Logging and monitoring systems are key building blocks for any robust web application architecture, whether it’s a traditional monolith or modern distributed application. Amazon Web Services (AWS), being the leading cloud service provider globally, offers powerful logging and monitoring services. As you prepare for the AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C02) exam, understanding AWS monitoring and logging tools is crucial.
CloudWatch
AWS CloudWatch is a monitoring service designed for AWS resources and the applications that you run on AWS. It enables you to gain system-wide visibility into resource utilization, application performance, and operational health.
For instance, you can monitor CPU usage and disk Reads/Writes of your EC2 instances or track the total number of requests made to your Elastic Load Balancer.
To use Cloudwatch, you do not need to install any additional software; it comes pre-configured with every AWS resource.
CloudWatch Logs and CloudTrail
CloudWatch Logs helps you to monitor, store, and access your log files from AWS resources.
AWS CloudTrail, on the other hand, is a service that records AWS API calls for your account and delivers log files to you. It is highly useful for compliance, governance, risk auditing, and reviewing operational activity.
For Example, with CloudTrail, you can retrieve logs providing details on who made API call, the source IP of the API, and when it was made.
Comparison of CloudWatch and CloudTrail
| CloudWatch | CloudTrail | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Monitoring AWS resources | Tracking AWS Account activity |
| Example use cases | Detecting abnormal resource utilization, setting up alarms for conditions, visualizing logs and metrics | Identifying who made the request, identifying the source IP, tracking request made to AWS APIs |
| Cost | Basic features available free. Extra features (Detailed monitoring) are chargeable | First copy of management events is free. Additional copies are chargeable |
CloudWatch Metrics
Metrics are fundamental concepts in CloudWatch. They represent a time-ordered set of data points published to CloudWatch. Think of them as variables to monitor, and the data points are their values over time. AWS services send metrics data points to CloudWatch, and you can send your custom metrics to CloudWatch.
For example, you can push your application’s transactional metrics into CloudWatch Metrics and set up alarms for anomalies.
AWS X-Ray
Aside from CloudWatch and CloudTrail, AWS X-Ray service helps in analyzing and debugging distributed applications, such as those built using a microservices architecture. You can understand how your application and its underlying services are performing to identify and troubleshoot the root cause of performance issues and errors.
To sum up, while preparing for the AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C02) exam, you should get familiar with CloudWatch, CloudWatch Logs, CloudTrail, and X-Ray services’ roles and functionalities. These services ensure that you always have detailed insights into your AWS Resources and can observe any anomalies quickly.
Practice Test
True/False: Amazon CloudWatch is a service used for storage services.
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Amazon CloudWatch is used for monitoring your AWS resources and the applications in real-time.
In the context of AWS, which of the following can be used for storing logs?
- a) Amazon S3
- b) Amazon RDS
- c) Amazon CloudTrail
- d) Amazon Glacier
Answer: a) Amazon S3
Explanation: Amazon S3 is scalable storage infrastructure frequently used to store logs. Amazon RDS is a relational database service, Amazon CloudTrail is used for governance, compliance, operational auditing, and risk auditing of your AWS account, and Amazon Glacier is a storage service optimized for infrequently accessed data.
True/False: AWS X-Ray helps developers analyze and debug applications.
- True
Answer: True
Explanation: AWS X-Ray helps developers analyze and debug distributed applications, such as those built using a microservices architecture.
AWS Elastic Beanstalk stores logs in ________.
- a) Lambda logs
- b) Azure logs
- c) Instance logs
- d) Crash logs
Answer: c) Instance logs
Explanation: AWS Elastic Beanstalk stores the logs from each instance in the environment. It does not store Lambda logs, Azure logs, or crash logs independently.
True/False: Amazon CloudWatch logs can monitor, store and access log files from EC2 Instances.
- True
Answer: True
Explanation: Amazon CloudWatch logs can monitor, store, and access your AWS resource log files.
What AWS service is used for governance, compliance, operational auditing, and risk auditing of your AWS account?
