AWS Cloudwatch metrics

Publish metric events to AWS Cloudwatch Metrics

status: stable delivery: at-least-once acknowledgements: yes egress: batch state: stateless
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Warnings

Gauge values are persisted between flushes. On Vector start up each gauge is assumed to have zero, 0.0, value, that can be updated explicitly by the consequent absolute, not delta, gauge observation, or by delta increments/decrements. Delta gauges are considered an advanced feature useful in a distributed setting, however they should be used with care.

Configuration

Example configurations 

{
  "sinks": {
    "my_sink_id": {
      "type": "aws_cloudwatch_metrics",
      "inputs": [
        "my-source-or-transform-id"
      ],
      "default_namespace": "service",
      "acknowledgements": null,
      "compression": "none",
      "healthcheck": null,
      "region": "us-east-1"
    }
  }
}
[sinks.my_sink_id]
type = "aws_cloudwatch_metrics"
inputs = [ "my-source-or-transform-id" ]
default_namespace = "service"
compression = "none"
region = "us-east-1"

---
sinks:
  my_sink_id:
    type: aws_cloudwatch_metrics
    inputs:
      - my-source-or-transform-id
    default_namespace: service
    acknowledgements: null
    compression: none
    healthcheck: null
    region: us-east-1

{
  "sinks": {
    "my_sink_id": {
      "type": "aws_cloudwatch_metrics",
      "inputs": [
        "my-source-or-transform-id"
      ],
      "auth": null,
      "endpoint": "http://127.0.0.0:5000/path/to/service",
      "default_namespace": "service",
      "buffer": null,
      "acknowledgements": null,
      "batch": null,
      "compression": "none",
      "healthcheck": null,
      "tls": null,
      "proxy": null,
      "region": "us-east-1"
    }
  }
}
[sinks.my_sink_id]
type = "aws_cloudwatch_metrics"
inputs = [ "my-source-or-transform-id" ]
endpoint = "http://127.0.0.0:5000/path/to/service"
default_namespace = "service"
compression = "none"
region = "us-east-1"

---
sinks:
  my_sink_id:
    type: aws_cloudwatch_metrics
    inputs:
      - my-source-or-transform-id
    auth: null
    endpoint: http://127.0.0.0:5000/path/to/service
    default_namespace: service
    buffer: null
    acknowledgements: null
    batch: null
    compression: none
    healthcheck: null
    tls: null
    proxy: null
    region: us-east-1

acknowledgements

common optional object
Controls how acknowledgements are handled by this sink. When enabled, all connected sources that support end-to-end acknowledgements will wait for the destination of this sink to acknowledge receipt of events before providing acknowledgement to the sending source. These settings override the global acknowledgement settings.

acknowledgements.enabled

optional bool
Controls if all connected sources will wait for this sink to deliver the events before acknowledging receipt.
default: false

auth

optional object
Options for the authentication strategy.

auth.access_key_id

optional string literal
The AWS access key id. Used for AWS authentication when communicating with AWS services.
Examples 
"AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE"

auth.assume_role

optional string literal
The ARN of an IAM role to assume at startup.
Examples 
"arn:aws:iam::123456789098:role/my_role"

auth.load_timeout_secs

optional uint
The timeout for loading credentials. Relevant when the default credentials chain is used or assume_role.
Examples 
30
default: 5 (seconds)

auth.profile

optional string literal
The AWS profile name. Used to select AWS credentials from a provided credentials file.
Examples 
"develop"
default: default

auth.secret_access_key

optional string literal
The AWS secret access key. Used for AWS authentication when communicating with AWS services.
Examples 
"wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/bPxRfiCYEXAMPLEKEY"

batch

optional object
Configures the sink batching behavior.

batch.max_bytes

optional uint
The maximum size of a batch, in bytes, before it is flushed.

batch.max_events

optional uint
The maximum size of a batch, in events, before it is flushed.

batch.timeout_secs

optional float
The maximum age of a batch before it is flushed.
default: 1 (seconds)

buffer

optional object
Configures the sink specific buffer behavior.

buffer.max_events

optional uint
The maximum number of events allowed in the buffer.
Relevant when: type = "memory"
default: 500 (events)

buffer.max_size

optional uint

The maximum size of the buffer on the disk. Must be at least 128 megabytes (134217728 bytes).

