Monitoring, Logging, and Observability on AWS Flashcards

Which AWS service captures network traffic flow information for VPCs and can be used to detect anomalous traffic?

Answer: VPC Flow Logs

VPC Flow Logs capture information about IP traffic going to and from network interfaces in your VPC, stored in CloudWatch Logs or S3.

Which metric dimension in CloudWatch helps you track the latency of individual Lambda function invocations?

Answer: Duration

The Duration metric measures the time it takes for a Lambda function to execute, which is the primary latency metric for Lambda.

What is the purpose of a CloudWatch Logs subscription filter?

Answer: To stream matching log events to services like Lambda, Kinesis, or Elasticsearch in real time

Subscription filters forward log events that match a specified pattern to a destination such as Lambda, Kinesis Data Streams, or OpenSearch for real-time processing.

Which CloudWatch dashboard widget type displays a single metric's current value as a number?

Answer: Number

The Number widget in CloudWatch dashboards displays the latest value of a metric as a large numeric value, ideal for KPI displays.

Which AWS feature lets you set a CloudWatch alarm that triggers when estimated AWS charges exceed a threshold?

Answer: Billing Alarm

Billing Alarms in CloudWatch monitor the estimated charges for your AWS account and alert you when spending exceeds a defined threshold.

Which AWS X-Ray component represents a single request that travels through your distributed application?

Answer: Trace

An X-Ray Trace collects all the segments generated by a single request as it traverses your application's services, providing an end-to-end view.