Key Takeaways
- AWS dominates the cloud computing market with a 32% share, and businesses are seeking effective ways to ensure their AWS-hosted applications function optimally. Monitoring AWS resources is crucial to maintain an always-up cloud infrastructure and to make informed business decisions based on log data insights.
- The public cloud, such as AWS, offers advantages like advanced security, hyper-scalability, flexibility, and low costs. However, it also presents challenges like compromised dependability, a skills gap among IT experts, complex cost tracking, and limited control over IT stack.
- AWS monitoring services can help overcome these challenges. Strict budgeting, proactive monitoring for downtime, leveraging auto-scaling capabilities, and root cause analysis for performance issues are some strategies to effectively manage AWS resources.
- AWS monitoring features in tools like ManageEngine Applications Manager can mitigate public cloud problems by monitoring various applications, including cloud domains, on-premises technologies, containers, and virtualization, providing valuable insights into your infrastructure.
With a market share of 32%, AWS dominates the cloud computing market. On top of this, 81% of businesses have a multi-cloud strategy already in place or in the works, hinting that this growth isn’t slowing down anytime soon. With the popularity of the public cloud growing so quickly, it’s no wonder that organizations are looking for effective ways to ensure their AWS-hosted applications are functioning optimally.
The most important reason to monitor AWS resources is to ensure the cloud infrastructure is up and running at all times. Monitoring all AWS resources in one location makes it easy to spot performance anomalies and fix them before they cause service disruptions. Additionally, AWS services monitoring uses log data to offer insights that help with key business decisions. And by monitoring the effects of scaling and other technical choices on AWS charges, businesses can avoid overpaying on unused resources.
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Cloud Computing Service Models
These are the three most common service models:
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), in which infrastructure elements such as servers, storage, and hypervisors are hosted by a third-party supplier. Some of the most important services among these are Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3), and Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS).
Platform as a Service (PaaS), in which hardware and software tools are provided by a third party to develop and host web and mobile applications using the Internet. Amazon’s Elastic Beanstalk is a PaaS.
Software as a Service (SaaS), in which applications are hosted and made available to the end users over the Internet by a third-party provider. Amazon Marketplace is a SaaS offering.
How Does the Public Cloud Work?
Under the public cloud computing paradigm, a third party provides flexible, on-demand IT resources and distributes them to customers either through an open network or a private network.
Now, let’s look at the benefits and drawbacks of cloud computing.
Advantages of the Public Cloud
The versatility and efficiency of AWS enables tech organizations to enter new markets without a major investment. It also enables them to scale their IT infrastructure via a subscription approach.
Here are some of the benefits of the public cloud.
Advanced security. Public clouds often have many resources devoted to security, making public clouds much more secure when compared to on-premises environments. Public clouds provide an extensive range of security tools and features. Additionally, public clouds also undergo regular penetration testings and are held to rigid standards. Even in case of emergency downtime or outages, organizations depend on the cloud for disaster recovery.
Hyper-scaled environment. The days of forecasting future demands and paying up front for hardware and storage capacity you may never utilize are in the past. Using the public cloud, you can automatically expand or reduce resources in response to changing company demands and shifting market circumstances.
Flexibility. There are multiple types of cloud computing available, but due to the convenience of flexibility and scalability, a lot of organizations opt for the public cloud. To guarantee a smooth transfer towards public cloud, a multitude of managed services and support are made available by the public cloud provider.
Low cost. When it comes to the public cloud, the service provider handles the costs of the hardware, software, and bandwidth. Pay-per-use services are normally available through an annual, half-yearly, quarterly, or monthly subscription.
Disadvantages of the Public Cloud
Cloud computing solutions get consistent upgrades, both in terms of servers and security measures. Nonetheless, the public cloud still presents concerns about service instabilities.
Below are some of the disadvantages of the public cloud.
Compromised dependability. When cloud services experience downtime, malfunctions, or outages, the businesses that depend on them take the hit. In fact, it’s estimated that an outage lasting three to six days could result in billions of dollars in losses for the customers relying on that cloud service provider.
Sparse cloud expertise. Another issue in the cloud computing sector is the skills gap among IT experts. Without the skills required to develop and manage the latest cloud applications, enterprises will be ill-equipped to tackle the challenges modern IT raises.
Runaway cost. Keeping track of IT expenditure has become more difficult as cloud prices and pricing structures have become increasingly complex. Although the cloud is frequently less expensive than on-premises alternatives, businesses may end up paying more than required for their cloud services if they don’t monitor and keep their spending in check.
Limited control. Because the provider can select when and how to manage configurations, public cloud users have minimal control over their IT stack. Customers with specific needs will be dissatisfied due to a lack of niche offerings.
Use AWS Monitoring Services to Overcome the Challenges Faced
While these previously listed drawbacks make public cloud installations like AWS a challenge and can even result in major monetary losses should AWS experience an outage, there are ways to avoid most of them.
Maintain a strict budget. Efficiently managing cloud expenses is critical. You gain visibility into your AWS cloud expenses using the billing tools provided in AWS monitoring solutions. Receiving an estimated amount based on current usage and an estimated charge based on the predicted usage helps to optimize spending based on use, ensuring plans stay within the allocated budget or within the curb of the AWS free tier.
