Amazon CloudWatch

2019/10/18 - Amazon CloudWatch - 4 updated api methods

Changes  New Period parameter added to MetricDataQuery structure.

DescribeAlarms (updated) Link ¶
Changes (response)
{'MetricAlarms': {'Metrics': {'Period': 'integer'}}}

Retrieves the specified alarms. If no alarms are specified, all alarms are returned. Alarms can be retrieved by using only a prefix for the alarm name, the alarm state, or a prefix for any action.

See also: AWS API Documentation

Request Syntax

client.describe_alarms(
    AlarmNames=[
        'string',
    ],
    AlarmNamePrefix='string',
    StateValue='OK'|'ALARM'|'INSUFFICIENT_DATA',
    ActionPrefix='string',
    MaxRecords=123,
    NextToken='string'
)
type AlarmNames

list

param AlarmNames

The names of the alarms.

  • (string) --

type AlarmNamePrefix

string

param AlarmNamePrefix

The alarm name prefix. If this parameter is specified, you cannot specify AlarmNames .

type StateValue

string

param StateValue

The state value to be used in matching alarms.

type ActionPrefix

string

param ActionPrefix

The action name prefix.

type MaxRecords

integer

param MaxRecords

The maximum number of alarm descriptions to retrieve.

type NextToken

string

param NextToken

The token returned by a previous call to indicate that there is more data available.

rtype

dict

returns

Response Syntax

{
    'MetricAlarms': [
        {
            'AlarmName': 'string',
            'AlarmArn': 'string',
            'AlarmDescription': 'string',
            'AlarmConfigurationUpdatedTimestamp': datetime(2015, 1, 1),
            'ActionsEnabled': True|False,
            'OKActions': [
                'string',
            ],
            'AlarmActions': [
                'string',
            ],
            'InsufficientDataActions': [
                'string',
            ],
            'StateValue': 'OK'|'ALARM'|'INSUFFICIENT_DATA',
            'StateReason': 'string',
            'StateReasonData': 'string',
            'StateUpdatedTimestamp': datetime(2015, 1, 1),
            'MetricName': 'string',
            'Namespace': 'string',
            'Statistic': 'SampleCount'|'Average'|'Sum'|'Minimum'|'Maximum',
            'ExtendedStatistic': 'string',
            'Dimensions': [
                {
                    'Name': 'string',
                    'Value': 'string'
                },
            ],
            'Period': 123,
            'Unit': 'Seconds'|'Microseconds'|'Milliseconds'|'Bytes'|'Kilobytes'|'Megabytes'|'Gigabytes'|'Terabytes'|'Bits'|'Kilobits'|'Megabits'|'Gigabits'|'Terabits'|'Percent'|'Count'|'Bytes/Second'|'Kilobytes/Second'|'Megabytes/Second'|'Gigabytes/Second'|'Terabytes/Second'|'Bits/Second'|'Kilobits/Second'|'Megabits/Second'|'Gigabits/Second'|'Terabits/Second'|'Count/Second'|'None',
            'EvaluationPeriods': 123,
            'DatapointsToAlarm': 123,
            'Threshold': 123.0,
            'ComparisonOperator': 'GreaterThanOrEqualToThreshold'|'GreaterThanThreshold'|'LessThanThreshold'|'LessThanOrEqualToThreshold'|'LessThanLowerOrGreaterThanUpperThreshold'|'LessThanLowerThreshold'|'GreaterThanUpperThreshold',
            'TreatMissingData': 'string',
            'EvaluateLowSampleCountPercentile': 'string',
            'Metrics': [
                {
                    'Id': 'string',
                    'MetricStat': {
                        'Metric': {
                            'Namespace': 'string',
                            'MetricName': 'string',
                            'Dimensions': [
                                {
                                    'Name': 'string',
                                    'Value': 'string'
                                },
                            ]
                        },
                        'Period': 123,
                        'Stat': 'string',
                        'Unit': 'Seconds'|'Microseconds'|'Milliseconds'|'Bytes'|'Kilobytes'|'Megabytes'|'Gigabytes'|'Terabytes'|'Bits'|'Kilobits'|'Megabits'|'Gigabits'|'Terabits'|'Percent'|'Count'|'Bytes/Second'|'Kilobytes/Second'|'Megabytes/Second'|'Gigabytes/Second'|'Terabytes/Second'|'Bits/Second'|'Kilobits/Second'|'Megabits/Second'|'Gigabits/Second'|'Terabits/Second'|'Count/Second'|'None'
                    },
                    'Expression': 'string',
                    'Label': 'string',
                    'ReturnData': True|False,
                    'Period': 123
                },
            ],
            'ThresholdMetricId': 'string'
        },
    ],
    'NextToken': 'string'
}

Response Structure

  • (dict) --

    • MetricAlarms (list) --

      The information for the specified alarms.

      • (dict) --

        Represents an alarm.

        • AlarmName (string) --

          The name of the alarm.

        • AlarmArn (string) --

          The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) of the alarm.

        • AlarmDescription (string) --

          The description of the alarm.

        • AlarmConfigurationUpdatedTimestamp (datetime) --

          The time stamp of the last update to the alarm configuration.

        • ActionsEnabled (boolean) --

          Indicates whether actions should be executed during any changes to the alarm state.

        • OKActions (list) --

          The actions to execute when this alarm transitions to the OK state from any other state. Each action is specified as an Amazon Resource Name (ARN).

          • (string) --

        • AlarmActions (list) --

          The actions to execute when this alarm transitions to the ALARM state from any other state. Each action is specified as an Amazon Resource Name (ARN).

          • (string) --

        • InsufficientDataActions (list) --

          The actions to execute when this alarm transitions to the INSUFFICIENT_DATA state from any other state. Each action is specified as an Amazon Resource Name (ARN).

          • (string) --

        • StateValue (string) --

          The state value for the alarm.

        • StateReason (string) --

          An explanation for the alarm state, in text format.

        • StateReasonData (string) --

          An explanation for the alarm state, in JSON format.

        • StateUpdatedTimestamp (datetime) --

          The time stamp of the last update to the alarm state.

        • MetricName (string) --

          The name of the metric associated with the alarm, if this is an alarm based on a single metric.

        • Namespace (string) --

          The namespace of the metric associated with the alarm.

        • Statistic (string) --

          The statistic for the metric associated with the alarm, other than percentile. For percentile statistics, use ExtendedStatistic .

        • ExtendedStatistic (string) --

          The percentile statistic for the metric associated with the alarm. Specify a value between p0.0 and p100.

        • Dimensions (list) --

          The dimensions for the metric associated with the alarm.

          • (dict) --

            Expands the identity of a metric.

            • Name (string) --

              The name of the dimension.

            • Value (string) --

              The value representing the dimension measurement.

        • Period (integer) --

          The period, in seconds, over which the statistic is applied.

        • Unit (string) --

          The unit of the metric associated with the alarm.

        • EvaluationPeriods (integer) --

          The number of periods over which data is compared to the specified threshold.

        • DatapointsToAlarm (integer) --

          The number of datapoints that must be breaching to trigger the alarm.

        • Threshold (float) --

          The value to compare with the specified statistic.

        • ComparisonOperator (string) --

          The arithmetic operation to use when comparing the specified statistic and threshold. The specified statistic value is used as the first operand.

        • TreatMissingData (string) --

          Sets how this alarm is to handle missing data points. If this parameter is omitted, the default behavior of missing is used.

