Using CloudWatch for Resource Monitoring

30 minutes
  • 3 Learning Objectives

About this Hands-on Lab

This lab provides practical experience creating and configuring multiple custom AWS CloudWatch dashboards and widgets. The primary focus will be on the following features within CloudWatch: CloudWatch dashboards, dashboard widgets, and CloudWatch metrics. CloudWatch dashboards built with custom widgets allow you to visually monitor resources and proactively take action, if needed. Overall, the dashboards give you a central, visual view of how your monitored resources are behaving at specific points in time.

Learning Objectives

Successfully complete this lab by achieving the following learning objectives:

Create a CloudWatch Dashboard for the DMZ Layer

Create a CloudWatch dashboard specific to the DMZ layer. Name your dashboard DMZLayer. Next, set up a widget within the DMZLayer dashboard for the bastion host instance set to monitor the CPUUtilization metric.

Create a CloudWatch Dashboard for the Application Layer

Create a separate CloudWatch dashboard with widgets displaying metrics specific to the application layer. Name the dashboard AppLayer. Create a widget for the Application ELB that monitors the RequestCount metric. Create two more widgets in your dashboard to monitor the CPUUtilization and NetworkIn metrics for the WordPress instances as well as the MySQL database. Remember to save the dashboards before ending the lab.

Test the Widgets

Create a WordPress instance to test and monitor the widgets.

Additional Resources

Login Information

Log in to the AWS Management Console using the credentials provided on the lab instructions page. Be sure to use an incognito or private browser window to ensure you’re using the lab account rather than your own.

When you log in, please make sure you are in the N. Virginia us-east-1 Region.

What are Hands-on Labs

Hands-on Labs are real environments created by industry experts to help you learn. These environments help you gain knowledge and experience, practice without compromising your system, test without risk, destroy without fear, and let you learn from your mistakes. Hands-on Labs: practice your skills before delivering in the real world.

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