CloudWatch metrics for DynamoDB - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is Amazon CloudWatch used for in relation to DynamoDB?

Amazon CloudWatch monitors DynamoDB tables by collecting and tracking metrics like read/write capacity, latency, and errors to help you understand table performance and health.

beginner

Which CloudWatch metric shows the read capacity units consumed by successful read requests on a DynamoDB table?

The metric ConsumedReadCapacityUnits shows how many read capacity units were used successfully by your DynamoDB table.

intermediate

What does the CloudWatch metric ThrottledRequests indicate for a DynamoDB table?

It indicates the number of requests that were denied because the table exceeded its provisioned throughput limits, meaning your app tried to read or write too fast.

intermediate

How can you use the Latency metric in CloudWatch for DynamoDB?

Latency measures the time DynamoDB takes to respond to read or write requests. Monitoring it helps you spot delays and improve app performance.

advanced

What is the difference between UserErrors and ThrottledRequests metrics?

UserErrors counts client errors such as invalid parameters or item size limits, while ThrottledRequests counts all requests that were throttled due to provisioned throughput limits, excluding retries.

Which CloudWatch metric tells you how many write capacity units your DynamoDB table used?

A ProvisionedReadCapacityUnits

B ConsumedWriteCapacityUnits

C WriteLatency

D ReadThrottleEvents

ConsumedWriteCapacityUnits shows the number of write capacity units consumed by your table.

If your DynamoDB table is returning errors because it is overloaded, which metric will increase?

A ThrottledRequests

B SuccessfulRequestCount

C ConsumedReadCapacityUnits

D SystemErrors

ThrottledRequests counts the number of requests throttled when requests exceed the table's capacity limits.

What does a high value in the ReadThrottleEvents metric mean?

A Many read requests were denied due to capacity limits

B Reads are very fast

C Table has no read activity

D Write requests are failing

ReadThrottleEvents counts how many read requests were throttled because they exceeded capacity.

Which metric helps you understand the delay in DynamoDB responding to requests?

A ProvisionedWriteCapacityUnits

B ConsumedWriteCapacityUnits

C ThrottledRequests

D Latency

Latency measures the time taken to complete read or write requests.

What does the SystemErrors metric in CloudWatch for DynamoDB represent?

A Successful requests

B Errors caused by exceeding capacity

C Internal server errors in DynamoDB

D Number of read requests

SystemErrors counts internal errors from DynamoDB itself, not caused by user requests.

Explain how CloudWatch metrics help you monitor and improve a DynamoDB table's performance.

Think about what you want to know about your table's health and speed.

Describe the meaning and importance of the ThrottledRequests metric in DynamoDB monitoring.

Focus on what throttling means for your app's requests.