# Monitoring Amazon RDS metrics with Amazon CloudWatch Monitoring RDS with CloudWatch Amazon CloudWatch is a metrics repository. The repository collects and processes raw data from Amazon RDS into readable, near real-time metrics. For a complete list of Amazon RDS metrics sent to CloudWatch, see [ Metrics reference for Amazon RDS](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/en_us/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/metrics-reference.html). To analyze and troubleshoot the performance of your databases at scale, use [CloudWatch Database Insights](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/USER_DatabaseInsights.html). **Topics** + [ ## Overview of Amazon RDS and Amazon CloudWatch ](#cw-metrics-overview) + [ # Viewing DB instance metrics in the CloudWatch console and AWS CLI ](metrics_dimensions.md) + [ # Exporting Performance Insights metrics to CloudWatch ](PI_metrics_export_CW.md) + [ # Creating CloudWatch alarms to monitor Amazon RDS ](creating_alarms.md) + [ # Tutorial: Creating an Amazon CloudWatch alarm for Multi-AZ DB cluster replica lag for Amazon RDS ](multi-az-db-cluster-cloudwatch-alarm.md) ## Overview of Amazon RDS and Amazon CloudWatch By default, Amazon RDS automatically sends metric data to CloudWatch in 1-minute periods. For example, the `CPUUtilization` metric records the percentage of CPU utilization for a DB instance over time. Data points with a period of 60 seconds (1 minute) are available for 15 days. This means that you can access historical information and see how your web application or service is performing. You can now export Performance Insights metrics dashboards from Amazon RDS to Amazon CloudWatch. You can export either the preconfigured or customized metrics dashboards as a new dashboard or add them to an existing CloudWatch dashboard. The exported dashboard is available to view in the CloudWatch console. For more information on how to export the Performance Insights metrics dashboards to CloudWatch, see [Exporting Performance Insights metrics to CloudWatch](PI_metrics_export_CW.md). As shown in the following diagram, you can set up alarms for your CloudWatch metrics. For example, you might create an alarm that signals when the CPU utilization for an instance is over 70%. You can configure Amazon Simple Notification Service to email you when the threshold is passed. ![\[RDS metrics in AWS CloudWatch\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/images/rds-cloudwatch.png) Amazon RDS publishes the following types of metrics to Amazon CloudWatch: + Metrics for your RDS DB instances For a table of these metrics, see [Amazon CloudWatch metrics for Amazon RDS](rds-metrics.md). + Performance Insights metrics For a table of these metrics, see [Amazon CloudWatch metrics for Amazon RDS Performance Insights](USER_PerfInsights.Cloudwatch.md) and [Performance Insights counter metrics](USER_PerfInsights_Counters.md). + Enhanced Monitoring metrics (published to Amazon CloudWatch Logs) For a table of these metrics, see [OS metrics in Enhanced Monitoring](USER_Monitoring-Available-OS-Metrics.md). + Usage metrics for the Amazon RDS service quotas in your AWS account For a table of these metrics, see [Amazon CloudWatch usage metrics for Amazon RDS](rds-metrics.md#rds-metrics-usage). For more information about Amazon RDS quotas, see [Quotas and constraints for Amazon RDS](CHAP_Limits.md). For more information about CloudWatch, see [ What is Amazon CloudWatch?](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudWatch/latest/DeveloperGuide/WhatIsCloudWatch.html) in the *Amazon CloudWatch User Guide*. For more information about CloudWatch metrics retention, see [Metrics retention](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudWatch/latest/DeveloperGuide/cloudwatch_concepts.html#metrics-retention). # Viewing DB instance metrics in the CloudWatch console and AWS CLI Viewing CloudWatch metrics Following, you can find details about how to view metrics for your DB instance using CloudWatch. For information on monitoring metrics for your DB instance's operating system in real time using CloudWatch Logs, see [Monitoring OS metrics with Enhanced Monitoring](USER_Monitoring.OS.md). When you use Amazon RDS resources, Amazon RDS sends metrics and dimensions to Amazon CloudWatch every minute. You can now export Performance Insights metrics dashboards from Amazon RDS to Amazon CloudWatch and view these metrics in the CloudWatch console. For more information on how to export the Performance Insights metrics dashboards to CloudWatch, see [Exporting Performance Insights metrics to CloudWatch](PI_metrics_export_CW.md). Use the following procedures to view the metrics for Amazon RDS in the CloudWatch console and CLI. ## Console **To view metrics using the Amazon CloudWatch console** Metrics are grouped first by the service namespace, and then by the various dimension combinations within each namespace. 1. Open the CloudWatch console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/cloudwatch/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/cloudwatch/). The CloudWatch overview home page appears. ![\[CloudWatch overview page\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/images/monitoring-overviewpage-console2.png) 1. If necessary, change the AWS Region. From the navigation bar, choose the AWS Region where your AWS resources are. For more information, see [Regions and endpoints](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/general/latest/gr/rande.html). 