OPS08-BP02 Analyze workload logs - AWS Well-Architected Framework
Implementation guidanceResources

OPS08-BP02 Analyze workload logs

Regularly analyzing workload logs is essential for gaining a deeper understanding of the operational aspects of your application. By efficiently sifting through, visualizing, and interpreting log data, you can continually optimize application performance and security.

Desired outcome: Rich insights into application behavior and operations derived from thorough log analysis, ensuring proactive issue detection and mitigation.

Common anti-patterns:

  • Neglecting the analysis of logs until a critical issue arises.

  • Not using the full suite of tools available for log analysis, missing out on critical insights.

  • Solely relying on manual review of logs without leveraging automation and querying capabilities.

Benefits of establishing this best practice:

  • Proactive identification of operational bottlenecks, security threats, and other potential issues.

  • Efficient utilization of log data for continuous application optimization.

  • Enhanced understanding of application behavior, aiding in debugging and troubleshooting.

Level of risk exposed if this best practice is not established: Medium

Implementation guidance

Amazon CloudWatch Logs is a powerful tool for log analysis. Integrated features like CloudWatch Logs Insights and Contributor Insights make the process of deriving meaningful information from logs intuitive and efficient.

Implementation steps

  1. Set up CloudWatch Logs: Configure applications and services to send logs to CloudWatch Logs.

  2. Set up CloudWatch Logs Insights: Use CloudWatch Logs Insights to interactively search and analyze your log data.

    1. Craft queries to extract patterns, visualize log data, and derive actionable insights.

  3. Leverage Contributor Insights: Use CloudWatch Contributor Insights to identify top talkers in high cardinality dimensions like IP addresses or user-agents.

  4. Implement CloudWatch Logs metric filters: Configure CloudWatch log metric filters to convert log data into actionable metrics. This allows you to set alarms or further analyze patterns.

  5. Regular review and refinement: Periodically review your log analysis strategies to capture all relevant information and continually optimize application performance.

Level of effort for the implementation plan: Medium

Resources

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