Module 7: Monitoring and Analytics (Part 1) Flashcards
What is Amazon CloudWatch?
Amazon CloudWatch is a web service that allows you to monitor and manage metrics for your AWS resources. It collects data points, called metrics, from various AWS services and provides tools for visualizing and analyzing this data over time.
How does CloudWatch use metrics?
CloudWatch uses metrics to represent the data points collected from AWS services. These metrics can include information such as CPU utilization, network traffic, and disk usage. CloudWatch organizes and displays these metrics in graphs and charts to help you understand the performance of your resources.
What are CloudWatch alarms?
CloudWatch alarms are used to monitor metrics and trigger automated actions based on predefined thresholds. You can set alarms to notify you when a metric goes above or below a specified threshold. For example, you can create an alarm to stop an Amazon EC2 instance if its CPU utilization remains below a certain threshold for a specified period.
What is the CloudWatch dashboard used for?
The CloudWatch dashboard is a feature that allows you to access and visualize metrics from various resources in a single location. It provides a consolidated view of metrics for monitoring purposes. You can customize the dashboard to display specific metrics and create separate dashboards for different purposes or resources, providing a centralized monitoring solution.
How can CloudWatch be useful for monitoring AWS resources?
CloudWatch enables you to monitor the performance and health of your AWS resources by collecting and analyzing metrics. It allows you to set alarms to take automated actions, visualize data through graphs and charts, and create customized dashboards to monitor specific metrics and resources. CloudWatch helps you gain insights into resource utilization, troubleshoot issues, and optimize performance.
What is AWS CloudTrail?
AWS CloudTrail is a service that records API calls made in your AWS account. It captures detailed information about the API caller, timestamp, source IP address, and more. CloudTrail provides a comprehensive history of user activity and API calls, allowing you to track and analyze actions taken on your AWS resources.
Why is CloudTrail useful?
CloudTrail helps you gain visibility and insight into user activity and API calls within your AWS account. It provides an audit trail of actions taken, allowing you to monitor and investigate changes made to your resources. CloudTrail’s recorded information can be valuable for security analysis, compliance auditing, troubleshooting, and understanding the overall activity within your account.
How quickly are events recorded in CloudTrail?
CloudTrail events are typically updated within 15 minutes after an API call. This means that you can expect to see the recorded events reflecting recent activity in your AWS account with a short delay.
How can you filter events in CloudTrail?
In CloudTrail, you can filter events based on various criteria, such as the time and date of the API call, the user who initiated the action, or the type of resource involved. By applying filters, you can narrow down the event history and focus on specific API actions or specific timeframes for analysis.
What are CloudTrail Insights?
CloudTrail Insights is an optional feature within CloudTrail that automatically detects unusual API activities in your AWS account. It analyzes event patterns and can identify potential security risks or anomalies. For example, it can detect an unusually high number of EC2 instances being launched. CloudTrail Insights provides valuable insights and alerts, allowing you to investigate and respond to potential security issues promptly.