1. In the navigation pane, choose **Metrics** and then **All metrics**. ![\[Choose metric namespace\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/images/cw-all-metrics.png) 1. Scroll down and choose the **RDS** metric namespace. The page displays the Amazon RDS dimensions. For descriptions of these dimensions, see [Amazon CloudWatch dimensions for Amazon RDS](dimensions.md). ![\[Choose metric namespace\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/images/rds-monitoring-01.png) 1. Choose a metric dimension, for example **By Database Class**. ![\[Filter metrics\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/images/metrics-by-instance-class.png) 1. Do any of the following actions: + To sort the metrics, use the column heading. + To graph a metric, select the check box next to the metric. + To filter by resource, choose the resource ID, and then choose **Add to search**. + To filter by metric, choose the metric name, and then choose **Add to search**. The following example filters on the **db.t3.medium** class and graphs the **CPUUtilization** metric. ![\[Filter metrics\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/images/rds-monitoring-03.png) ## AWS CLI To obtain metric information by using the AWS CLI, use the CloudWatch command [https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/cloudwatch/list-metrics.html](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/cloudwatch/list-metrics.html). In the following example, you list all metrics in the `AWS/RDS` namespace. ``` aws cloudwatch list-metrics --namespace AWS/RDS ``` To obtain metric data, use the command [https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/cloudwatch/get-metric-data.html](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/cloudwatch/get-metric-data.html). The following example gets `CPUUtilization` statistics for instance `my-instance` over the specific 24-hour period, with a 5-minute granularity. Create a JSON file `CPU_metric.json` with the following contents. ``` 1. { 2. "StartTime" : "2023-12-25T00:00:00Z", 3. "EndTime" : "2023-12-26T00:00:00Z", 4. "MetricDataQueries" : [{ 5. "Id" : "cpu", 6. "MetricStat" : { 7. "Metric" : { 8. "Namespace" : "AWS/RDS", 9. "MetricName" : "CPUUtilization", 10. "Dimensions" : [{ "Name" : "DBInstanceIdentifier" , "Value" : my-instance}] 11. }, 12. "Period" : 360, 13. "Stat" : "Minimum" 14. } 15. }] 16. } ``` **Example** For Linux, macOS, or Unix: ``` 1. aws cloudwatch get-metric-data \ 2. --cli-input-json file://CPU_metric.json ``` For Windows: ``` 1. aws cloudwatch get-metric-data ^ 2. --cli-input-json file://CPU_metric.json ``` Sample output appears as follows: ``` { "MetricDataResults": [ { "Id": "cpu", "Label": "CPUUtilization", "Timestamps": [ "2023-12-15T23:48:00+00:00", "2023-12-15T23:42:00+00:00", "2023-12-15T23:30:00+00:00", "2023-12-15T23:24:00+00:00", ... ], "Values": [ 13.299778337027714, 13.677507543049558, 14.24976250395827, 13.02521708695145, ... ], "StatusCode": "Complete" } ], "Messages": [] } ``` For more information, see [Getting statistics for a metric](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudWatch/latest/monitoring/getting-metric-data.html) in the *Amazon CloudWatch User Guide*. # Exporting Performance Insights metrics to CloudWatch Exporting Performance Insights metrics to CloudWatch Performance Insights lets you export the preconfigured or custom metrics dashboard for your DB instance to Amazon CloudWatch. You can export the metrics dashboard as a new dashboard or add it to an existing CloudWatch dashboard. When you choose to add the dashboard to an existing CloudWatch dashboard, you can create a header label so that the metrics appear in a separate section in the CloudWatch dashboard. You can view the exported metrics dashboard in the CloudWatch console. If you add new metrics to a Performance Insights metrics dashboard after you export it, you must export this dashboard again to view the new metrics in the CloudWatch console. You can also select a metric widget in the Performance Insights dashboard and view the metrics data in the CloudWatch console. For more information about viewing the metrics in the CloudWatch console, see [Viewing DB instance metrics in the CloudWatch console and AWS CLI](metrics_dimensions.md). In the following sections, export Performance Insights metrics to CloudWatch as a new or existing dashboard and view Performance Insights metrics in CloudWatch. **Topics** + [ # Exporting Performance Insights metrics as a new dashboard to CloudWatch ](PI_metrics_export_CW.new_dashboard.md) + [ # Adding Performance Insights metrics to an existing CloudWatch dashboard ](PI_metrics_export_CW.existing_dashboard.md) + [ # Viewing a Performance Insights metric widget in CloudWatch ](PI_metrics_export_CW.individual_widget.md) # Exporting Performance Insights metrics as a new dashboard to CloudWatch Choose a preconfigured or custom metrics dashboard from the Performance Insights dashboard and export it as a new dashboard to CloudWatch. You can view the exported dashboard in the CloudWatch console. **To export a Performance Insights metric dashboard as a new dashboard to CloudWatch** 1. Open the Amazon RDS console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/rds/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/rds/). 