CloudWatch Metrics Deep Dive
CloudWatch Metrics are a key component in monitoring AWS resources. They provide real-time insights into resource performance and operational health, allowing you to track things like CPU usage, memory, disk space, and more. Learning how to configure, optimize, and interpret these metrics will help ensure your applications are running smoothly.
Let's break down the core elements of CloudWatch Metrics:
1. Basic Monitoring vs. Detailed Monitoring (Granularity & Cost)
Basic Monitoring:
- Granularity: Data is available every 5 minutes.
- Cost: Included for most AWS services with no extra charge (free for up to 10 metrics per month for EC2).
- Use Case: Suitable for less critical applications where you don't need real-time data. For example, monitoring a non-production EC2 instance that doesn't require immediate alerting.
Detailed Monitoring:
- Granularity: Data is available every 1 minute.
- Cost: Extra cost for EC2 and other services. For EC2, it's approximately $0.03 per instance per month for detailed monitoring.
- Use Case: Ideal for production environments or critical workloads where you need a finer level of granularity and real-time insights to detect and respond to issues quickly (e.g., production databases, high-traffic websites).
| Feature |
Basic Monitoring |
Detailed Monitoring |
| Granularity |
5 minutes |
1 minute |
| Cost |
Free (up to 10 EC2 instances) |
~$0.03 per EC2 instance/month |
| Use Case |
Low-traffic applications, non-critical workloads |
Production environments, critical workloads |
| Statistic Options |
Average, Sum, Min, Max, SampleCount |
Average, Sum, Min, Max, SampleCount |
2. Standard vs. High Resolution Metrics
Standard Resolution Metrics:
- Granularity: 1-minute granularity.
- Cost: Free for standard AWS services, but you might incur extra costs for custom metrics.
- Use Case: Ideal for most workloads that don’t require precise monitoring at high frequency (e.g., checking CPU utilization every minute).