Default vs custom metrics in AWS - Visual Side-by-Side Comparison

Process Flow - Default vs custom metrics

Start Monitoring

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AWS Service emits Default Metrics

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Metrics collected automatically

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User wants more details?

No→Use Default Metrics Only

Yes↓

User creates Custom Metrics

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Send Custom Metrics to CloudWatch

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Metrics available for monitoring and alarms

AWS services automatically send default metrics. Users can add custom metrics for more detailed monitoring.

Execution Sample

AWS

1. AWS service sends default CPUUtilization metric
2. User creates custom metric 'AppLatency'
3. User sends 'AppLatency' data points to CloudWatch
4. CloudWatch stores and displays both metrics

Shows how default metrics are automatic and custom metrics require user action.

Process Table

Step	Action	Metric Type	Metric Name	Data Sent?	Result
1	AWS service runs	Default	CPUUtilization	Yes	Metric available in CloudWatch
2	User decides to monitor app latency	Custom	AppLatency	No	Metric not yet available
3	User sends AppLatency data	Custom	AppLatency	Yes	Metric available in CloudWatch
4	User views metrics	Default & Custom	CPUUtilization & AppLatency	Yes	Both metrics visible for alarms and dashboards
5	Monitoring continues	Default & Custom	All metrics	Yes	Metrics update automatically

💡 Monitoring runs continuously; default metrics always present, custom metrics appear after user sends data

Status Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 1	After Step 2	After Step 3	Final
CPUUtilization metric	Not present	Present	Present	Present	Present
AppLatency metric	Not present	Not present	Not present	Present	Present
Data sent for AppLatency	No	No	No	Yes	Yes

Key Moments - 2 Insights

Why don't custom metrics appear immediately like default metrics?

Custom metrics appear only after the user sends data points, as shown in step 3 of the execution_table.

Are default metrics always available without user action?

Yes, default metrics are automatically sent by AWS services, visible from step 1 in the execution_table.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution_table at step 2, is the custom metric 'AppLatency' available in CloudWatch?

A Yes, it is available

B No, it is not available yet

C Only partially available

D It depends on the AWS region

💡 Hint

Check the 'Result' column at step 2 in the execution_table

At which step does the user send data for the custom metric?

A Step 1

B Step 2

C Step 3

D Step 4

💡 Hint

Look at the 'Action' and 'Data Sent?' columns in the execution_table

If the user never sends custom metric data, what happens to the custom metric visibility?

A It never appears in CloudWatch

B It appears automatically after some time

C It appears but with zero values

D It appears only in logs

💡 Hint

Refer to the 'Data Sent?' and 'Result' columns in the execution_table steps 2 and 3

Concept Snapshot

AWS services send default metrics automatically.
Custom metrics require user to send data.
Default metrics appear immediately.
Custom metrics appear after data is sent.
Both can be used for monitoring and alarms.

Full Transcript

AWS services automatically send default metrics like CPU utilization to CloudWatch. These metrics are available immediately for monitoring. If users want more detailed information, they create custom metrics by sending their own data points to CloudWatch. Custom metrics do not appear until data is sent. Once sent, both default and custom metrics can be viewed and used for alarms and dashboards. This process ensures basic monitoring is always available, while allowing customization for specific needs.