1. In the left navigation pane, choose **Performance Insights**. 1. Choose a DB instance. The Performance Insights dashboard appears for the DB instance. 1. Scroll down and choose **Metrics**. By default, the preconfigured dashboard with Performance Insights metrics appears. 1. Choose a preconfigured or custom dashboard and then choose **Export to CloudWatch**. The **Export to CloudWatch** window appears. ![\[Performance Insights dashboard with export to CloudWatch button\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/images/PI-ExprtToCW.png) 1. Choose **Export as new dashboard**. ![\[Export to CloudWatch window with export as new dashboard option selected\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/images/PI-ExprtToCW-NewDashboard.png) 1. Enter a name for the new dashboard in the **Dashboard name** field and choose **Confirm**. A banner displays a message after the dashboard export is successful. ![\[Banner with successful message\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/images/PI-ExprtToCW-SuccessBanner.png) 1. Choose the link or **View in CloudWatch** in the banner to view the metrics dashboard in the CloudWatch console. # Adding Performance Insights metrics to an existing CloudWatch dashboard Add a preconfigured or custom metrics dashboard to an existing CloudWatch dashboard. You can add a label to the metrics dashboard to appear in a separate section in the CloudWatch dashboard. **To export the metrics to an existing CloudWatch dashboard** 1. Open the Amazon RDS console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/rds/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/rds/). 1. In the left navigation pane, choose **Performance Insights**. 1. Choose a DB instance. The Performance Insights dashboard appears for the DB instance. 1. Scroll down and choose **Metrics**. By default, the preconfigured dashboard with Performance Insights metrics appears. 1. Choose the preconfigured or custom dashboard and then choose **Export to CloudWatch**. The **Export to CloudWatch** window appears. 1. Choose **Add to existing dashboard**. ![\[Export to CloudWatch window with add to existing dashboard option selected\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/images/Pi-ExprtToCW-AddToExistingBoard.png) 1. Specify the dashboard destination and label, and then choose **Confirm**. + **CloudWatch dashboard destination** - Choose an existing CloudWatch dashboard. + **CloudWatch dashboard section label - optional** - Enter a name for the Performance Insights metrics to appear in this section in the CloudWatch dashboard. A banner displays a message after the dashboard export is successful. 1. Choose the link or **View in CloudWatch** in the banner to view the metrics dashboard in the CloudWatch console. # Viewing a Performance Insights metric widget in CloudWatch Select a Performance Insights metric widget in the Amazon RDS Performance Insights dashboard and view the metric data in the CloudWatch console. **To export a metric widget and view the metrics data in the CloudWatch console** 1. Open the Amazon RDS console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/rds/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/rds/). 1. In the left navigation pane, choose **Performance Insights**. 1. Choose a DB instance. The Performance Insights dashboard appears for the DB instance. 1. Scroll down to **Metrics**. By default, the preconfigured dashboard with Performance Insights metrics appears. 1. Choose a metric widget and then choose **View in CloudWatch** in the menu. ![\[Selected widget with menu to view in CloudWatch\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/images/PI-ExprtToCW-SelectedMetric.png) The metric data appears in the CloudWatch console. # Creating CloudWatch alarms to monitor Amazon RDS Creating CloudWatch alarms You can create a CloudWatch alarm that sends an Amazon SNS message when the alarm changes state. An alarm watches a single metric over a time period that you specify. The alarm can also perform one or more actions based on the value of the metric relative to a given threshold over a number of time periods. The action is a notification sent to an Amazon SNS topic or Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling policy. Alarms invoke actions for sustained state changes only. CloudWatch alarms don't invoke actions simply because they are in a particular state. The state must have changed and have been maintained for a specified number of time periods. You can use the **DB\$1PERF\$1INSIGHTS** metric math function in the CloudWatch console to query Amazon RDS for Performance Insights counter metrics. The **DB\$1PERF\$1INSIGHTS** function also includes the DBLoad metric at sub-minute intervals. You can set CloudWatch alarms on these metrics. For more details on how to create an alarm, see [ Create an alarm on Performance Insights counter metrics