- a) Amazon RDS
- b) Amazon CloudTrail
- c) Amazon S3
- d) AWS X-Ray
Answer: b) Amazon CloudTrail
Explanation: Amazon CloudTrail provides event history of your AWS account activity, including actions taken through the AWS Management Console, AWS SDKs, command-line tools, and other AWS services.
True/False: Amazon CloudWatch provides metrics for every service in AWS.
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Amazon CloudWatch provides metrics only for certain services and resources in AWS, not all.
Which service can be used to monitor applications and services in real-time?
- a) Amazon S3
- b) Amazon CloudWatch
- c) Amazon RDS
- d) Amazon CloudTrail
Answer: b) Amazon CloudWatch
Explanation: Amazon CloudWatch allows you to collect performance and operational data in form of logs and metrics from your AWS resources in real-time.
True/False: AWS X-Ray does not support applications that run inside Docker containers.
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: AWS X-Ray does support applications running inside Docker containers.
What service would you use for storing and analyzing logs that are intended for audit purposes?
- a) Amazon S3
- b) Amazon EC2
- c) Amazon RDS
- d) Amazon CloudTrail
Answer: d) Amazon CloudTrail
Explanation: Amazon CloudTrail is designed for governance, operational auditing, risk auditing and compliance and is the AWS service to use for storing and analyzing logs meant for audit purposes.
Interview Questions
What is Amazon CloudWatch?
Amazon CloudWatch is a monitoring service for AWS resources and the applications you run on AWS. You can use Amazon CloudWatch to collect and track metrics, collect and monitor log files, set alarms, and automatically react to changes in your AWS resources.
What are the primary functions of Amazon Cloudwatch?
Amazon CloudWatch is primarily used for log data monitoring, event handling, traceability, and alarm notification.
Can you list some default metrics provided by AWS CloudWatch for EC2 instances?
Some default metrics for EC2 instances in CloudWatch are CPU utilization, Disk Reads/Writes, Network In/Out, and Status Check Failed.
How does CloudWatch handle system-wide visibility into resource utilization?
CloudWatch provides a centralized repository of operational data that allows system-wide visibility into resource utilization, operational performance, and overall demand patterns.
What are the ways to publish custom metrics to CloudWatch?
Custom metrics can be published to CloudWatch using the AWS Management Console, AWS CLI, or SDKs.
What is AWS CloudTrail?
AWS CloudTrail is a service that enables governance, compliance, operational auditing, and risk auditing of your AWS account. It provides event histories of your AWS account activity, enabling you to simplify compliance auditing, security analysis, change tracking, and operational troubleshooting.
What is the difference between Amazon CloudWatch and AWS CloudTrail?
Amazon CloudWatch is used for real-time monitoring of AWS resources and applications, while AWS CloudTrail is used for auditing AWS account activity.
Is it possible to retrieve system logs from terminated EC2 instances using CloudWatch Logs?
No, once an EC2 instance is terminated, the system log is not available in CloudWatch Logs.
What is AWS X-Ray?
AWS X-Ray is a service that helps developers analyze and debug distributed applications, such as those built using a microservices architecture.
What is the purpose of logs in AWS CloudTrail?
Logs in AWS CloudTrail record the API calls made on your account and deliver log files to you. The recorded information includes the identity of the API caller, the time of the API call, the source IP address of the API caller, the request parameters, and the response elements.
Can Amazon S3 be used to store CloudTrail log files?
Yes, Amazon S3 can be used as a storage location for CloudTrail log files.
What is Amazon CloudWatch Events?
Amazon CloudWatch Events is a near real-time service that delivers a stream of system events that describe changes in Amazon Web Services resources.
Can you integrate AWS CloudWatch and AWS Lambda?
Yes, AWS CloudWatch and AWS Lambda can be integrated. CloudWatch can trigger AWS Lambda functions based on certain metrics or thresholds.
What is the maximum retention period for CloudWatch Logs?
The maximum retention period for CloudWatch Logs is indefinitely, and the minimum retention period is one day.
How does AWS X-Ray help developers?
AWS X-Ray helps developers analyze and debug distributed applications, such as those built using a microservices architecture, by providing insights into the behavior of components and tracing their requests from end to end.
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