        • EvaluateLowSampleCountPercentile (string) --

          Used only for alarms based on percentiles. If ignore , the alarm state does not change during periods with too few data points to be statistically significant. If evaluate or this parameter is not used, the alarm is always evaluated and possibly changes state no matter how many data points are available.

        • Metrics (list) --

          An array of MetricDataQuery structures, used in an alarm based on a metric math expression. Each structure either retrieves a metric or performs a math expression. One item in the Metrics array is the math expression that the alarm watches. This expression by designated by having ReturnValue set to true.

          • (dict) --

            This structure is used in both GetMetricData and PutMetricAlarm . The supported use of this structure is different for those two operations.

            When used in GetMetricData , it indicates the metric data to return, and whether this call is just retrieving a batch set of data for one metric, or is performing a math expression on metric data. A single GetMetricData call can include up to 100 MetricDataQuery structures.

            When used in PutMetricAlarm , it enables you to create an alarm based on a metric math expression. Each MetricDataQuery in the array specifies either a metric to retrieve, or a math expression to be performed on retrieved metrics. A single PutMetricAlarm call can include up to 20 MetricDataQuery structures in the array. The 20 structures can include as many as 10 structures that contain a MetricStat parameter to retrieve a metric, and as many as 10 structures that contain the Expression parameter to perform a math expression. Of those Expression structures, one must have True as the value for ReturnData . The result of this expression is the value the alarm watches.

            Any expression used in a PutMetricAlarm operation must return a single time series. For more information, see Metric Math Syntax and Functions in the Amazon CloudWatch User Guide .

            Some of the parameters of this structure also have different uses whether you are using this structure in a GetMetricData operation or a PutMetricAlarm operation. These differences are explained in the following parameter list.

            • Id (string) --

              A short name used to tie this object to the results in the response. This name must be unique within a single call to GetMetricData . If you are performing math expressions on this set of data, this name represents that data and can serve as a variable in the mathematical expression. The valid characters are letters, numbers, and underscore. The first character must be a lowercase letter.

            • MetricStat (dict) --

              The metric to be returned, along with statistics, period, and units. Use this parameter only if this object is retrieving a metric and not performing a math expression on returned data.

              Within one MetricDataQuery object, you must specify either Expression or MetricStat but not both.

              • Metric (dict) --

                The metric to return, including the metric name, namespace, and dimensions.

                • Namespace (string) --

                  The namespace of the metric.

                • MetricName (string) --

                  The name of the metric. This is a required field.

                • Dimensions (list) --

                  The dimensions for the metric.

                  • (dict) --

                    Expands the identity of a metric.

                    • Name (string) --

                      The name of the dimension.

                    • Value (string) --

                      The value representing the dimension measurement.

              • Period (integer) --

                The granularity, in seconds, of the returned data points. For metrics with regular resolution, a period can be as short as one minute (60 seconds) and must be a multiple of 60. For high-resolution metrics that are collected at intervals of less than one minute, the period can be 1, 5, 10, 30, 60, or any multiple of 60. High-resolution metrics are those metrics stored by a PutMetricData call that includes a StorageResolution of 1 second.

                If the StartTime parameter specifies a time stamp that is greater than 3 hours ago, you must specify the period as follows or no data points in that time range is returned:

                • Start time between 3 hours and 15 days ago - Use a multiple of 60 seconds (1 minute).

                • Start time between 15 and 63 days ago - Use a multiple of 300 seconds (5 minutes).

                • Start time greater than 63 days ago - Use a multiple of 3600 seconds (1 hour).

              • Stat (string) --

                The statistic to return. It can include any CloudWatch statistic or extended statistic.

              • Unit (string) --

                When you are using a Put operation, this defines what unit you want to use when storing the metric.

                In a Get operation, if you omit Unit then all data that was collected with any unit is returned, along with the corresponding units that were specified when the data was reported to CloudWatch. If you specify a unit, the operation returns only data data that was collected with that unit specified. If you specify a unit that does not match the data collected, the results of the operation are null. CloudWatch does not perform unit conversions.

            • Expression (string) --

              The math expression to be performed on the returned data, if this object is performing a math expression. This expression can use the Id of the other metrics to refer to those metrics, and can also use the Id of other expressions to use the result of those expressions. For more information about metric math expressions, see Metric Math Syntax and Functions in the Amazon CloudWatch User Guide .

              Within each MetricDataQuery object, you must specify either Expression or MetricStat but not both.

            • Label (string) --

              A human-readable label for this metric or expression. This is especially useful if this is an expression, so that you know what the value represents. If the metric or expression is shown in a CloudWatch dashboard widget, the label is shown. If Label is omitted, CloudWatch generates a default.

            • ReturnData (boolean) --

              When used in GetMetricData , this option indicates whether to return the timestamps and raw data values of this metric. If you are performing this call just to do math expressions and do not also need the raw data returned, you can specify False . If you omit this, the default of True is used.

              When used in PutMetricAlarm , specify True for the one expression result to use as the alarm. For all other metrics and expressions in the same PutMetricAlarm operation, specify ReturnData as False.

            • Period (integer) --

              The granularity, in seconds, of the returned data points. For metrics with regular resolution, a period can be as short as one minute (60 seconds) and must be a multiple of 60. For high-resolution metrics that are collected at intervals of less than one minute, the period can be 1, 5, 10, 30, 60, or any multiple of 60. High-resolution metrics are those metrics stored by a PutMetricData operation that includes a StorageResolution of 1 second .

              Use this field only when you are performing a GetMetricData operation, and only when you are specifying the Expression field. Do not use this field with a PutMetricAlarm operation or when you are specifying a MetricStat in a GetMetricData operation.

        • ThresholdMetricId (string) --

          In an alarm based on an anomaly detection model, this is the ID of the ANOMALY_DETECTION_BAND function used as the threshold for the alarm.

    • NextToken (string) --

      The token that marks the start of the next batch of returned results.

DescribeAlarmsForMetric (updated) Link ¶
Changes (response)
{'MetricAlarms': {'Metrics': {'Period': 'integer'}}}

Retrieves the alarms for the specified metric. To filter the results, specify a statistic, period, or unit.

See also: AWS API Documentation

Request Syntax

client.describe_alarms_for_metric(
    MetricName='string',
    Namespace='string',
    Statistic='SampleCount'|'Average'|'Sum'|'Minimum'|'Maximum',
    ExtendedStatistic='string',
    Dimensions=[
        {
            'Name': 'string',
            'Value': 'string'
        },
    ],
    Period=123,
    Unit='Seconds'|'Microseconds'|'Milliseconds'|'Bytes'|'Kilobytes'|'Megabytes'|'Gigabytes'|'Terabytes'|'Bits'|'Kilobits'|'Megabits'|'Gigabits'|'Terabits'|'Percent'|'Count'|'Bytes/Second'|'Kilobytes/Second'|'Megabytes/Second'|'Gigabytes/Second'|'Terabytes/Second'|'Bits/Second'|'Kilobits/Second'|'Megabits/Second'|'Gigabits/Second'|'Terabits/Second'|'Count/Second'|'None'
)
type MetricName

string

param MetricName

[REQUIRED]

The name of the metric.

type Namespace

string

param Namespace

[REQUIRED]

The namespace of the metric.

type Statistic

string

param Statistic

The statistic for the metric, other than percentiles. For percentile statistics, use ExtendedStatistics .

type ExtendedStatistic

string

param ExtendedStatistic

The percentile statistic for the metric. Specify a value between p0.0 and p100.

type Dimensions

list

param Dimensions

The dimensions associated with the metric. If the metric has any associated dimensions, you must specify them in order for the call to succeed.

