Tutorial / Cram Notes
Amazon CloudWatch is a monitoring and observability service designed for DevOps engineers, developers, site reliability engineers (SREs), and IT managers. CloudWatch provides data and actionable insights to monitor your applications, understand and respond to system-wide performance changes, and optimize resource utilization.
Setting up CloudWatch Dashboards
A CloudWatch dashboard is a customizable home page in the CloudWatch console that you can use to monitor your cloud resources in a single view. To create a CloudWatch dashboard:
- Navigate to the CloudWatch console and click on ‘Dashboards’ in the navigation pane.
- Click the ‘Create Dashboard’ button and enter a name for your dashboard.
- Click ‘Create Dashboard’ to proceed.
Adding Widgets to CloudWatch Dashboards
Widgets are the building blocks of CloudWatch dashboards. They can display different types of data, such as graphs, alarms, and text, and you can customize their content and appearance.
To add widgets to your dashboard:
- Click on the ‘Add widget’ button.
- Select the type of widget you want to add, for example, a ‘Metric widget’ for displaying metrics graphically.
- Configure the properties of the widget, such as its title, metrics to display, period, statistic, etc.
- Click ‘Create widget.’
Example: CPU Utilization Widget
For instance, to display the CPU utilization of an EC2 instance:
{
"type": "metric",
"x": 0,
"y": 0,
"width": 12,
"height": 6,
"properties": {
"metrics": [
[ "AWS/EC2", "CPUUtilization", "InstanceId", "i-0123456789abcdef0" ]
],
"period": 300,
"stat": "Average",
"region": "us-west-2",
"title": "EC2 Instance CPU Utilization"
}
}
This JSON represents a widget in a CloudWatch dashboard that displays the average CPU utilization of an EC2 instance over a 5-minute period.
Amazon QuickSight Visualizations
Amazon QuickSight is a fast, cloud-powered business intelligence service that makes it easy to deliver insights to everyone in your organization. It allows you to create and publish interactive dashboards that can be accessed from any device and embedded into your applications, portals, and websites.
Creating Visualizations with QuickSight
To create visualizations in QuickSight:
- Sign in to the QuickSight console.
- On the navigation pane, click on ‘Datasets’ and then ‘New dataset’ to prepare your data source.
- After the dataset is ready, click ‘Create Analysis’ and then ‘New Analysis.’
- Choose the dataset to use and click ‘Create Analysis’ again.
- Select the visual type from the Visual types pane to create your visualization.
Example: Sales and Revenue Analysis
Imagine you want to visualize the sales and revenue data over time:
- Choose the ‘Line chart’ visual type.
- For the X-axis, use the ‘Date’ field.
- For the Value, select your ‘Sales’ and ‘Revenue’ fields.
This simple visualization provides insights into sales and revenue trends over a specified time range.
Comparing CloudWatch and QuickSight
| Feature | Amazon CloudWatch | Amazon QuickSight |
|---|---|---|
| Use case | Monitoring and observability | Business intelligence & data visualization |
| Integration with AWS Services | Deep integration with AWS services | Can connect to AWS services & data sources |
| Real-time Data | Near real-time monitoring | Data is as current as the dataset refresh |
| Customization | Widgets for metrics, logs, and alarms | Interactive visual types like charts and tables |
| Alerting and Remediation | Alarm actions for automatic responses | No direct support for alerting |
| Accessibility | Console-based and API/SDK access | Shareable reports and dashboards |
Both CloudWatch and QuickSight offer powerful capabilities for AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional exam candidates to understand and demonstrate proficiency in building dashboards and visualizations for monitoring AWS resources and deriving business insights. CloudWatch is more suitable for real-time monitoring and operational insights, whereas QuickSight is tailored for interactive business analytics based on the processed data.
Practice Test with Explanation
True/False: You can share a CloudWatch dashboard with users that do not have an AWS account.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: CloudWatch dashboards are accessible only by users with the necessary AWS credentials and permissions. There is no feature to share dashboards with users who don’t have an AWS account.
In Amazon QuickSight, which of the following are supported data sources? (Select TWO)
- Amazon DynamoDB
- Amazon RDS
- Twitter APIs
- YouTube analytics
Answer: Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon RDS
Explanation: Amazon QuickSight supports various AWS data sources including Amazon DynamoDB and Amazon RDS. Twitter APIs and YouTube analytics are not directly supported as data sources within QuickSight.
