CloudWatch Agent

Overview

The unified CloudWatch agent collects metrics, logs, and traces from Amazon EC2 instances, on-premises servers, and applications to provide centralized observability. It helps monitor system health across different environments and supports both cloud and hybrid infrastructures.

Key Features:

1. System-Level Metrics:

   • Collects in-guest and system metrics from EC2 instances (across OS types) and on-premises servers.

   • Monitors both AWS-managed and non-AWS servers in hybrid environments.

2. Custom Metrics Support:

   • Retrieves custom metrics using StatsD and collectd protocols.

   • StatsD supports Linux and Windows; collectd is Linux-only.

3. Log Collection:

   • Gathers logs from EC2 and on-premises servers running Linux or Windows.

   • Logs are processed and stored in Amazon CloudWatch Logs.

4. Traces Collection:

   • Supports collecting traces from OpenTelemetry and AWS X-Ray SDKs to streamline trace collection without separate daemons.

5. Metrics & Logs Management:

   • Collected metrics are stored under the CWAgent namespace (customizable).

   • Logs are encrypted, archived, and billed as custom metrics.

6. Application Signals:

   • Newer versions support CloudWatch Application Signals to enhance observability.

7. Open-Source and Customization:

   • The agent is open-source under the MIT license and hosted on GitHub.

   • Users can build and customize the agent.

Supported Operating Systems:

• x86-64 Architecture: Amazon Linux, Ubuntu, RHEL, CentOS, Debian, SUSE, Oracle Linux, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, Windows Server, Windows 10, macOS (Sonoma, Ventura, Monterey).

• ARM64 Architecture: Amazon Linux, Ubuntu, RHEL, CentOS, Debian, SUSE, macOS (Sonoma, Ventura, Monterey).

Installation Process Overview:

1. Set Up IAM Roles/Users: Create roles or users to allow the agent to collect data and integrate with AWS Systems Manager (SSM).

2. Download the Agent: Use the command line or integrate with SSM for installation.

3. Configure the Agent: Modify the CloudWatch agent configuration file to specify the metrics and logs to collect.

4. Install and Start the Agent:

   • Attach the IAM role to EC2 instances.

   • For on-premises servers, use an IAM profile with user credentials.