  • (dict) --

    Expands the identity of a metric.

    • Name (string) -- [REQUIRED]

      The name of the dimension.

    • Value (string) -- [REQUIRED]

      The value representing the dimension measurement.

type Period

integer

param Period

The period, in seconds, over which the statistic is applied.

type Unit

string

param Unit

The unit for the metric.

rtype

dict

returns

Response Syntax

{
    'MetricAlarms': [
        {
            'AlarmName': 'string',
            'AlarmArn': 'string',
            'AlarmDescription': 'string',
            'AlarmConfigurationUpdatedTimestamp': datetime(2015, 1, 1),
            'ActionsEnabled': True|False,
            'OKActions': [
                'string',
            ],
            'AlarmActions': [
                'string',
            ],
            'InsufficientDataActions': [
                'string',
            ],
            'StateValue': 'OK'|'ALARM'|'INSUFFICIENT_DATA',
            'StateReason': 'string',
            'StateReasonData': 'string',
            'StateUpdatedTimestamp': datetime(2015, 1, 1),
            'MetricName': 'string',
            'Namespace': 'string',
            'Statistic': 'SampleCount'|'Average'|'Sum'|'Minimum'|'Maximum',
            'ExtendedStatistic': 'string',
            'Dimensions': [
                {
                    'Name': 'string',
                    'Value': 'string'
                },
            ],
            'Period': 123,
            'Unit': 'Seconds'|'Microseconds'|'Milliseconds'|'Bytes'|'Kilobytes'|'Megabytes'|'Gigabytes'|'Terabytes'|'Bits'|'Kilobits'|'Megabits'|'Gigabits'|'Terabits'|'Percent'|'Count'|'Bytes/Second'|'Kilobytes/Second'|'Megabytes/Second'|'Gigabytes/Second'|'Terabytes/Second'|'Bits/Second'|'Kilobits/Second'|'Megabits/Second'|'Gigabits/Second'|'Terabits/Second'|'Count/Second'|'None',
            'EvaluationPeriods': 123,
            'DatapointsToAlarm': 123,
            'Threshold': 123.0,
            'ComparisonOperator': 'GreaterThanOrEqualToThreshold'|'GreaterThanThreshold'|'LessThanThreshold'|'LessThanOrEqualToThreshold'|'LessThanLowerOrGreaterThanUpperThreshold'|'LessThanLowerThreshold'|'GreaterThanUpperThreshold',
            'TreatMissingData': 'string',
            'EvaluateLowSampleCountPercentile': 'string',
            'Metrics': [
                {
                    'Id': 'string',
                    'MetricStat': {
                        'Metric': {
                            'Namespace': 'string',
                            'MetricName': 'string',
                            'Dimensions': [
                                {
                                    'Name': 'string',
                                    'Value': 'string'
                                },
                            ]
                        },
                        'Period': 123,
                        'Stat': 'string',
                        'Unit': 'Seconds'|'Microseconds'|'Milliseconds'|'Bytes'|'Kilobytes'|'Megabytes'|'Gigabytes'|'Terabytes'|'Bits'|'Kilobits'|'Megabits'|'Gigabits'|'Terabits'|'Percent'|'Count'|'Bytes/Second'|'Kilobytes/Second'|'Megabytes/Second'|'Gigabytes/Second'|'Terabytes/Second'|'Bits/Second'|'Kilobits/Second'|'Megabits/Second'|'Gigabits/Second'|'Terabits/Second'|'Count/Second'|'None'
                    },
                    'Expression': 'string',
                    'Label': 'string',
                    'ReturnData': True|False,
                    'Period': 123
                },
            ],
            'ThresholdMetricId': 'string'
        },
    ]
}

Response Structure

  • (dict) --

    • MetricAlarms (list) --

      The information for each alarm with the specified metric.

      • (dict) --

        Represents an alarm.

        • AlarmName (string) --

          The name of the alarm.

        • AlarmArn (string) --

          The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) of the alarm.

        • AlarmDescription (string) --

          The description of the alarm.

        • AlarmConfigurationUpdatedTimestamp (datetime) --

          The time stamp of the last update to the alarm configuration.

        • ActionsEnabled (boolean) --

          Indicates whether actions should be executed during any changes to the alarm state.

        • OKActions (list) --

          The actions to execute when this alarm transitions to the OK state from any other state. Each action is specified as an Amazon Resource Name (ARN).

          • (string) --

        • AlarmActions (list) --

          The actions to execute when this alarm transitions to the ALARM state from any other state. Each action is specified as an Amazon Resource Name (ARN).

          • (string) --

        • InsufficientDataActions (list) --

          The actions to execute when this alarm transitions to the INSUFFICIENT_DATA state from any other state. Each action is specified as an Amazon Resource Name (ARN).

          • (string) --

        • StateValue (string) --

          The state value for the alarm.

        • StateReason (string) --

          An explanation for the alarm state, in text format.

        • StateReasonData (string) --

          An explanation for the alarm state, in JSON format.

        • StateUpdatedTimestamp (datetime) --

          The time stamp of the last update to the alarm state.

        • MetricName (string) --

          The name of the metric associated with the alarm, if this is an alarm based on a single metric.

        • Namespace (string) --

          The namespace of the metric associated with the alarm.

        • Statistic (string) --

          The statistic for the metric associated with the alarm, other than percentile. For percentile statistics, use ExtendedStatistic .

        • ExtendedStatistic (string) --

          The percentile statistic for the metric associated with the alarm. Specify a value between p0.0 and p100.

        • Dimensions (list) --

          The dimensions for the metric associated with the alarm.

          • (dict) --

            Expands the identity of a metric.

            • Name (string) --

              The name of the dimension.

            • Value (string) --

              The value representing the dimension measurement.

        • Period (integer) --

          The period, in seconds, over which the statistic is applied.

        • Unit (string) --

          The unit of the metric associated with the alarm.

        • EvaluationPeriods (integer) --

          The number of periods over which data is compared to the specified threshold.

        • DatapointsToAlarm (integer) --

          The number of datapoints that must be breaching to trigger the alarm.

        • Threshold (float) --

          The value to compare with the specified statistic.

        • ComparisonOperator (string) --

          The arithmetic operation to use when comparing the specified statistic and threshold. The specified statistic value is used as the first operand.

        • TreatMissingData (string) --

          Sets how this alarm is to handle missing data points. If this parameter is omitted, the default behavior of missing is used.

        • EvaluateLowSampleCountPercentile (string) --

          Used only for alarms based on percentiles. If ignore , the alarm state does not change during periods with too few data points to be statistically significant. If evaluate or this parameter is not used, the alarm is always evaluated and possibly changes state no matter how many data points are available.

        • Metrics (list) --

          An array of MetricDataQuery structures, used in an alarm based on a metric math expression. Each structure either retrieves a metric or performs a math expression. One item in the Metrics array is the math expression that the alarm watches. This expression by designated by having ReturnValue set to true.

          • (dict) --

            This structure is used in both GetMetricData and PutMetricAlarm . The supported use of this structure is different for those two operations.

            When used in GetMetricData , it indicates the metric data to return, and whether this call is just retrieving a batch set of data for one metric, or is performing a math expression on metric data. A single GetMetricData call can include up to 100 MetricDataQuery structures.

            When used in PutMetricAlarm , it enables you to create an alarm based on a metric math expression. Each MetricDataQuery in the array specifies either a metric to retrieve, or a math expression to be performed on retrieved metrics. A single PutMetricAlarm call can include up to 20 MetricDataQuery structures in the array. The 20 structures can include as many as 10 structures that contain a MetricStat parameter to retrieve a metric, and as many as 10 structures that contain the Expression parameter to perform a math expression. Of those Expression structures, one must have True as the value for ReturnData . The result of this expression is the value the alarm watches.