True/False: It’s possible to set up automatic refresh of QuickSight datasets at specific intervals.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Amazon QuickSight supports setting up automatic refreshes for datasets at specified intervals through the dataset’s “Schedule refresh” feature.
When creating a CloudWatch dashboard, which widget types are available? (Select TWO)
- Number
- Stacked area chart
- 3D pie chart
- Gantt chart
Answer: Number, Stacked area chart
Explanation: CloudWatch supports various widget types for dashboards, including number and stacked area charts. 3D pie charts and Gantt charts are not available widget types in CloudWatch dashboards.
True/False: You can only use AWS data sources within Amazon QuickSight.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Amazon QuickSight allows you to connect to various data sources, not only AWS services but also third-party databases, file uploads, and other BI tools.
Which of the following is used to manage user access and permissions in Amazon QuickSight?
- IAM roles
- QuickSight user roles
- Security groups
- S3 bucket policies
Answer: QuickSight user roles
Explanation: Amazon QuickSight has its own set of user roles (ADMIN, AUTHOR, READER, etc.) that are used to manage access and permissions within QuickSight.
True/False: Amazon CloudWatch can be used to monitor AWS services and trigger alarms based on data from logs.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Amazon CloudWatch can monitor various AWS resources and services, collect and track metrics, collect and monitor log files, set alarms, and automatically react to changes in AWS resources.
What feature in Amazon QuickSight allows you to add interactivity to your analysis by providing clickable elements that filter the views?
- Actions
- Parameters
- Drill-downs
- Tooltips
Answer: Actions
Explanation: Actions in Amazon QuickSight enable interactivity in analyses by allowing end-users to interact with visuals, which can filter or slice and dice the data based on chosen dimensions or measures.
When creating a CloudWatch alarm, which of the following metrics can you set an alarm on? (Select TWO)
- CPU Utilization
- Estimated monthly AWS bill
- Number of open files in an EC2 instance
- Free space on an EBS volume
Answer: CPU Utilization, Free space on an EBS volume
Explanation: CloudWatch allows you to create alarms on various predefined metrics like CPU Utilization of an EC2 instance and free space on an EBS volume. Monitoring the number of open files is not a default metric.
True/False: In Amazon QuickSight, SPICE is a feature that allows you to perform advanced statistical analysis and machine learning on your data sets.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: SPICE (Super-fast, Parallel, In-memory Calculation Engine) is an in-memory processing engine in QuickSight that enables fast, interactive visualizations. It is not directly used for statistical analysis or machine learning.
Which of the following visualization types is NOT available in Amazon QuickSight?
- Sankey diagram
- Scatter plot
- Heat map
- Radar chart
Answer: Radar chart
Explanation: As of the knowledge cutoff, radar charts are not among the visualization types that Amazon QuickSight supports. Sankey diagrams, scatter plots, and heat maps are available visualization types.
True/False: You can embed Amazon QuickSight dashboards into applications using the QuickSight API or SDK.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Amazon QuickSight supports embedding analytics into applications using the QuickSight API or SDK, enabling a seamless BI experience within apps for end-users.
Interview Questions
What is the purpose of Amazon CloudWatch Dashboards and how do they integrate with AWS services?
The purpose of Amazon CloudWatch Dashboards is to create customizable home pages in the CloudWatch console that can display metrics, alarms, and views from different AWS services in a single location. These dashboards provide real-time visibility into resource utilization, operational health, and performance metrics, enabling DevOps teams to quickly assess the impact of changes and troubleshoot issues.
Can you name the types of widgets available in CloudWatch Dashboards and briefly describe their uses?
CloudWatch Dashboards support several types of widgets including:
- Metric widgets to display metrics and alarms in graphical forms, such as line charts and stacked area charts.
- Text widgets for adding static or dynamic text, useful for providing descriptions or context.
- Alarm widgets to display the status of CloudWatch alarms and can be used to quickly identify issues.
- Log widgets for querying and displaying CloudWatch Logs data.
Each widget type allows for a different kind of data visualization or informational display to support monitoring and analysis.
How would you automate the creation of a CloudWatch Dashboard for a dynamic set of resources such as EC2 instances part of an Auto Scaling group?