from an AWS database](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudWatch/latest/monitoring/CloudWatch_alarm_database_performance_insights.html). **To set an alarm using the AWS CLI** + Call [https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/cloudwatch/put-metric-alarm.html](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/cloudwatch/put-metric-alarm.html). For more information, see *[AWS CLI Command Reference](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/)*. **To set an alarm using the CloudWatch API** + Call [https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudWatch/latest/APIReference/API_PutMetricAlarm.html](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudWatch/latest/APIReference/API_PutMetricAlarm.html). For more information, see *[Amazon CloudWatch API Reference](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudWatch/latest/APIReference/)* For more information about setting up Amazon SNS topics and creating alarms, see [Using Amazon CloudWatch alarms](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudWatch/latest/monitoring/AlarmThatSendsEmail.html). # Tutorial: Creating an Amazon CloudWatch alarm for Multi-AZ DB cluster replica lag for Amazon RDS Tutorial: Creating a CloudWatch alarm for DB cluster replica lag You can create an Amazon CloudWatch alarm that sends an Amazon SNS message when replica lag for a Multi-AZ DB cluster has exceeded a threshold. An alarm watches the `ReplicaLag` metric over a time period that you specify. The action is a notification sent to an Amazon SNS topic or Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling policy. **To set a CloudWatch alarm for Multi-AZ DB cluster replica lag** 1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the CloudWatch console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/cloudwatch/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/cloudwatch/). 1. In the navigation pane, choose **Alarms**, **All alarms**. 1. Choose **Create alarm**. 1. On the **Specify metric and conditions** page, choose **Select metric**. 1. In the search box, enter the name of your Multi-AZ DB cluster and press Enter. The following image shows the **Select metric** page with a Multi-AZ DB cluster named `rds-cluster` entered. ![\[Select metric page\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/images/multi-az-db-cluster-cw-tutorial-select-metric.png) 1. Choose **RDS**, **Per-Database Metrics**. 1. In the search box, enter **ReplicaLag** and press Enter, then select each DB instance in the DB cluster. The following image shows the **Select metric** page with the DB instances selected for the **ReplicaLag** metric. ![\[Select metric page with DB instances selected for the ReplicaLag metric\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/images/multi-az-db-cluster-cw-tutorial-metric-replica-lag.png) This alarm considers the replica lag for all three of the DB instances in the Multi-AZ DB cluster. The alarm responds when any DB instance exceeds the threshold. It uses a math expression that returns the maximum value of the three metrics. Start by sorting by metric name, and then choose all three **ReplicaLag** metrics. 1. From **Add math**, choose **All functions**, **MAX**. ![\[The Add math setting\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/images/multi-az-db-cluster-cw-tutorial-select-metric-math.png) 1. Choose the **Graphed metrics** tab, and edit the details for **Expression1** to **MAX([m1,m2,m3])**. 1. For all three **ReplicaLag** metrics, change the **Period** to **1 minute**. 1. Clear selection from all metrics except for **Expression1**. The **Select metric** page should look similar to the following image. ![\[The Select metric page with the metric selected\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/images/multi-az-db-cluster-cw-tutorial-select-metric-expression1.png) 1. Choose **Select metric**. 1. On the **Specify metric and conditions** page, change the label to a meaningful name, such as **ClusterReplicaLag**, and enter a number of seconds in **Define the threshold value**. For this tutorial, enter **1200** seconds (20 minutes). You can adjust this value for your workload requirements. The **Specify metric and conditions** page should look similar to the following image. ![\[The Specify metric and conditions page\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/images/multi-az-db-cluster-cw-tutorial-specify-metric-conditions.png) 1. Choose **Next**, and the **Configure actions** page appears. 1. Keep **In alarm** selected, choose **Create new topic**, and enter the topic name and a valid email address. ![\[The Configure actions page\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/images/multi-az-db-cluster-cw-tutorial-configure-actions.png) 1. Choose **Create topic**, and then choose **Next**. 1. On the **Add name and description** page, enter the **Alarm name** and **Alarm description**, and then choose **Next**. ![\[The Add name and description page\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/images/multi-az-db-cluster-cw-tutorial-add-name-and-description.png) 1. Preview the alarm that you're about to create on the **Preview and create** page, and then choose **Create alarm**.