How to visualize Amazon CloudWatch metrics in Grafana

Kyle Eckhart's blog post explores various methods for visualizing Amazon CloudWatch metrics using Grafana, emphasizing flexibility and user choice. The post outlines four main approaches: using the Grafana Labs Amazon CloudWatch data source, employing the AWS Observability app, running Grafana Alloy with the CloudWatch exporter, and using the yet-another-cloudwatch-exporter (YACE). Each method utilizes Amazon CloudWatch APIs to access data, supporting a wide range of CloudWatch namespaces, including custom metrics. While the Amazon CloudWatch data source queries data directly from AWS, the YACE-based options extract and transform metrics into Prometheus-compatible formats for centralized storage, enabling cross-account, cross-region, and cross-service dashboard capabilities. Despite their similarities, these methods differ in storage, fidelity, and operational complexity, with YACE-based options offering features like "Resource Tag Association" for enhanced data insights. The blog stresses that Grafana Cloud is a user-friendly starting point for AWS observability, offering a free tier and future developments like metric streaming support and OpenTelemetry integrations.

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