            Any expression used in a PutMetricAlarm operation must return a single time series. For more information, see Metric Math Syntax and Functions in the Amazon CloudWatch User Guide .

            Some of the parameters of this structure also have different uses whether you are using this structure in a GetMetricData operation or a PutMetricAlarm operation. These differences are explained in the following parameter list.

            • Id (string) --

              A short name used to tie this object to the results in the response. This name must be unique within a single call to GetMetricData . If you are performing math expressions on this set of data, this name represents that data and can serve as a variable in the mathematical expression. The valid characters are letters, numbers, and underscore. The first character must be a lowercase letter.

            • MetricStat (dict) --

              The metric to be returned, along with statistics, period, and units. Use this parameter only if this object is retrieving a metric and not performing a math expression on returned data.

              Within one MetricDataQuery object, you must specify either Expression or MetricStat but not both.

              • Metric (dict) --

                The metric to return, including the metric name, namespace, and dimensions.

                • Namespace (string) --

                  The namespace of the metric.

                • MetricName (string) --

                  The name of the metric. This is a required field.

                • Dimensions (list) --

                  The dimensions for the metric.

                  • (dict) --

                    Expands the identity of a metric.

                    • Name (string) --

                      The name of the dimension.

                    • Value (string) --

                      The value representing the dimension measurement.

              • Period (integer) --

                The granularity, in seconds, of the returned data points. For metrics with regular resolution, a period can be as short as one minute (60 seconds) and must be a multiple of 60. For high-resolution metrics that are collected at intervals of less than one minute, the period can be 1, 5, 10, 30, 60, or any multiple of 60. High-resolution metrics are those metrics stored by a PutMetricData call that includes a StorageResolution of 1 second.

                If the StartTime parameter specifies a time stamp that is greater than 3 hours ago, you must specify the period as follows or no data points in that time range is returned:

                • Start time between 3 hours and 15 days ago - Use a multiple of 60 seconds (1 minute).

                • Start time between 15 and 63 days ago - Use a multiple of 300 seconds (5 minutes).

                • Start time greater than 63 days ago - Use a multiple of 3600 seconds (1 hour).

              • Stat (string) --

                The statistic to return. It can include any CloudWatch statistic or extended statistic.

              • Unit (string) --

                When you are using a Put operation, this defines what unit you want to use when storing the metric.

                In a Get operation, if you omit Unit then all data that was collected with any unit is returned, along with the corresponding units that were specified when the data was reported to CloudWatch. If you specify a unit, the operation returns only data data that was collected with that unit specified. If you specify a unit that does not match the data collected, the results of the operation are null. CloudWatch does not perform unit conversions.

            • Expression (string) --

              The math expression to be performed on the returned data, if this object is performing a math expression. This expression can use the Id of the other metrics to refer to those metrics, and can also use the Id of other expressions to use the result of those expressions. For more information about metric math expressions, see Metric Math Syntax and Functions in the Amazon CloudWatch User Guide .

              Within each MetricDataQuery object, you must specify either Expression or MetricStat but not both.

            • Label (string) --

              A human-readable label for this metric or expression. This is especially useful if this is an expression, so that you know what the value represents. If the metric or expression is shown in a CloudWatch dashboard widget, the label is shown. If Label is omitted, CloudWatch generates a default.

            • ReturnData (boolean) --

              When used in GetMetricData , this option indicates whether to return the timestamps and raw data values of this metric. If you are performing this call just to do math expressions and do not also need the raw data returned, you can specify False . If you omit this, the default of True is used.

              When used in PutMetricAlarm , specify True for the one expression result to use as the alarm. For all other metrics and expressions in the same PutMetricAlarm operation, specify ReturnData as False.

            • Period (integer) --

              The granularity, in seconds, of the returned data points. For metrics with regular resolution, a period can be as short as one minute (60 seconds) and must be a multiple of 60. For high-resolution metrics that are collected at intervals of less than one minute, the period can be 1, 5, 10, 30, 60, or any multiple of 60. High-resolution metrics are those metrics stored by a PutMetricData operation that includes a StorageResolution of 1 second .

              Use this field only when you are performing a GetMetricData operation, and only when you are specifying the Expression field. Do not use this field with a PutMetricAlarm operation or when you are specifying a MetricStat in a GetMetricData operation.

        • ThresholdMetricId (string) --

          In an alarm based on an anomaly detection model, this is the ID of the ANOMALY_DETECTION_BAND function used as the threshold for the alarm.

GetMetricData (updated) Link ¶
Changes (request)
{'MetricDataQueries': {'Period': 'integer'}}

You can use the GetMetricData API to retrieve as many as 100 different metrics in a single request, with a total of as many as 100,800 datapoints. You can also optionally perform math expressions on the values of the returned statistics, to create new time series that represent new insights into your data. For example, using Lambda metrics, you could divide the Errors metric by the Invocations metric to get an error rate time series. For more information about metric math expressions, see Metric Math Syntax and Functions in the Amazon CloudWatch User Guide .

Calls to the GetMetricData API have a different pricing structure than calls to GetMetricStatistics . For more information about pricing, see Amazon CloudWatch Pricing.

Amazon CloudWatch retains metric data as follows:

  • Data points with a period of less than 60 seconds are available for 3 hours. These data points are high-resolution metrics and are available only for custom metrics that have been defined with a StorageResolution of 1.

  • Data points with a period of 60 seconds (1-minute) are available for 15 days.

  • Data points with a period of 300 seconds (5-minute) are available for 63 days.

  • Data points with a period of 3600 seconds (1 hour) are available for 455 days (15 months).

Data points that are initially published with a shorter period are aggregated together for long-term storage. For example, if you collect data using a period of 1 minute, the data remains available for 15 days with 1-minute resolution. After 15 days, this data is still available, but is aggregated and retrievable only with a resolution of 5 minutes. After 63 days, the data is further aggregated and is available with a resolution of 1 hour.

If you omit Unit in your request, all data that was collected with any unit is returned, along with the corresponding units that were specified when the data was reported to CloudWatch. If you specify a unit, the operation returns only data data that was collected with that unit specified. If you specify a unit that does not match the data collected, the results of the operation are null. CloudWatch does not perform unit conversions.

See also: AWS API Documentation

Request Syntax

client.get_metric_data(
    MetricDataQueries=[
        {
            'Id': 'string',
            'MetricStat': {
                'Metric': {
                    'Namespace': 'string',
                    'MetricName': 'string',
                    'Dimensions': [
                        {
                            'Name': 'string',
                            'Value': 'string'
                        },
                    ]
                },
                'Period': 123,
                'Stat': 'string',
                'Unit': 'Seconds'|'Microseconds'|'Milliseconds'|'Bytes'|'Kilobytes'|'Megabytes'|'Gigabytes'|'Terabytes'|'Bits'|'Kilobits'|'Megabits'|'Gigabits'|'Terabits'|'Percent'|'Count'|'Bytes/Second'|'Kilobytes/Second'|'Megabytes/Second'|'Gigabytes/Second'|'Terabytes/Second'|'Bits/Second'|'Kilobits/Second'|'Megabits/Second'|'Gigabits/Second'|'Terabits/Second'|'Count/Second'|'None'
            },
            'Expression': 'string',
            'Label': 'string',
            'ReturnData': True|False,
            'Period': 123
        },
    ],
    StartTime=datetime(2015, 1, 1),
    EndTime=datetime(2015, 1, 1),
    NextToken='string',
    ScanBy='TimestampDescending'|'TimestampAscending',
    MaxDatapoints=123
)
type MetricDataQueries

list

param MetricDataQueries

[REQUIRED]

The metric queries to be returned. A single GetMetricData call can include as many as 100 MetricDataQuery structures. Each of these structures can specify either a metric to retrieve, or a math expression to perform on retrieved data.