Note that during normal disk buffer operation, the disk buffer can create one additional 128 megabyte block so the minimum disk space required is actually 256 megabytes.

Relevant when: type = "disk"
Examples 
104900000

buffer.type

optional string literal enum
The buffer’s type and storage mechanism.
Enum options
OptionDescription
diskStores the sink’s buffer on disk. This is less performant, but durable. Data will not be lost between restarts. Will also hold data in memory to enhance performance. WARNING: This may stall the sink if disk performance isn’t on par with the throughput. For comparison, AWS gp2 volumes are usually too slow for common cases.
memoryStores the sink’s buffer in memory. This is more performant, but less durable. Data will be lost if Vector is restarted forcefully.
default: memory

buffer.when_full

optional string literal enum
The behavior when the buffer becomes full.
Enum options
OptionDescription
blockApplies back pressure when the buffer is full. This prevents data loss, but will cause data to pile up on the edge.
drop_newestDrops new data as it’s received. This data is lost. This should be used when performance is the highest priority.
default: block

compression

common optional string literal enum

The compression strategy used to compress the encoded event data before transmission.

Some cloud storage API clients and browsers will handle decompression transparently, so files may not always appear to be compressed depending how they are accessed.

Enum options string literal
OptionDescription
gzipGzip standard DEFLATE compression.
noneNo compression.
default: none

default_namespace

required string literal
A namespace that will isolate different metrics from each other. Used as a namespace for metrics that don’t have it.
Examples 
"service"

endpoint

optional string literal
Custom endpoint for use with AWS-compatible services.
Examples 
"http://127.0.0.0:5000/path/to/service"

healthcheck

common optional object
Health check options for the sink.

healthcheck.enabled

optional bool
Enables/disables the healthcheck upon Vector boot.
default: true

inputs

required [string]

A list of upstream source or transform IDs. Wildcards (*) are supported.

See configuration for more info.

Array string literal
Examples 
[
  "my-source-or-transform-id",
  "prefix-*"
]

proxy

optional object
Configures an HTTP(S) proxy for Vector to use. By default, the globally configured proxy is used.

proxy.enabled

optional bool
If false the proxy will be disabled.
default: true

proxy.http

optional string literal
The URL to proxy HTTP requests through.
Examples 
"http://foo.bar:3128"

proxy.https

optional string literal
The URL to proxy HTTPS requests through.
Examples 
"http://foo.bar:3128"

proxy.no_proxy

optional [string]

A list of hosts to avoid proxying. Allowed patterns here include:

PatternExample match
Domain namesexample.com matches requests to example.com
Wildcard domains.example.com matches requests to example.com and its subdomains
IP addresses127.0.0.1 matches requests to 127.0.0.1
CIDR blocks192.168.0.0./16 matches requests to any IP addresses in this range
Splat* matches all hosts

region

required string literal
The AWS region of the target service.
Examples 
"us-east-1"

tls

optional object
Configures the TLS options for outgoing connections.

