DATADOG-DOCUMENTATION

Def- Datadog is a open-source cloud based monitoring tool which helps to track the health and performance of cloud-infrastucture and also helps the companies to keep their services or instance running smoothly along with that helps the companies to detect early issues before they affect the users.

Key features:

It helps in continuous monitoring of services ,applications and infrastructure ensuring it always running.

It automatically sends alerts and notifications if there is any issues.

It helps to get the details insight of application performance management (APM).

It helps to monitor the cloud based tools like AWS , AZURE , GCP and more.

When Datadog is compared to other open-source tools like Grafana, Datadog has more integration options, is user-friendly, and has balanced features.

DATADOG-AWS

When Datadog is integrated with AWS, it provides deep visibility into services like EC2, S3, LAMBDA, and more.

Datadog connects to your AWS accounts with the help of a CloudFormation stack, in which we should create an IAM role with read-only access to CloudWatch. This allows Datadog to poll the CloudWatch APIs and pull metrics at regular intervals. Additionally, we can install the Datadog agent on EC2 instances for detailed metrics like memory, storage, and disk usage.

The AWS services that can be monitored are EC2, RDS, S3, LAMBDA, and IAM.

Datadog-Agent – it is software installed on the EC2 instances or servers. It collects metrics, logs, and traces directly from the host, providing deep monitoring beyond what CloudWatch provides. With the Datadog agent, we can collect advanced metrics like memory and disk space, and it also collects logs and APM tracing support (API calls).

COMPONENTS

INTEGRATION - It is a connection between Datadog and another cloud platform like AWS, Azure, and GCP, as well as Docker and Kubernetes.

HOW TO CREATE-

When Datadog is integrated with AWS, it provides deep visibility into services like EC2, S3, LAMBDA, and more.

The AWS services that can be monitored are EC2, RDS, S3, LAMBDA, and IAM.

Datadog-Agent – it is software installed on the EC2 instances or servers. It collects metrics, logs, and traces directly from the host, providing deep monitoring beyond what CloudWatch provides. With the Datadog agent, we can collect advanced metrics like memory and disk space, and it also collects logs and APM tracing support (API calls).

HOW TO CREATE -

Log in to the Datadog account >>> Go to integrations and select AWS and install it >>> Add your AWS account, select region and API key, and launch the CloudFormation template >>> The status appears as create-complete, and click ready.

In the CloudFormation of your AWS account, you will find the permissions tab. In that, create an IAM role and under capabilities, select both checkboxes and create a stack. You will now see all the AWS integrations are installed.

This is how your AWS account should be linked to the Datadog account.

HOST - it is an instance where Datadog collects metrics like an EC2 instance or server.

HOW TO CREATE -

Go to infrastructure >>> host map >>> click on any host, and you will see details like CPU, memory, disk, and usage.

DASHBOARDS - It is a customizable panel where you can view the real-time metrics, logs, and alerts for your infrastructure.

HOW TO CREATE-

Go to Dashboards >>> new dashboards >>> enter name like ec2-monitor and in widges

Use timeseries for cpu , memory.

Use Query value for free disk space and click save.

ROLES - It defines what permissions a user has. For example, some users can only view, while others can edit and configure.

HOW TO CREATE-

Go to organization settings >>> Roles >>> create role >>> assign permission >>> go to settings, choose the user you want to give permissions to, and in edit options, you can assign roles.

METRICS - Metrics are the values collected over time that show the performance and health of your AWS resources. For example, cpi-%, memory-GB.

HOW TO VIEW METRICS-

Go to the metrics and select the explorer tab, then write aws, ec2, cpuutilization. Additionally, we can configure metrics with region and time period.

Conclusion:

Datadog offers a powerful platform for monitoring AWS resources and helps companies gain deep knowledge and visibility into the health and performance of their applications. By connecting Datadog to AWS, organizations can monitor metrics such as CPU, memory, and disk space through APM and tracing. It improves troubleshooting, reduces downtime, and aids in decision-making.

While CloudWatch supports only AWS resources and basic alarms with thresholds, Datadog supports multi-cloud environments, real-time metrics, and offers pay-per-host and usage-based pricing, which helps in faster troubleshooting and better observation.

Datadog-monitoring Tool