To automate the creation of a CloudWatch Dashboard for dynamic resources, I would use AWS Lambda in conjunction with CloudWatch Events (or EventBridge). The Lambda function would be triggered by scaling activities, and it would modify the dashboard’s JSON object, adding or removing metrics based on the relevant instance IDs in the Auto Scaling group. The updated JSON would then be applied to the CloudWatch Dashboard using the PutDashboard API. This ensures the dashboard remains up-to-date with the scaling events of the group.
What data sources can you use to create Amazon QuickSight visualizations, and how can you integrate QuickSight with AWS data services?
Amazon QuickSight can utilize various data sources such as Amazon S3, RDS, Redshift, Athena, and more. Additionally, QuickSight seamlessly integrates with AWS services by allowing you to import data directly from these services into SPICE (Super-fast, Parallel, In-memory Calculation Engine) for visualization and analysis. To further simplify the integration, QuickSight provides automatic discovery of AWS data sources configured within your account when setting up a visualization.
In Amazon QuickSight, what are calculated fields and how might they be utilized in a visualization?
Calculated fields in Amazon QuickSight are custom fields that you can create using formulas to perform calculations on data at query time. They enable you to enrich your visualizations by adding new metrics or dimensions derived from existing data without altering source datasets. For example, you might use a calculated field to combine or transform data columns, calculate ratios or growth percentages, or implement conditional logic within your visualizations.
Describe how you can use QuickSight to share insights and collaborate with team members within your organization.
QuickSight facilitates sharing and collaboration by allowing dashboards and analyses to be easily shared among team members within the same AWS account. Users can engage with shared visualizations, apply filters, drill-downs, or storytelling features. QuickSight also supports fine-grained access controls to manage who can view or interact with the reports and allows the sharing of dashboards via email or by embedding them into applications, websites, or portals leveraging the QuickSight API.
How can you set up alerts within Amazon QuickSight, and what scenarios might trigger these alerts?
You can set up alerts within Amazon QuickSight by using its Threshold Alerting feature. Alerts can be created on visualizations that monitor a specific metric, and when the value of that metric breaches a defined threshold (higher or lower), QuickSight can send a notification email to subscribed users. Scenarios that might trigger these alerts include sudden spikes or drops in sales, unusual traffic on a website, or deviations from performance benchmarks.
How can you export data visualizations from Amazon QuickSight, and in what formats?
Data visualizations in Amazon QuickSight can be exported by clicking on the “Share” or “Export” button within the dashboard or analysis page. Users have the option to export visualizations as PDFs, CSV files, or Excel files. Exporting visualizations allows users to share insights outside QuickSight or use them for presentations, reports, or further analysis in other tools.
Explain how you can optimize the performance of your Amazon QuickSight dashboards to support faster insights.
To optimize QuickSight dashboard performance, you can:
- Import data into the SPICE engine to enable faster queries, especially for large datasets.
- Optimize data sets by trimming unnecessary columns and filtering rows to reduce the volume of data processed.
- Use calculated fields instead of creating complex, resource-intensive analyses.
- Aggregate data at the source when possible to reduce the granularity and size of the data sets.
- Leverage the QuickSight caching mechanism for frequently accessed dashboards and data sets.
These strategies can help reduce loading times and improve the interactivity of QuickSight dashboards.
How can Amazon CloudWatch and Amazon QuickSight work together in a cloud-native monitoring and visualization solution?
Amazon CloudWatch and Amazon QuickSight can be integrated to provide a comprehensive monitoring and visualization solution by using CloudWatch to collect and store metrics and log data from AWS resources, then exposing this data to QuickSight for more advanced visualization and analytics. For example, CloudWatch data can be exported to S3 and then queried via Athena, which can be directly connected to QuickSight. This combination allows for sophisticated, customizable dashboards that go beyond the basic metric graphs available within CloudWatch itself.
Great post on building CloudWatch dashboards and Amazon QuickSight visualizations!
Very informative blog. Helped me a lot for my AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional exam prep.
I followed the steps but my CloudWatch dashboard doesn’t update in real-time. Any suggestions?
Thanks for the post. It clarified many of my doubts.
How do you secure Amazon QuickSight dashboards when sharing with external stakeholders?
Amazing article! It was really helpful.
This blog post saved me so much time. Thank you!
I’m having trouble integrating CloudWatch metrics with Amazon QuickSight. Can anyone help?