  • (dict) --

    This structure is used in both GetMetricData and PutMetricAlarm . The supported use of this structure is different for those two operations.

    When used in GetMetricData , it indicates the metric data to return, and whether this call is just retrieving a batch set of data for one metric, or is performing a math expression on metric data. A single GetMetricData call can include up to 100 MetricDataQuery structures.

    When used in PutMetricAlarm , it enables you to create an alarm based on a metric math expression. Each MetricDataQuery in the array specifies either a metric to retrieve, or a math expression to be performed on retrieved metrics. A single PutMetricAlarm call can include up to 20 MetricDataQuery structures in the array. The 20 structures can include as many as 10 structures that contain a MetricStat parameter to retrieve a metric, and as many as 10 structures that contain the Expression parameter to perform a math expression. Of those Expression structures, one must have True as the value for ReturnData . The result of this expression is the value the alarm watches.

    Any expression used in a PutMetricAlarm operation must return a single time series. For more information, see Metric Math Syntax and Functions in the Amazon CloudWatch User Guide .

    Some of the parameters of this structure also have different uses whether you are using this structure in a GetMetricData operation or a PutMetricAlarm operation. These differences are explained in the following parameter list.

    • Id (string) -- [REQUIRED]

      A short name used to tie this object to the results in the response. This name must be unique within a single call to GetMetricData . If you are performing math expressions on this set of data, this name represents that data and can serve as a variable in the mathematical expression. The valid characters are letters, numbers, and underscore. The first character must be a lowercase letter.

    • MetricStat (dict) --

      The metric to be returned, along with statistics, period, and units. Use this parameter only if this object is retrieving a metric and not performing a math expression on returned data.

      Within one MetricDataQuery object, you must specify either Expression or MetricStat but not both.

      • Metric (dict) -- [REQUIRED]

        The metric to return, including the metric name, namespace, and dimensions.

        • Namespace (string) --

          The namespace of the metric.

        • MetricName (string) --

          The name of the metric. This is a required field.

        • Dimensions (list) --

          The dimensions for the metric.

          • (dict) --

            Expands the identity of a metric.

            • Name (string) -- [REQUIRED]

              The name of the dimension.

            • Value (string) -- [REQUIRED]

              The value representing the dimension measurement.

      • Period (integer) -- [REQUIRED]

        The granularity, in seconds, of the returned data points. For metrics with regular resolution, a period can be as short as one minute (60 seconds) and must be a multiple of 60. For high-resolution metrics that are collected at intervals of less than one minute, the period can be 1, 5, 10, 30, 60, or any multiple of 60. High-resolution metrics are those metrics stored by a PutMetricData call that includes a StorageResolution of 1 second.

        If the StartTime parameter specifies a time stamp that is greater than 3 hours ago, you must specify the period as follows or no data points in that time range is returned:

        • Start time between 3 hours and 15 days ago - Use a multiple of 60 seconds (1 minute).

        • Start time between 15 and 63 days ago - Use a multiple of 300 seconds (5 minutes).

        • Start time greater than 63 days ago - Use a multiple of 3600 seconds (1 hour).

      • Stat (string) -- [REQUIRED]

        The statistic to return. It can include any CloudWatch statistic or extended statistic.

      • Unit (string) --

        When you are using a Put operation, this defines what unit you want to use when storing the metric.

        In a Get operation, if you omit Unit then all data that was collected with any unit is returned, along with the corresponding units that were specified when the data was reported to CloudWatch. If you specify a unit, the operation returns only data data that was collected with that unit specified. If you specify a unit that does not match the data collected, the results of the operation are null. CloudWatch does not perform unit conversions.

    • Expression (string) --

      The math expression to be performed on the returned data, if this object is performing a math expression. This expression can use the Id of the other metrics to refer to those metrics, and can also use the Id of other expressions to use the result of those expressions. For more information about metric math expressions, see Metric Math Syntax and Functions in the Amazon CloudWatch User Guide .

      Within each MetricDataQuery object, you must specify either Expression or MetricStat but not both.

    • Label (string) --

      A human-readable label for this metric or expression. This is especially useful if this is an expression, so that you know what the value represents. If the metric or expression is shown in a CloudWatch dashboard widget, the label is shown. If Label is omitted, CloudWatch generates a default.

    • ReturnData (boolean) --

      When used in GetMetricData , this option indicates whether to return the timestamps and raw data values of this metric. If you are performing this call just to do math expressions and do not also need the raw data returned, you can specify False . If you omit this, the default of True is used.

      When used in PutMetricAlarm , specify True for the one expression result to use as the alarm. For all other metrics and expressions in the same PutMetricAlarm operation, specify ReturnData as False.

    • Period (integer) --

      The granularity, in seconds, of the returned data points. For metrics with regular resolution, a period can be as short as one minute (60 seconds) and must be a multiple of 60. For high-resolution metrics that are collected at intervals of less than one minute, the period can be 1, 5, 10, 30, 60, or any multiple of 60. High-resolution metrics are those metrics stored by a PutMetricData operation that includes a StorageResolution of 1 second .

      Use this field only when you are performing a GetMetricData operation, and only when you are specifying the Expression field. Do not use this field with a PutMetricAlarm operation or when you are specifying a MetricStat in a GetMetricData operation.

type StartTime

datetime

param StartTime

[REQUIRED]

The time stamp indicating the earliest data to be returned.

The value specified is inclusive; results include data points with the specified time stamp.

CloudWatch rounds the specified time stamp as follows:

  • Start time less than 15 days ago - Round down to the nearest whole minute. For example, 12:32:34 is rounded down to 12:32:00.

  • Start time between 15 and 63 days ago - Round down to the nearest 5-minute clock interval. For example, 12:32:34 is rounded down to 12:30:00.

  • Start time greater than 63 days ago - Round down to the nearest 1-hour clock interval. For example, 12:32:34 is rounded down to 12:00:00.

If you set Period to 5, 10, or 30, the start time of your request is rounded down to the nearest time that corresponds to even 5-, 10-, or 30-second divisions of a minute. For example, if you make a query at (HH:mm:ss) 01:05:23 for the previous 10-second period, the start time of your request is rounded down and you receive data from 01:05:10 to 01:05:20. If you make a query at 15:07:17 for the previous 5 minutes of data, using a period of 5 seconds, you receive data timestamped between 15:02:15 and 15:07:15.

For better performance, specify StartTime and EndTime values that align with the value of the metric's Period and sync up with the beginning and end of an hour. For example, if the Period of a metric is 5 minutes, specifying 12:05 or 12:30 as StartTime can get a faster response from CloudWatch than setting 12:07 or 12:29 as the StartTime .

type EndTime

datetime

param EndTime

[REQUIRED]

The time stamp indicating the latest data to be returned.

The value specified is exclusive; results include data points up to the specified time stamp.

