AWS provides multiple ways to access ElastiCache metrics from CloudWatch, including using the online management console, the AWS Command Line Interface, and integrating with a dedicated monitoring tool. The online management console allows for basic automated alerts and visualizing recent changes in individual metrics, while the command line interface offers more flexibility and can be used for spot checks and ad hoc investigations. Dedicated monitoring tools, such as Datadog, offer extended functionality, including correlation of CloudWatch metrics with caching engine and other infrastructure metrics, dynamic slicing, aggregation, and filters on metrics, historical data access, and sophisticated alerting mechanisms. Collecting native Redis or Memcached metrics can provide a fuller picture with higher-resolution data, but may require additional tools and setup.