Question
What is a CloudWatch composite alarm?
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Answer
Combines multiple alarms using AND/OR logic into a single alarm. Reduces noise by only alerting when a combination of conditions are met.
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All Monitoring & Observability Flashcards
Q: What is a CloudWatch composite alarm?
A: Combines multiple alarms using AND/OR logic into a single alarm. Reduces noise by only alerting when a combination of conditions are met.
Q: How does CloudWatch anomaly detection work?
A: ML model analyzes 2 weeks of metric history to create expected value bands. Alarms trigger when metric goes outside the band (configurable sensitivity).
Q: What is a CloudWatch Logs subscription filter?
A: Real-time stream of log events matching a filter pattern to Lambda, Kinesis, or OpenSearch. Max 2 subscription filters per log group.
Q: What are X-Ray annotations vs metadata?
A: Annotations are indexed key-value pairs for filtering traces. Metadata is non-indexed additional data for debugging. Both attach to segments/subsegments.
Q: How does EventBridge archive and replay work?
A: Archive stores events matching a pattern for replay later. Useful for debugging, testing, and disaster recovery by replaying historical events.
Q: What is CloudWatch Embedded Metric Format?
A: Structured JSON in logs that CloudWatch automatically extracts as metrics. No PutMetricData API calls needed — just log in EMF format.
Q: How do you implement cross-account observability?
A: Use CloudWatch cross-account observability with monitoring and source accounts. Source accounts share metrics/logs/traces with the monitoring account.
Q: What is CloudWatch Logs Insights?
A: Interactive query service for log data. Supports fields, filter, stats, sort, parse, and pattern detection across multiple log groups simultaneously.
Q: What is the X-Ray sampling rule?
A: Default: 1 req/sec reservoir + 5% fixed rate. Custom rules override by service, URL path, or HTTP method to control trace volume and cost.
Q: How does EventBridge content-based filtering work?
A: Event patterns match on event fields: exact value, prefix, numeric range, exists, anything-but, and combinations. Only matching events trigger the target.