For better performance, specify StartTime and EndTime values that align with the value of the metric's Period and sync up with the beginning and end of an hour. For example, if the Period of a metric is 5 minutes, specifying 12:05 or 12:30 as EndTime can get a faster response from CloudWatch than setting 12:07 or 12:29 as the EndTime .

type NextToken

string

param NextToken

Include this value, if it was returned by the previous call, to get the next set of data points.

type ScanBy

string

param ScanBy

The order in which data points should be returned. TimestampDescending returns the newest data first and paginates when the MaxDatapoints limit is reached. TimestampAscending returns the oldest data first and paginates when the MaxDatapoints limit is reached.

type MaxDatapoints

integer

param MaxDatapoints

The maximum number of data points the request should return before paginating. If you omit this, the default of 100,800 is used.

rtype

dict

returns

Response Syntax

{
    'MetricDataResults': [
        {
            'Id': 'string',
            'Label': 'string',
            'Timestamps': [
                datetime(2015, 1, 1),
            ],
            'Values': [
                123.0,
            ],
            'StatusCode': 'Complete'|'InternalError'|'PartialData',
            'Messages': [
                {
                    'Code': 'string',
                    'Value': 'string'
                },
            ]
        },
    ],
    'NextToken': 'string',
    'Messages': [
        {
            'Code': 'string',
            'Value': 'string'
        },
    ]
}

Response Structure

  • (dict) --

    • MetricDataResults (list) --

      The metrics that are returned, including the metric name, namespace, and dimensions.

      • (dict) --

        A GetMetricData call returns an array of MetricDataResult structures. Each of these structures includes the data points for that metric, along with the timestamps of those data points and other identifying information.

        • Id (string) --

          The short name you specified to represent this metric.

        • Label (string) --

          The human-readable label associated with the data.

        • Timestamps (list) --

          The timestamps for the data points, formatted in Unix timestamp format. The number of timestamps always matches the number of values and the value for Timestamps[x] is Values[x].

          • (datetime) --

        • Values (list) --

          The data points for the metric corresponding to Timestamps . The number of values always matches the number of timestamps and the timestamp for Values[x] is Timestamps[x].

          • (float) --

        • StatusCode (string) --

          The status of the returned data. Complete indicates that all data points in the requested time range were returned. PartialData means that an incomplete set of data points were returned. You can use the NextToken value that was returned and repeat your request to get more data points. NextToken is not returned if you are performing a math expression. InternalError indicates that an error occurred. Retry your request using NextToken , if present.

        • Messages (list) --

          A list of messages with additional information about the data returned.

          • (dict) --

            A message returned by the GetMetricData API, including a code and a description.

            • Code (string) --

              The error code or status code associated with the message.

            • Value (string) --

              The message text.

    • NextToken (string) --

      A token that marks the next batch of returned results.

    • Messages (list) --

      Contains a message about this GetMetricData operation, if the operation results in such a message. An example of a message that may be returned is Maximum number of allowed metrics exceeded . If there is a message, as much of the operation as possible is still executed.

      A message appears here only if it is related to the global GetMetricData operation. Any message about a specific metric returned by the operation appears in the MetricDataResult object returned for that metric.

      • (dict) --

        A message returned by the GetMetricData API, including a code and a description.

        • Code (string) --

          The error code or status code associated with the message.

        • Value (string) --

          The message text.

PutMetricAlarm (updated) Link ¶
Changes (request)
{'Metrics': {'Period': 'integer'}}

Creates or updates an alarm and associates it with the specified metric, metric math expression, or anomaly detection model.

Alarms based on anomaly detection models cannot have Auto Scaling actions.

When this operation creates an alarm, the alarm state is immediately set to INSUFFICIENT_DATA . The alarm is then evaluated and its state is set appropriately. Any actions associated with the new state are then executed.

When you update an existing alarm, its state is left unchanged, but the update completely overwrites the previous configuration of the alarm.

If you are an IAM user, you must have Amazon EC2 permissions for some alarm operations:

  • iam:CreateServiceLinkedRole for all alarms with EC2 actions

  • ec2:DescribeInstanceStatus and ec2:DescribeInstances for all alarms on EC2 instance status metrics

  • ec2:StopInstances for alarms with stop actions

  • ec2:TerminateInstances for alarms with terminate actions

  • No specific permissions are needed for alarms with recover actions

If you have read/write permissions for Amazon CloudWatch but not for Amazon EC2, you can still create an alarm, but the stop or terminate actions are not performed. However, if you are later granted the required permissions, the alarm actions that you created earlier are performed.

If you are using an IAM role (for example, an EC2 instance profile), you cannot stop or terminate the instance using alarm actions. However, you can still see the alarm state and perform any other actions such as Amazon SNS notifications or Auto Scaling policies.

If you are using temporary security credentials granted using AWS STS, you cannot stop or terminate an EC2 instance using alarm actions.

The first time you create an alarm in the AWS Management Console, the CLI, or by using the PutMetricAlarm API, CloudWatch creates the necessary service-linked role for you. The service-linked role is called AWSServiceRoleForCloudWatchEvents . For more information, see AWS service-linked role.

See also: AWS API Documentation

Request Syntax

client.put_metric_alarm(
    AlarmName='string',
    AlarmDescription='string',
    ActionsEnabled=True|False,
    OKActions=[
        'string',
    ],
    AlarmActions=[
        'string',
    ],
    InsufficientDataActions=[
        'string',
    ],
    MetricName='string',
    Namespace='string',
    Statistic='SampleCount'|'Average'|'Sum'|'Minimum'|'Maximum',
    ExtendedStatistic='string',
    Dimensions=[
        {
            'Name': 'string',
            'Value': 'string'
        },
    ],
    Period=123,
    Unit='Seconds'|'Microseconds'|'Milliseconds'|'Bytes'|'Kilobytes'|'Megabytes'|'Gigabytes'|'Terabytes'|'Bits'|'Kilobits'|'Megabits'|'Gigabits'|'Terabits'|'Percent'|'Count'|'Bytes/Second'|'Kilobytes/Second'|'Megabytes/Second'|'Gigabytes/Second'|'Terabytes/Second'|'Bits/Second'|'Kilobits/Second'|'Megabits/Second'|'Gigabits/Second'|'Terabits/Second'|'Count/Second'|'None',
    EvaluationPeriods=123,
    DatapointsToAlarm=123,
    Threshold=123.0,
    ComparisonOperator='GreaterThanOrEqualToThreshold'|'GreaterThanThreshold'|'LessThanThreshold'|'LessThanOrEqualToThreshold'|'LessThanLowerOrGreaterThanUpperThreshold'|'LessThanLowerThreshold'|'GreaterThanUpperThreshold',
    TreatMissingData='string',
    EvaluateLowSampleCountPercentile='string',
    Metrics=[
        {
            'Id': 'string',
            'MetricStat': {
                'Metric': {
                    'Namespace': 'string',
                    'MetricName': 'string',
                    'Dimensions': [
                        {
                            'Name': 'string',
                            'Value': 'string'
                        },
                    ]
                },
                'Period': 123,
                'Stat': 'string',
                'Unit': 'Seconds'|'Microseconds'|'Milliseconds'|'Bytes'|'Kilobytes'|'Megabytes'|'Gigabytes'|'Terabytes'|'Bits'|'Kilobits'|'Megabits'|'Gigabits'|'Terabits'|'Percent'|'Count'|'Bytes/Second'|'Kilobytes/Second'|'Megabytes/Second'|'Gigabytes/Second'|'Terabytes/Second'|'Bits/Second'|'Kilobits/Second'|'Megabits/Second'|'Gigabits/Second'|'Terabits/Second'|'Count/Second'|'None'
            },
            'Expression': 'string',
            'Label': 'string',
            'ReturnData': True|False,
            'Period': 123
        },
    ],
    Tags=[
        {
            'Key': 'string',
            'Value': 'string'
        },
    ],
    ThresholdMetricId='string'
)
type AlarmName

string

param AlarmName

[REQUIRED]

The name for the alarm. This name must be unique within your AWS account.

type AlarmDescription

string

param AlarmDescription

The description for the alarm.

type ActionsEnabled

boolean

param ActionsEnabled

Indicates whether actions should be executed during any changes to the alarm state. The default is TRUE .

type OKActions

list

param OKActions

The actions to execute when this alarm transitions to an OK state from any other state. Each action is specified as an Amazon Resource Name (ARN).

