID Server or a MID Server cluster to pull log data.
    • MID Server Selection: Only MID Servers supporting basic authentication are selectable; mTLS-enabled ones are excluded. Default limit is 10 streaming inputs per MID Server, configurable in MID Server properties. Log ingestion is enabled automatically if disabled.
    • MID Server Cluster: Supports only failover clusters (grouped MID Servers for failover protection) with basic authentication and log ingestion enabled. The data input runs on a single MID Server until failure triggers failover to the next available server in the cluster. Capacity validation requires at least one MID Server with fewer than 10 data inputs running.
    • Service Instance: Required to bind the log data; if none exists, customers must create one and set its status to Operational.

    Read-only status fields provide real-time information on the data input state, transport type, source count, uptime, last log time, and any streaming errors.

    Query Settings

    • From: Mandatory starting date/time for reading data; older data is excluded. Using dates far in the past may cause system congestion.
    • Max Batch Size: Defines the maximum number of events processed in a single call (default example: 100).

    Transport Configuration

    • Event Hubs Namespace: Required container scope for the Event Hub(s).
    • Event Hub Name: Specifies the Event Hub from which logs are fetched.
    • Event Hub Credentials: Shared access authorization policy for authentication.
    • Consumer Group Name: Specifies the consumer group used for data streaming.

    Advanced Configuration

    This section allows fine-tuning of data ingestion and processing parameters:

    • Restore Point Rate: Frequency of saving restore points during event processing (default 100 events).
    • Processor Threads Count: Number of threads handling processing (default 2).
    • Operation Timeout: Timeout in seconds for Event Hubs operations (default 120s).
    • Receive Idle Timeout: Timeout for receive operations (default 60s).
    • Prefetch Count: Number of events fetched in advance (default 500).
    • Default Timezone: Applies when logs lack timezone info (default GMT).
    • Sub Sample Drop/Receive Ratios: Controls event batching and reduction to manage load (default -1 disables).
    • Max Length in Bytes: Maximum event size (default 32766 bytes).
    • Character Encoding: Encoding format for logs (default UTF-8).
    • Sleep Interval: Seconds to wait before retrying query after no events found (default 60s).
    • Polling Interval: Seconds to wait between polling cycles (default 0).
    • Drop if Queue Is Full: Option to discard logs under MID Server load (default false).

    Practical Implications for ServiceNow Customers

    By correctly configuring these fields, customers can efficiently stream and ingest Azure Event Hubs log data into ServiceNow for monitoring and analytics. Understanding the MID Server authentication and capacity constraints helps ensure reliable data flow with failover support. Advanced settings provide control over performance tuning and data volume management, critical for scaling and maintaining system stability.

    Description of the fields on the Microsoft Azure Event Hubs data input configuration form.

    Basic configuration

    Field Description
    Name Name of the new data input. This field is required.
    Description Description of the data input.
    Execute on Option to select whether to use a specific MID Server or a MID Server cluster. This field is required.
    MID

    (Only when the Execute on field is set to Specific MID Server)

    MID Server to which log data from Microsoft Azure Event Hubs is pulled.
    Note:
    • You can select only MID Servers that support basic authentication. MID Servers that support mTLS are not listed.
    • The default maximum number of data inputs streaming logs to a single MID Server is 10. You can modify this number in the MID Server properties.
    • If log ingestion is not enabled for the selected MID Server, Health Log Analytics enables it automatically.
    This field is required.
    MID Server Cluster

    (Only when Execute on is set to Specific MID Server cluster.)

    The MID Server cluster to which the log data is pulled. This field is required.

    The data input runs on a single MID Server in the cluster until that MID Server fails. The system then moves all the data input tasks to the next available MID Server in the cluster according to the configured order.

    Note:
    • Health Log Analytics supports only failover MID Server clusters. In these clusters, multiple MID Servers are grouped together for failover protection. When selecting a cluster from the data input or integration form, the MID Server clusters list displays only failover clusters.
    • The MID Server cluster must include only MID Servers that support basic authentication. mTLS is not supported for log ingestion.
    • Log ingestion must be enabled for each MID Server in the cluster. If log ingestion is not enabled for the active MID Server, Health Log Analytics enables it automatically.
    • The default maximum number of data inputs or integrations streaming logs to a single MID Server is 10. A cluster passes capacity validation if it contains at least one MID Server with fewer than 10 data inputs or integrations running on it, even when that MID Server is down.
    For more information about MID Server clusters, see Configure a MID Server cluster.
    Service instance The service instance to which to bind the log data.
    Note:
    If no relevant service instance exists, Create an service instance and add CIs to it. Set the status of the new service instance to Operational.
    This field is required.
    The following fields show read-only information:
    Field Description
    Status Status of the data input.
    Transport Protocol used to stream the log data.

    This data input uses Microsoft Azure Event Hubs to stream log data to your instance.
    Sources count The number of log sources this data input has created.
    Disabled since The time when the data input stopped or failed.
    Last log time The time when the last log streamed in the data input.
    Error message The streaming error.

    This field is populated automatically. It displays only when a streaming error has occurred.
    Table 1. Query settings tab
    Field Description Example
    From Starting date and time for reading the data. Data older than this date and time is not read.
    Note:
    Setting this value to a past date might require the system to read large amounts of data, causing congestion.

    This field is required.

    		 Now -1 week
    Max batch size The maximum number of events passed to a single process call. 100
    Table 2. Transport tab
    Field Description
    Event Hubs namespace The scoping container for the event hub or hubs. This field is required.
    Event Hub name The event hub from which to fetch log data. This field is required.
    Event Hub credentials Shared access authorization policy with which to authenticate to the event hub. This field is required.
    Consumer Group name The Consumer Group to use.

    This field is required.

    Advanced configuration

    Table 3. Advanced configuration form
    Field Description Default value
    Restore point rate The number of events the data input can read before a restore point is saved. 100
    Processor threads count The total number of processor threads. 2
    Operation timeout The number of seconds to wait before timing out event hubs operations. 120
    Receive idle timeout The number of seconds to wait before timing out receive operations. 60
    Prefetch count The number of events received in advance of event hubs operations. 500
    Default timezone The default timezone if the log doesn't include timezone information. GMT
    Sub sample drop ratio The number of events to batch together, out of which one will be discarded. This setting is used to reduce the number of fetched events. -1
    Sub sample receive ratio The number of events to batch together, out of which all but one will be discarded. This setting is used to decrease the number of received events. -1
    Max length in bytes The maximum length, in bytes, of events. 32766
    Character encoding The character encoding for this data input. UTF-8
    Sleep interval The interval, in seconds, to wait before querying again after a query has returned no events. 60
    Polling interval The interval, in seconds, to wait before polling for new events. 0
    Drop if queue is full Option for selecting to discard logs if there is a load on the MID Server. False