The CloudWatch unified agent is a powerful monitoring tool that collects both system-level metrics and log files from Amazon EC2 instances and on-premises servers, sending them to Amazon CloudWatch for analysis and visualization.
Unlike the older CloudWatch Logs agent, the unified agent provides eā¦The CloudWatch unified agent is a powerful monitoring tool that collects both system-level metrics and log files from Amazon EC2 instances and on-premises servers, sending them to Amazon CloudWatch for analysis and visualization.
Unlike the older CloudWatch Logs agent, the unified agent provides enhanced capabilities by gathering detailed system metrics such as memory utilization, disk space usage, CPU statistics, and network performance data. These metrics go beyond what the basic EC2 monitoring provides, offering granular visibility into your infrastructure.
Key features of the CloudWatch unified agent include:
1. **Metric Collection**: Captures detailed system metrics including RAM usage, disk I/O, swap space, and per-process resource consumption. This data helps administrators identify performance bottlenecks and capacity issues.
2. **Log Collection**: Gathers log files from applications and operating systems, streaming them to CloudWatch Logs for centralized storage and analysis.
3. **Cross-Platform Support**: Works on both Linux and Windows operating systems, supporting EC2 instances and on-premises servers in hybrid environments.
4. **SSM Integration**: Can be configured and managed through AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store, enabling centralized configuration management across multiple instances.
5. **StatsD and collectd Support**: Accepts custom metrics from StatsD and collectd protocols, allowing applications to push custom telemetry data.
To deploy the unified agent, you must first attach an IAM role with appropriate CloudWatch permissions to your instances. The agent configuration file specifies which metrics and logs to collect, along with collection intervals and namespace settings.
For SysOps administrators, the unified agent is essential for implementing comprehensive monitoring strategies, setting up alarms based on custom metrics, and maintaining operational visibility across your AWS infrastructure. It enables proactive remediation by providing the data needed to detect and respond to issues before they impact users.
The CloudWatch Unified Agent is a critical component for comprehensive monitoring in AWS environments. Unlike basic EC2 monitoring, which only provides hypervisor-level metrics, the unified agent enables you to collect system-level metrics and custom logs from your instances. This deeper visibility is essential for troubleshooting, performance optimization, and maintaining operational excellence in production environments.
What is the CloudWatch Unified Agent?
The CloudWatch Unified Agent is a single agent that can collect both logs and advanced system-level metrics from Amazon EC2 instances and on-premises servers. It replaces the older CloudWatch Logs agent and provides enhanced functionality including:
- Collection of additional system metrics like memory utilization, disk swap utilization, disk I/O, and netstat metrics - Centralized configuration using SSM Parameter Store - Support for both Linux and Windows operating systems - Collection of custom application logs - StatsD and collectd protocol support for custom metrics
How CloudWatch Unified Agent Works
Installation and Configuration: 1. Install the agent on your EC2 instance or on-premises server using Systems Manager Run Command, manual installation, or user data scripts 2. Create an IAM role with the CloudWatchAgentServerPolicy managed policy attached 3. Configure the agent using the configuration wizard or a JSON configuration file 4. Store the configuration in SSM Parameter Store for centralized management 5. Start the agent service
Data Flow: The agent runs as a background service on your instance. It reads the configuration to determine which metrics and log files to collect. Metrics are sent to CloudWatch Metrics, while logs are streamed to CloudWatch Logs. The agent uses the instance's IAM role credentials to authenticate with AWS services.
Key Metrics Available Through the Unified Agent
The unified agent provides metrics that are NOT available through standard CloudWatch monitoring: - Memory metrics: mem_used, mem_cached, mem_total, mem_used_percent - Disk metrics: disk_used, disk_free, disk_used_percent, disk_io - Swap metrics: swap_used, swap_free, swap_used_percent - Network metrics: netstat_tcp_established, netstat_tcp_time_wait - Process metrics: processes_running, processes_total
Configuration Storage
The agent configuration can be stored in AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store, enabling: - Centralized configuration management across multiple instances - Version control of configurations - Easy deployment using SSM Run Command - Secure storage with optional encryption using KMS
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on CloudWatch Unified Agent
Key Concepts to Remember:
1. Memory and Disk Metrics: When a question asks about monitoring memory utilization or disk space on EC2 instances, the answer involves the CloudWatch Unified Agent. Standard CloudWatch metrics do NOT include memory or disk utilization.
2. Unified vs Legacy Agent: The unified agent combines log collection and metric collection in a single agent. The older CloudWatch Logs agent only collected logs.
3. On-Premises Support: Remember that the unified agent works on both EC2 instances AND on-premises servers, making it useful for hybrid environments.
4. IAM Requirements: Questions about permissions should point to the CloudWatchAgentServerPolicy managed policy or custom policies with cloudwatch:PutMetricData and logs:PutLogEvents permissions.
5. SSM Parameter Store: Configuration management questions often reference storing agent configs in Parameter Store for centralized management.
6. Namespace: Custom metrics from the unified agent use the CWAgent namespace by default.
Common Exam Scenarios:
- Scenario asking to monitor RAM usage across a fleet of EC2 instances = Install and configure CloudWatch Unified Agent - Scenario requiring collection of application logs from instances = Use CloudWatch Unified Agent with log file configuration - Scenario about centralized agent configuration = Use SSM Parameter Store to store and distribute configurations - Scenario monitoring on-premises servers with CloudWatch = Install CloudWatch Unified Agent on the servers
What to Look For in Questions:
Look for keywords like: memory monitoring, disk utilization, custom metrics from instances, log collection, on-premises monitoring, detailed OS-level metrics, or centralized configuration management. These typically indicate CloudWatch Unified Agent as the solution.