Solution Overview

AWS CloudWatch can monitor your on-premises servers using the CloudWatch agent. This allows you to collect metrics, logs, and events from your on-premises infrastructure and view them alongside your AWS resources.

Step 1: Set Up IAM Permissions

1. Create an IAM user or role with the following permissions:

json
{
"Version": "2012-10-17",
"Statement": [
{
"Effect": "Allow",
"Action": [
"cloudwatch:PutMetricData",
"ec2:DescribeVolumes",
"ec2:DescribeTags",
"logs:PutLogEvents",
"logs:DescribeLogStreams",
"logs:DescribeLogGroups",
"logs:CreateLogStream",
"logs:CreateLogGroup"
],
"Resource": "*"
}
]
}

2. Create an IAM access key for the IAM user or generate temporary credentials if using a role.

Step 2: Install the CloudWatch Agent

For Linux:

bash
# Download the CloudWatch agent
wget https://s3.amazonaws.com/amazoncloudwatch-agent/linux/amd64/latest/AmazonCloudWatchAgent.zip

# Unzip the package
unzip AmazonCloudWatchAgent.zip

# Install the agent
sudo ./install.sh

# Configure AWS credentials
mkdir -p ~/.aws/
cat > ~/.aws/credentials << EOL
[AmazonCloudWatchAgent]
aws_access_key_id = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
aws_secret_access_key = YOUR_SECRET_KEY
region = YOUR_AWS_REGION
EOL

For Windows:

1. Download the agent: https://s3.amazonaws.com/amazoncloudwatch-agent/windows/amd64/latest/AmazonCloudWatchAgent.zip
2. Extract and run install.ps1 as administrator
3. Configure AWS credentials in C:\Program Files\Amazon\AmazonCloudWatchAgent\credentials

Step 3: Configure the CloudWatch Agent

Create a configuration file (e.g., config.json):

json
{
  "agent": {
    "metrics_collection_interval": 60,
    "run_as_user": "cwagent"
  },
  "metrics": {
    "namespace": "OnPremServers",
    "metrics_collected": {
      "cpu": {
        "resources": [
          "*"
        ],
        "measurement": [
          "cpu_usage_idle",
          "cpu_usage_user",
          "cpu_usage_system"
        ],
        "totalcpu": true
      },
      "disk": {
        "resources": [
          "/",
          "/tmp"
        ],
        "measurement": [
          "used_percent",
          "inodes_free"
        ]
      },
      "diskio": {
        "resources": [
          "*"
        ],
        "measurement": [
          "io_time",
          "write_bytes",
          "read_bytes",
          "writes",
          "reads"
        ]
      },
      "mem": {
        "measurement": [
          "mem_used_percent"
        ]
      },
      "swap": {
        "measurement": [
          "swap_used_percent"
        ]
      }
    }
  },
  "logs": {
    "logs_collected": {
      "files": {
        "collect_list": [
          {
            "file_path": "/var/log/syslog",
            "log_group_name": "onprem-syslog",
            "log_stream_name": "{instance_id}-syslog"
          },
          {
            "file_path": "/var/log/application/*.log",
            "log_group_name": "onprem-application",
            "log_stream_name": "{instance_id}-application-{file_basename}"
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Step 4: Start the CloudWatch Agent

For Linux:

bash 
sudo /opt/aws/amazon-cloudwatch-agent/bin/amazon-cloudwatch-agent-ctl -a fetch-config -m onPremise -s -c file:/path/to/config.json

For Windows:

powershell 
& "C:\Program Files\Amazon\AmazonCloudWatchAgent\amazon-cloudwatch-agent-ctl.ps1" -a fetch-config -m onPremise -s -c file:C:\path\to\config.json

Step 5: Verify Installation
Check the agent status:

For Linux:

bash
sudo /opt/aws/amazon-cloudwatch-agent/bin/amazon-cloudwatch-agent-ctl -m onPremise -a status

For Windows:

powershell
& "C:\Program Files\Amazon\AmazonCloudWatchAgent\amazon-cloudwatch-agent-ctl.ps1" -m onPremise -a status

Cost Considerations

AWS CloudWatch pricing for on-premises servers includes:

1. CloudWatch Metrics:
   • Basic monitoring: Free for 10 metrics, 1-minute resolution
   • Detailed monitoring: $0.30 per metric per month (up to 1-minute resolution)
   • High-resolution monitoring: $1.00 per high-resolution metric per month (1-second resolution)
2. CloudWatch Logs:
   • Data ingestion: $0.50 per GB
   • Data storage: $0.03 per GB-month
   • Log Insights queries: $0.0056 per GB of data scanned
3. CloudWatch Dashboards:
   • First 3 dashboards: Free
   • Additional dashboards: $3.00 per dashboard per month
4. CloudWatch Alarms:
   • Standard resolution: $0.10 per alarm metric per month
   • High resolution: $0.30 per alarm metric per month
5. Data transfer:
   • Data transfer IN to AWS: Free
   • Data transfer OUT from AWS: Varies by region and volume

Cost Optimization Tips

1. Be selective with metrics: Monitor only what you need to reduce costs.
2. Use appropriate resolution: Use standard resolution (1-minute) unless you need high-resolution metrics.
3. Filter logs: Use log filters to send only relevant log data to CloudWatch.
4. Set up log retention: Configure log retention policies to automatically delete older logs.
5. Use composite alarms: Group related conditions into composite alarms to reduce the number of alarm metrics.