Valid Values: arn:aws:automate:region:ec2:stop | arn:aws:automate:region:ec2:terminate | arn:aws:automate:region:ec2:recover | arn:aws:automate:region:ec2:reboot | arn:aws:sns:region:account-id:sns-topic-name | arn:aws:autoscaling:region:account-id:scalingPolicy:policy-idautoScalingGroupName/group-friendly-name:policyName/policy-friendly-name

Valid Values (for use with IAM roles): arn:aws:swf:region:account-id:action/actions/AWS_EC2.InstanceId.Stop/1.0 | arn:aws:swf:region:account-id:action/actions/AWS_EC2.InstanceId.Terminate/1.0 | arn:aws:swf:region:account-id:action/actions/AWS_EC2.InstanceId.Reboot/1.0

  • (string) --

type AlarmActions

list

param AlarmActions

The actions to execute when this alarm transitions to the ALARM state from any other state. Each action is specified as an Amazon Resource Name (ARN).

Valid Values: arn:aws:automate:region:ec2:stop | arn:aws:automate:region:ec2:terminate | arn:aws:automate:region:ec2:recover | arn:aws:automate:region:ec2:reboot | arn:aws:sns:region:account-id:sns-topic-name | arn:aws:autoscaling:region:account-id:scalingPolicy:policy-idautoScalingGroupName/group-friendly-name:policyName/policy-friendly-name

Valid Values (for use with IAM roles): arn:aws:swf:region:account-id:action/actions/AWS_EC2.InstanceId.Stop/1.0 | arn:aws:swf:region:account-id:action/actions/AWS_EC2.InstanceId.Terminate/1.0 | arn:aws:swf:region:account-id:action/actions/AWS_EC2.InstanceId.Reboot/1.0

  • (string) --

type InsufficientDataActions

list

param InsufficientDataActions

The actions to execute when this alarm transitions to the INSUFFICIENT_DATA state from any other state. Each action is specified as an Amazon Resource Name (ARN).

Valid Values: arn:aws:automate:region:ec2:stop | arn:aws:automate:region:ec2:terminate | arn:aws:automate:region:ec2:recover | arn:aws:automate:region:ec2:reboot | arn:aws:sns:region:account-id:sns-topic-name | arn:aws:autoscaling:region:account-id:scalingPolicy:policy-idautoScalingGroupName/group-friendly-name:policyName/policy-friendly-name

Valid Values (for use with IAM roles): >arn:aws:swf:region:account-id:action/actions/AWS_EC2.InstanceId.Stop/1.0 | arn:aws:swf:region:account-id:action/actions/AWS_EC2.InstanceId.Terminate/1.0 | arn:aws:swf:region:account-id:action/actions/AWS_EC2.InstanceId.Reboot/1.0

  • (string) --

type MetricName

string

param MetricName

The name for the metric associated with the alarm. For each PutMetricAlarm operation, you must specify either MetricName or a Metrics array.

If you are creating an alarm based on a math expression, you cannot specify this parameter, or any of the Dimensions , Period , Namespace , Statistic , or ExtendedStatistic parameters. Instead, you specify all this information in the Metrics array.

type Namespace

string

param Namespace

The namespace for the metric associated specified in MetricName .

type Statistic

string

param Statistic

The statistic for the metric specified in MetricName , other than percentile. For percentile statistics, use ExtendedStatistic . When you call PutMetricAlarm and specify a MetricName , you must specify either Statistic or ExtendedStatistic, but not both.

type ExtendedStatistic

string

param ExtendedStatistic

The percentile statistic for the metric specified in MetricName . Specify a value between p0.0 and p100. When you call PutMetricAlarm and specify a MetricName , you must specify either Statistic or ExtendedStatistic, but not both.

type Dimensions

list

param Dimensions

The dimensions for the metric specified in MetricName .

  • (dict) --

    Expands the identity of a metric.

    • Name (string) -- [REQUIRED]

      The name of the dimension.

    • Value (string) -- [REQUIRED]

      The value representing the dimension measurement.

type Period

integer

param Period

The length, in seconds, used each time the metric specified in MetricName is evaluated. Valid values are 10, 30, and any multiple of 60.

Period is required for alarms based on static thresholds. If you are creating an alarm based on a metric math expression, you specify the period for each metric within the objects in the Metrics array.

Be sure to specify 10 or 30 only for metrics that are stored by a PutMetricData call with a StorageResolution of 1. If you specify a period of 10 or 30 for a metric that does not have sub-minute resolution, the alarm still attempts to gather data at the period rate that you specify. In this case, it does not receive data for the attempts that do not correspond to a one-minute data resolution, and the alarm may often lapse into INSUFFICENT_DATA status. Specifying 10 or 30 also sets this alarm as a high-resolution alarm, which has a higher charge than other alarms. For more information about pricing, see Amazon CloudWatch Pricing.

An alarm's total current evaluation period can be no longer than one day, so Period multiplied by EvaluationPeriods cannot be more than 86,400 seconds.

type Unit

string

param Unit

The unit of measure for the statistic. For example, the units for the Amazon EC2 NetworkIn metric are Bytes because NetworkIn tracks the number of bytes that an instance receives on all network interfaces. You can also specify a unit when you create a custom metric. Units help provide conceptual meaning to your data. Metric data points that specify a unit of measure, such as Percent, are aggregated separately.

If you don't specify Unit , CloudWatch retrieves all unit types that have been published for the metric and attempts to evaluate the alarm. Usually metrics are published with only one unit, so the alarm will work as intended.

However, if the metric is published with multiple types of units and you don't specify a unit, the alarm's behavior is not defined and will behave un-predictably.

We recommend omitting Unit so that you don't inadvertently specify an incorrect unit that is not published for this metric. Doing so causes the alarm to be stuck in the INSUFFICIENT DATA state.

type EvaluationPeriods

integer

param EvaluationPeriods

[REQUIRED]

The number of periods over which data is compared to the specified threshold. If you are setting an alarm that requires that a number of consecutive data points be breaching to trigger the alarm, this value specifies that number. If you are setting an "M out of N" alarm, this value is the N.

An alarm's total current evaluation period can be no longer than one day, so this number multiplied by Period cannot be more than 86,400 seconds.

type DatapointsToAlarm

integer

param DatapointsToAlarm

The number of datapoints that must be breaching to trigger the alarm. This is used only if you are setting an "M out of N" alarm. In that case, this value is the M. For more information, see Evaluating an Alarm in the Amazon CloudWatch User Guide .

type Threshold

float

param Threshold

The value against which the specified statistic is compared.

This parameter is required for alarms based on static thresholds, but should not be used for alarms based on anomaly detection models.

type ComparisonOperator

string

param ComparisonOperator

[REQUIRED]

The arithmetic operation to use when comparing the specified statistic and threshold. The specified statistic value is used as the first operand.

