CloudWatch Alarms
CloudWatch Alarms are a feature of Amazon CloudWatch that allow users to monitor AWS resources and applications in real-time.
Description
CloudWatch Alarms enable users to track specific metrics associated with AWS resources, such as EC2 instances, RDS databases, or custom application metrics. By setting thresholds for these metrics, users can receive notifications when the specified conditions are met. For instance, if CPU utilization exceeds a defined percentage for a certain duration, an alarm can be triggered to alert the system administrator. This proactive monitoring helps ensure system performance and reliability, allowing teams to respond quickly to potential issues. Alarms can also be configured to automatically execute actions, such as scaling resources up or down or sending alerts via Amazon SNS (Simple Notification Service) to inform relevant stakeholders. This functionality is critical for maintaining optimal performance and cost-effectiveness in cloud operations, making CloudWatch Alarms an essential tool for organizations leveraging AWS services.
Examples
- Monitoring an EC2 instance's CPU utilization and triggering an alarm if it exceeds 80% for 5 consecutive minutes.
- Setting up an alarm to notify when the free storage space of an RDS instance drops below 10%.
Additional Information
- CloudWatch Alarms can be combined with AWS Lambda functions to automate responses to changes in metrics.
- Alarms can be visualized on CloudWatch dashboards, allowing for centralized monitoring of multiple services and metrics.