Take action to avoid downtime in your applications. System failures and downtime have serious consequences for organizations, like loss of revenue and customers, and a rapid spike in traffic could interrupt services. You can prevent these problems by constantly monitoring the availability and health of your AWS cloud services. Set thresholds and get alerted when thresholds are breached, allowing you to take preemptive action to mitigate the risk.
Use AWS’s auto-scaling capabilities to their full potential. When you incorporate EC2 auto-scaling into your application design, you improve fault tolerance, availability, and cost control. You must, however, still keep an eye out for capacity issues that may impact performance. AWS monitoring enables you to respond to resource changes in your AWS instances and leverage AWS’s dynamic load allocation methods to guarantee that resource spikes don’t disrupt your business services.
Use root cause analysis to locate performance issues. The sooner you resolve the issues in your AWS resources, the sooner your application will be active and serviceable. Using an AWS services monitoring tool, you can precisely identify the source of performance hiccups and resolve them before they impact end users. You can also detect performance bottlenecks in your AWS cloud platform by creating thresholds for key performance metrics and alerting the IT admin when thresholds are breached.
The AWS monitoring features included in ManageEngine Applications Manager aid in mitigating public cloud problems. From a single console, Applications Manager can monitor over 130 different types of applications including cloud domains, on-premises technologies, containers, and virtualization, providing you with insights into your infrastructure.
Learn more about Applications Manager with a free, 30-day trial or take a guided tour by scheduling a personalized demo.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about AWS Services Monitoring
What is AWS Services Monitoring and why is it important?
AWS Services Monitoring is a crucial aspect of managing and maintaining the health and performance of your applications and services on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform. It involves tracking metrics, collecting log files, and setting alarms to help you understand how your applications and services are performing and how they are being used. This information is vital for troubleshooting issues, optimizing resource utilization, and making informed decisions about scaling, security, and cost management.
How does AWS Services Monitoring differ from traditional monitoring?
Traditional monitoring typically involves tracking the health and performance of physical servers and networks. AWS Services Monitoring, on the other hand, focuses on the performance and usage of cloud-based applications and services. This includes monitoring the health and performance of virtual servers, databases, storage systems, and other cloud-based resources. AWS Services Monitoring also provides more granular and real-time data, enabling faster and more proactive issue resolution.
What are some of the key features of AWS Services Monitoring?
AWS Services Monitoring offers a range of features designed to help you manage and optimize your AWS resources. These include real-time monitoring of your applications and services, customizable dashboards for visualizing performance data, automated alerts for potential issues, and detailed reports for analyzing usage and cost trends. AWS Services Monitoring also integrates with other AWS services, providing a unified view of your cloud environment.
How can I get started with AWS Services Monitoring?
To get started with AWS Services Monitoring, you first need to have an AWS account. Once you have an account, you can access the AWS Management Console, where you can enable monitoring for your applications and services. You can also customize your monitoring settings, set up alerts, and create dashboards to visualize your performance data.
What are the costs associated with AWS Services Monitoring?
The costs of AWS Services Monitoring depend on the specific services and features you use, as well as the volume of data you monitor and store. Some services, like Amazon CloudWatch, offer a free tier that includes a certain amount of data ingestion, storage, and alarms each month. Beyond the free tier, you pay for what you use, with costs varying based on the specific services and features you use.
How does AWS Services Monitoring ensure data security?
AWS Services Monitoring is designed with multiple layers of security to protect your data. This includes encryption of data at rest and in transit, access controls to restrict who can access your monitoring data, and continuous security monitoring to detect potential threats. AWS also complies with a range of industry-standard security certifications and audits.
Can I integrate AWS Services Monitoring with other tools?
Yes, AWS Services Monitoring can be integrated with a wide range of third-party tools and services. This includes popular DevOps tools, IT operations management platforms, and business intelligence solutions. These integrations can help you streamline your workflows, enhance your visibility into your cloud environment, and make more informed decisions.
What kind of support is available for AWS Services Monitoring?
AWS offers a range of support options for AWS Services Monitoring. This includes online documentation, tutorials, and forums where you can learn about best practices and troubleshoot issues. AWS also offers professional support plans that provide access to AWS experts, 24/7 technical support, and proactive guidance.
How can AWS Services Monitoring help with cost management?
AWS Services Monitoring provides detailed visibility into your AWS usage and costs. This includes tracking your usage of different AWS services, analyzing cost trends, and forecasting future costs. With this information, you can identify opportunities to optimize your resource utilization, reduce waste, and better manage your cloud spending.
What is the future of AWS Services Monitoring?
The future of AWS Services Monitoring is likely to involve more advanced features and capabilities, driven by the ongoing evolution of cloud computing. This could include more sophisticated analytics, machine learning-based insights, and tighter integration with other AWS services and third-party tools. As cloud environments become more complex and dynamic, AWS Services Monitoring will continue to play a crucial role in helping businesses manage and optimize their cloud resources.