The values LessThanLowerOrGreaterThanUpperThreshold , LessThanLowerThreshold , and GreaterThanUpperThreshold are used only for alarms based on anomaly detection models.

type TreatMissingData

string

param TreatMissingData

Sets how this alarm is to handle missing data points. If TreatMissingData is omitted, the default behavior of missing is used. For more information, see Configuring How CloudWatch Alarms Treats Missing Data.

Valid Values: breaching | notBreaching | ignore | missing

type EvaluateLowSampleCountPercentile

string

param EvaluateLowSampleCountPercentile

Used only for alarms based on percentiles. If you specify ignore , the alarm state does not change during periods with too few data points to be statistically significant. If you specify evaluate or omit this parameter, the alarm is always evaluated and possibly changes state no matter how many data points are available. For more information, see Percentile-Based CloudWatch Alarms and Low Data Samples.

Valid Values: evaluate | ignore

type Metrics

list

param Metrics

An array of MetricDataQuery structures that enable you to create an alarm based on the result of a metric math expression. For each PutMetricAlarm operation, you must specify either MetricName or a Metrics array.

Each item in the Metrics array either retrieves a metric or performs a math expression.

One item in the Metrics array is the expression that the alarm watches. You designate this expression by setting ReturnValue to true for this object in the array. For more information, see MetricDataQuery.

If you use the Metrics parameter, you cannot include the MetricName , Dimensions , Period , Namespace , Statistic , or ExtendedStatistic parameters of PutMetricAlarm in the same operation. Instead, you retrieve the metrics you are using in your math expression as part of the Metrics array.

  • (dict) --

    This structure is used in both GetMetricData and PutMetricAlarm . The supported use of this structure is different for those two operations.

    When used in GetMetricData , it indicates the metric data to return, and whether this call is just retrieving a batch set of data for one metric, or is performing a math expression on metric data. A single GetMetricData call can include up to 100 MetricDataQuery structures.

    When used in PutMetricAlarm , it enables you to create an alarm based on a metric math expression. Each MetricDataQuery in the array specifies either a metric to retrieve, or a math expression to be performed on retrieved metrics. A single PutMetricAlarm call can include up to 20 MetricDataQuery structures in the array. The 20 structures can include as many as 10 structures that contain a MetricStat parameter to retrieve a metric, and as many as 10 structures that contain the Expression parameter to perform a math expression. Of those Expression structures, one must have True as the value for ReturnData . The result of this expression is the value the alarm watches.

    Any expression used in a PutMetricAlarm operation must return a single time series. For more information, see Metric Math Syntax and Functions in the Amazon CloudWatch User Guide .

    Some of the parameters of this structure also have different uses whether you are using this structure in a GetMetricData operation or a PutMetricAlarm operation. These differences are explained in the following parameter list.

    • Id (string) -- [REQUIRED]

      A short name used to tie this object to the results in the response. This name must be unique within a single call to GetMetricData . If you are performing math expressions on this set of data, this name represents that data and can serve as a variable in the mathematical expression. The valid characters are letters, numbers, and underscore. The first character must be a lowercase letter.

    • MetricStat (dict) --

      The metric to be returned, along with statistics, period, and units. Use this parameter only if this object is retrieving a metric and not performing a math expression on returned data.

      Within one MetricDataQuery object, you must specify either Expression or MetricStat but not both.

      • Metric (dict) -- [REQUIRED]

        The metric to return, including the metric name, namespace, and dimensions.

        • Namespace (string) --

          The namespace of the metric.

        • MetricName (string) --

          The name of the metric. This is a required field.

        • Dimensions (list) --

          The dimensions for the metric.

          • (dict) --

            Expands the identity of a metric.

            • Name (string) -- [REQUIRED]

              The name of the dimension.

            • Value (string) -- [REQUIRED]

              The value representing the dimension measurement.

      • Period (integer) -- [REQUIRED]

        The granularity, in seconds, of the returned data points. For metrics with regular resolution, a period can be as short as one minute (60 seconds) and must be a multiple of 60. For high-resolution metrics that are collected at intervals of less than one minute, the period can be 1, 5, 10, 30, 60, or any multiple of 60. High-resolution metrics are those metrics stored by a PutMetricData call that includes a StorageResolution of 1 second.

        If the StartTime parameter specifies a time stamp that is greater than 3 hours ago, you must specify the period as follows or no data points in that time range is returned:

        • Start time between 3 hours and 15 days ago - Use a multiple of 60 seconds (1 minute).

        • Start time between 15 and 63 days ago - Use a multiple of 300 seconds (5 minutes).

        • Start time greater than 63 days ago - Use a multiple of 3600 seconds (1 hour).

      • Stat (string) -- [REQUIRED]

        The statistic to return. It can include any CloudWatch statistic or extended statistic.

      • Unit (string) --

        When you are using a Put operation, this defines what unit you want to use when storing the metric.

        In a Get operation, if you omit Unit then all data that was collected with any unit is returned, along with the corresponding units that were specified when the data was reported to CloudWatch. If you specify a unit, the operation returns only data data that was collected with that unit specified. If you specify a unit that does not match the data collected, the results of the operation are null. CloudWatch does not perform unit conversions.

    • Expression (string) --

      The math expression to be performed on the returned data, if this object is performing a math expression. This expression can use the Id of the other metrics to refer to those metrics, and can also use the Id of other expressions to use the result of those expressions. For more information about metric math expressions, see Metric Math Syntax and Functions in the Amazon CloudWatch User Guide .

      Within each MetricDataQuery object, you must specify either Expression or MetricStat but not both.

    • Label (string) --

      A human-readable label for this metric or expression. This is especially useful if this is an expression, so that you know what the value represents. If the metric or expression is shown in a CloudWatch dashboard widget, the label is shown. If Label is omitted, CloudWatch generates a default.

    • ReturnData (boolean) --

      When used in GetMetricData , this option indicates whether to return the timestamps and raw data values of this metric. If you are performing this call just to do math expressions and do not also need the raw data returned, you can specify False . If you omit this, the default of True is used.

      When used in PutMetricAlarm , specify True for the one expression result to use as the alarm. For all other metrics and expressions in the same PutMetricAlarm operation, specify ReturnData as False.

    • Period (integer) --

      The granularity, in seconds, of the returned data points. For metrics with regular resolution, a period can be as short as one minute (60 seconds) and must be a multiple of 60. For high-resolution metrics that are collected at intervals of less than one minute, the period can be 1, 5, 10, 30, 60, or any multiple of 60. High-resolution metrics are those metrics stored by a PutMetricData operation that includes a StorageResolution of 1 second .

      Use this field only when you are performing a GetMetricData operation, and only when you are specifying the Expression field. Do not use this field with a PutMetricAlarm operation or when you are specifying a MetricStat in a GetMetricData operation.

type Tags

list

param Tags

A list of key-value pairs to associate with the alarm. You can associate as many as 50 tags with an alarm.

Tags can help you organize and categorize your resources. You can also use them to scope user permissions, by granting a user permission to access or change only resources with certain tag values.

  • (dict) --

    A key-value pair associated with a CloudWatch resource.

    • Key (string) -- [REQUIRED]

      A string that you can use to assign a value. The combination of tag keys and values can help you organize and categorize your resources.

    • Value (string) -- [REQUIRED]

      The value for the specified tag key.

type ThresholdMetricId

string

param ThresholdMetricId

If this is an alarm based on an anomaly detection model, make this value match the ID of the ANOMALY_DETECTION_BAND function.

For an example of how to use this parameter, see the Anomaly Detection Model Alarm example on this page.

If your alarm uses this parameter, it cannot have Auto Scaling actions.

returns

None