CloudWatch dashboards in AWS - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to create a CloudWatch dashboard with a specified name.

AWS

aws cloudwatch put-dashboard --dashboard-name [1] --dashboard-body file://dashboard.json

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

AMyDashboard

BDashboard1

CCloudWatchDash

DTestDashboard

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using a file path instead of a simple name for the dashboard name.

Including spaces in the dashboard name without quotes.

The --dashboard-name parameter specifies the name of the dashboard to create or update. Here, Dashboard1 is used as the example name.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to specify the dashboard body JSON file for the CloudWatch dashboard.

AWS

aws cloudwatch put-dashboard --dashboard-name Dashboard1 --dashboard-body [1]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Afile://dashboard.json

Bdashboard.json

C"{\"widgets\":[]}"

Ddashboard-body.json

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Omitting the file:// prefix when specifying a file.

Passing just the filename without quotes or prefix.

The --dashboard-body parameter expects a JSON string or a file reference. Using file://dashboard.json tells AWS CLI to read the JSON content from the file.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the dashboard JSON snippet by completing the missing widget type.

AWS

{
  "widgets": [
    {
      "type": "[1]",
      "x": 0,
      "y": 0,
      "width": 6,
      "height": 6,
      "properties": {
        "metrics": [["AWS/EC2", "CPUUtilization", "InstanceId", "i-1234567890abcdef0"]],
        "period": 300,
        "stat": "Average",
        "region": "us-east-1",
        "title": "EC2 CPU"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Atext

Balarm

Clog

Dmetric

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'text' instead of 'metric' for a graph widget.

Using 'log' which is not a valid widget type.

The widget type for displaying metrics in a CloudWatch dashboard is metric. This tells CloudWatch to show a graph of the specified metric.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to complete the widget properties for a CloudWatch dashboard showing average CPU utilization.

AWS

{
  "widgets": [
    {
      "type": "metric",
      "x": 0,
      "y": 0,
      "width": [1],
      "height": [2],
      "properties": {
        "metrics": [["AWS/EC2", "CPUUtilization"]],
        "period": 300,
        "stat": "Average",
        "region": "us-west-2",
        "title": "CPU Usage"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A6

B12

C8

D4

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using zero or negative numbers for width or height.

Swapping width and height values.

The widget width and height define its size on the dashboard grid. Common sizes are 6 or 12 units wide and tall. Here, width is 6 and height is 12 for a taller graph.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to complete the JSON snippet for a CloudWatch dashboard widget showing average network in bytes for an EC2 instance.

AWS

{
  "widgets": [
    {
      "type": "[1]",
      "x": 0,
      "y": 0,
      "width": 6,
      "height": 6,
      "properties": {
        "metrics": [["AWS/EC2", "[2]", "InstanceId", "[3]"]],
        "period": 300,
        "stat": "Average",
        "region": "us-east-2",
        "title": "Network In"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Ametric

BNetworkIn

Ci-0abcdef1234567890

Dtext

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'text' as widget type instead of 'metric'.

Using incorrect metric names or instance IDs.

The widget type is metric to show a graph. The metric name is NetworkIn for incoming network bytes. The instance ID is a sample EC2 instance ID.

Practice

1. What is the main purpose of an AWS CloudWatch dashboard?

easy

A. To deploy new cloud servers automatically

B. To store backups of cloud data

C. To visually display cloud resource metrics in one place

D. To manage user permissions for AWS services

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand CloudWatch dashboard function

   CloudWatch dashboards collect and show metrics visually for easy monitoring.

2. Step 2: Compare options with dashboard purpose

   Only To visually display cloud resource metrics in one place describes visual display of metrics; others describe unrelated tasks.

3. Final Answer:

   To visually display cloud resource metrics in one place -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Dashboard = Visual metrics display [OK]

Hint: Dashboards show metrics visually, not manage or store data [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing dashboards with backup storage
• Thinking dashboards manage permissions
• Assuming dashboards deploy servers

2. Which JSON element is required to add a widget to a CloudWatch dashboard?

easy

A. "widgets" array containing widget objects

B. "servers" array listing EC2 instances

C. "permissions" object defining access rights

D. "backups" array for snapshot data

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify JSON structure for dashboards

   CloudWatch dashboards use a "widgets" array to hold widget definitions.

2. Step 2: Eliminate unrelated JSON elements

   Options A, B, and D relate to servers, permissions, or backups, not widgets.

3. Final Answer:

   "widgets" array containing widget objects -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Widgets array = dashboard widgets [OK]

Hint: Widgets array holds dashboard widgets in JSON [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using 'servers' instead of 'widgets'
• Confusing permissions with widget data
• Including backups in dashboard JSON

3. Given this widget JSON snippet for a CloudWatch dashboard:

{"type": "metric", "x": 0, "y": 0, "width": 6, "height": 6, "properties": {"metrics": [["AWS/EC2", "CPUUtilization", "InstanceId", "i-1234567890abcdef0"]], "period": 300, "stat": "Average"}}

What metric will this widget display?

medium

A. Total network traffic of all EC2 instances

B. Average CPU utilization of the specified EC2 instance

C. Disk read operations for the specified EC2 instance

D. Memory usage of the specified EC2 instance

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze the metric details in JSON

   The metric is "CPUUtilization" for AWS/EC2 with a specific InstanceId, using average statistic.

2. Step 2: Match metric to options

   Average CPU utilization of the specified EC2 instance matches CPU utilization average; others mention different metrics not in JSON.

3. Final Answer:

   Average CPU utilization of the specified EC2 instance -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Metric name = CPUUtilization [OK]

Hint: Look for metric name and stat in properties.metrics [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing CPU with network or disk metrics
• Ignoring the InstanceId filter
• Assuming memory metric without it specified

4. You uploaded a CloudWatch dashboard JSON but the widgets do not appear. Which is the most likely error?

medium

A. The JSON is missing the required "widgets" array

B. The EC2 instances are stopped

C. The AWS region is incorrect in the AWS CLI configuration

D. The IAM user lacks S3 bucket permissions

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify JSON structure requirement

   CloudWatch dashboards require a "widgets" array; missing it means no widgets show.

2. Step 2: Evaluate other options for widget display

   Stopped EC2 or region mismatch may affect metrics but not widget display; S3 permissions unrelated.

3. Final Answer:

   The JSON is missing the required "widgets" array -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Missing widgets array = no widgets shown [OK]

Hint: Always check for 'widgets' array in dashboard JSON [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Blaming stopped instances for widget display
• Confusing region config with dashboard JSON
• Assuming S3 permissions affect dashboards

5. You want a CloudWatch dashboard to show CPU utilization for multiple EC2 instances side by side. Which JSON widget configuration approach is best?

hard

A. Add a text widget listing instance IDs

B. Create multiple dashboards, one per instance

C. Use a single metric widget without specifying InstanceId

D. Create one widget with multiple metrics, each metric for one instance

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand dashboard widget capabilities

   A single widget can show multiple metrics side by side by listing each instance's CPU metric.

2. Step 2: Evaluate other options for efficiency and clarity

   Multiple dashboards (B) is inefficient; single metric without InstanceId (C) aggregates all instances; text widget (D) does not show metrics.

3. Final Answer:

   Create one widget with multiple metrics, each metric for one instance -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Multiple metrics in one widget = side-by-side display [OK]

Hint: Use multiple metrics in one widget for side-by-side comparison [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Creating separate dashboards wastes effort
• Omitting InstanceId shows combined data, not per instance
• Using text widgets instead of metric widgets