tls.ca_file

optional string literal
Absolute path to an additional CA certificate file, in DER or PEM format (X.509), or an inline CA certificate in PEM format.
Examples 
"/path/to/certificate_authority.crt"

tls.crt_file

optional string literal
Absolute path to a certificate file used to identify this connection, in DER or PEM format (X.509) or PKCS#12, or an inline certificate in PEM format. If this is set and is not a PKCS#12 archive, key_file must also be set.
Examples 
"/path/to/host_certificate.crt"

tls.enabled

optional bool
Enable TLS during connections to the remote.
default: false

tls.key_file

optional string literal
Absolute path to a private key file used to identify this connection, in DER or PEM format (PKCS#8), or an inline private key in PEM format. If this is set, crt_file must also be set.
Examples 
"/path/to/host_certificate.key"

tls.key_pass

optional string literal
Pass phrase used to unlock the encrypted key file. This has no effect unless key_file is set.
Examples 
"${KEY_PASS_ENV_VAR}"
"PassWord1"

tls.verify_certificate

optional bool
If true (the default), Vector will validate the TLS certificate of the remote host.
default: true

tls.verify_hostname

optional bool
If true (the default), Vector will validate the configured remote host name against the remote host’s TLS certificate. Do NOT set this to false unless you understand the risks of not verifying the remote hostname.
default: true

Environment variables

AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID

common optional string literal
The AWS access key id. Used for AWS authentication when communicating with AWS services.
Examples
AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE

AWS_CONFIG_FILE

common optional string literal
Specifies the location of the file that the AWS CLI uses to store configuration profiles.
Default: ~/.aws/config

AWS_CREDENTIAL_EXPIRATION

common optional string literal
Expiration time in RFC 3339 format. If unset, credentials won’t expire.
Examples
1996-12-19T16:39:57-08:00

AWS_DEFAULT_REGION

common optional string literal
The default AWS region.
Examples
/path/to/credentials.json

AWS_PROFILE

common optional string literal
Specifies the name of the CLI profile with the credentials and options to use. This can be the name of a profile stored in a credentials or config file.
Default: default
Examples
my-custom-profile

AWS_ROLE_SESSION_NAME

common optional string literal
Specifies a name to associate with the role session. This value appears in CloudTrail logs for commands performed by the user of this profile.
Examples
vector-session

AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY

common optional string literal
The AWS secret access key. Used for AWS authentication when communicating with AWS services.
Examples
wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/bPxRfiCYEXAMPLEKEY

AWS_SESSION_TOKEN

common optional string literal
The AWS session token. Used for AWS authentication when communicating with AWS services.
Examples
AQoEXAMPLEH4aoAH0gNCAPy...truncated...zrkuWJOgQs8IZZaIv2BXIa2R4Olgk

AWS_SHARED_CREDENTIALS_FILE

common optional string literal
Specifies the location of the file that the AWS CLI uses to store access keys.
Default: ~/.aws/credentials

Telemetry

Metrics

link

buffer_byte_size

gauge
The number of bytes current in the buffer.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

buffer_discarded_events_total

counter
The number of events dropped by this non-blocking buffer.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

buffer_events

gauge
The number of events currently in the buffer.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

buffer_received_event_bytes_total

counter
The number of bytes received by this buffer.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

buffer_received_events_total

counter
The number of events received by this buffer.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

buffer_sent_event_bytes_total

counter
The number of bytes sent by this buffer.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

buffer_sent_events_total

counter
The number of events sent by this buffer.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

component_received_event_bytes_total

counter
The number of event bytes accepted by this component either from tagged origins like file and uri, or cumulatively from other origins.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
container_name optional
The name of the container from which the data originated.
file optional
The file from which the data originated.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
mode optional
The connection mode used by the component.
peer_addr optional
The IP from which the data originated.
peer_path optional
The pathname from which the data originated.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.
pod_name optional
The name of the pod from which the data originated.
uri optional
The sanitized URI from which the data originated.

component_received_events_count

histogram
A histogram of Vector the number of events passed in each internal batch in Vector’s internal topology. Note that this is separate than sink-level batching. It is mostly useful for low level debugging performance issues in Vector due to small internal batches.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
container_name optional
The name of the container from which the data originated.
file optional
The file from which the data originated.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
mode optional
The connection mode used by the component.
peer_addr optional
The IP from which the data originated.
peer_path optional
The pathname from which the data originated.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.
pod_name optional
The name of the pod from which the data originated.
uri optional
The sanitized URI from which the data originated.

