This lab focuses on setting up a CloudWatch alarm to monitor CPU utilization on an EC2 instance, configuring an SNS topic to receive email alerts when CPU utilization exceeds a defined threshold, and creating a CloudWatch dashboard for real-time monitoring. Additionally, it involves installing the stress tool on the EC2 instance to simulate high CPU usage for testing the alarm and notification system.

Summary:

Launch EC2 Instance.
Create SNS Topic and Subscription.
Create a CloudWatch Alarm.
Create a CloudWatch Dashboard.
Connect to EC2 and Install Stress Tool.

Launch EC2 Instance:

Launch an EC2 instance with the following specifications:

Instance Type: t2.nano
Network: Assign a public IP.
Security Group: Allow SSH (port 22) from your IP.

Go to the SNS (Simple Notification Service) section in the AWS Management Console.
Click on Topics > Create Topic.
Choose Standard as the type.
Provide a Name for the topic (e.g., EC2-CPU-Alerts).
Click Create Topic.

In the newly created topic, click on Create Subscription.
Set the protocol to Email.
Enter your email address and click Create Subscription.
Confirm the subscription by checking your email and clicking on the verification link.

Create a CloudWatch Alarm:

Go to the CloudWatch section in the AWS Management Console.

Select Alarms from the sidebar, then click Create Alarm.
Click Select Metric.
Navigate to EC2 > Per-Instance Metrics > CPUUtilization.
Choose the Instance ID of your EC2 instance.
Set the Statistic to Average and the Period to 1 minute.
Set the Threshold Type to Static and enter 60 as the value (for greater than 60% CPU utilization).
Click Next.
Under Actions, choose Select an existing SNS topic and pick the topic you created earlier.
Click Next.
Provide an Alarm Name (e.g., High-CPU-Utilization-Alarm).
Click Create Alarm.