component_received_events_total

counter
The number of events accepted by this component either from tagged origins like file and uri, or cumulatively from other origins.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
container_name optional
The name of the container from which the data originated.
file optional
The file from which the data originated.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
mode optional
The connection mode used by the component.
peer_addr optional
The IP from which the data originated.
peer_path optional
The pathname from which the data originated.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.
pod_name optional
The name of the pod from which the data originated.
uri optional
The sanitized URI from which the data originated.

component_sent_event_bytes_total

counter
The total number of event bytes emitted by this component.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
output optional
The specific output of the component.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

component_sent_events_total

counter
The total number of events emitted by this component.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
output optional
The specific output of the component.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

events_in_total

counter
The number of events accepted by this component either from tagged origins like file and uri, or cumulatively from other origins. This metric is deprecated and will be removed in a future version. Use component_received_events_total instead.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
container_name optional
The name of the container from which the data originated.
file optional
The file from which the data originated.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
mode optional
The connection mode used by the component.
peer_addr optional
The IP from which the data originated.
peer_path optional
The pathname from which the data originated.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.
pod_name optional
The name of the pod from which the data originated.
uri optional
The sanitized URI from which the data originated.

utilization

gauge
A ratio from 0 to 1 of the load on a component. A value of 0 would indicate a completely idle component that is simply waiting for input. A value of 1 would indicate a that is never idle. This value is updated every 5 seconds.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

Permissions

Platform: Amazon Web Services
Relevant policies
PolicyRequired forRequired when
cloudwatch:PutMetricData
  • healthcheck
  • operation

How it works

AWS authentication

Vector checks for AWS credentials in the following order:

  1. The access_key_id and secret_access_key options.
  2. The AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID and AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY environment variables.
  3. The AWS credentials file (usually located at ~/.aws/credentials).
  4. The IAM instance profile (only works if running on an EC2 instance with an instance profile/role). Requires IMDSv2 to be enabled. For EKS, you may need to increase the metadata token response hop limit to 2.

Note that use of credentials_process in AWS credentials files is not supported as the underlying AWS SDK currently lacks support.

If no credentials are found, Vector’s health check fails and an error is logged. If your AWS credentials expire, Vector will automatically search for up-to-date credentials in the places (and order) described above.

Obtaining an access key

In general, we recommend using instance profiles/roles whenever possible. In cases where this is not possible you can generate an AWS access key for any user within your AWS account. AWS provides a detailed guide on how to do this. Such created AWS access keys can be used via access_key_id and secret_access_key options.

Assuming roles

Vector can assume an AWS IAM role via the assume_role option. This is an optional setting that is helpful for a variety of use cases, such as cross account access.

Buffers and batches

This component buffers & batches data as shown in the diagram above. You’ll notice that Vector treats these concepts differently, instead of treating them as global concepts, Vector treats them as sink specific concepts. This isolates sinks, ensuring services disruptions are contained and delivery guarantees are honored.

Batches are flushed when 1 of 2 conditions are met:

  1. The batch age meets or exceeds the configured timeout_secs.
  2. The batch size meets or exceeds the configured max_bytes or max_events.

Buffers are controlled via the buffer.* options.

Health checks

Health checks ensure that the downstream service is accessible and ready to accept data. This check is performed upon sink initialization. If the health check fails an error will be logged and Vector will proceed to start.

Require health checks

If you’d like to exit immediately upon a health check failure, you can pass the --require-healthy flag:

vector --config /etc/vector/vector.toml --require-healthy

Disable health checks

If you’d like to disable health checks for this sink you can set the healthcheck option to false.

State

This component is stateless, meaning its behavior is consistent across each input.

Transport Layer Security (TLS)

Vector uses OpenSSL for TLS protocols due to OpenSSL’s maturity. You can enable and adjust TLS behavior using the tls.* options.
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