amazon.aws.cloudwatch_metric_alarm module – Create/update or delete AWS CloudWatch ‘metric alarms’

Note

This module is part of the amazon.aws collection (version 9.1.0).

You might already have this collection installed if you are using the ansible package. It is not included in ansible-core. To check whether it is installed, run ansible-galaxy collection list.

To install it, use: ansible-galaxy collection install amazon.aws. You need further requirements to be able to use this module, see Requirements for details.

To use it in a playbook, specify: amazon.aws.cloudwatch_metric_alarm.

New in amazon.aws 5.0.0

Synopsis

  • Can create or delete AWS CloudWatch metric alarms.

  • Metrics you wish to alarm on must already exist.

  • Prior to release 5.0.0 this module was called community.aws.ec2_metric_alarm. The usage did not change.

  • This module was originally added to community.aws in release 1.0.0.

Aliases: ec2_metric_alarm

Requirements

The below requirements are needed on the host that executes this module.

  • python >= 3.6

  • boto3 >= 1.28.0

  • botocore >= 1.31.0

Parameters

Parameter

Comments

access_key

aliases: aws_access_key_id, aws_access_key, ec2_access_key

string

AWS access key ID.

See the AWS documentation for more information about access tokens https://docs.aws.amazon.com/general/latest/gr/aws-sec-cred-types.html#access-keys-and-secret-access-keys.

The AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, AWS_ACCESS_KEY or EC2_ACCESS_KEY environment variables may also be used in decreasing order of preference.

The aws_access_key and profile options are mutually exclusive.

The aws_access_key_id alias was added in release 5.1.0 for consistency with the AWS botocore SDK.

The ec2_access_key alias has been deprecated and will be removed in a release after 2024-12-01.

Support for the EC2_ACCESS_KEY environment variable has been deprecated and will be removed in a release after 2024-12-01.

alarm_actions

list / elements=string

A list of the names action(s) taken when the alarm is in the alarm status, denoted as Amazon Resource Name(s).

Default: []

aws_ca_bundle

path

The location of a CA Bundle to use when validating SSL certificates.

The AWS_CA_BUNDLE environment variable may also be used.

aws_config

dictionary

A dictionary to modify the botocore configuration.

Parameters can be found in the AWS documentation https://botocore.amazonaws.com/v1/documentation/api/latest/reference/config.html#botocore.config.Config.

comparison

string

Determines how the threshold value is compared

Choices:

  • "GreaterThanOrEqualToThreshold"

  • "GreaterThanThreshold"

  • "LessThanThreshold"

  • "LessThanOrEqualToThreshold"

datapoints_to_alarm

integer

added in amazon.aws 8.2.0

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

debug_botocore_endpoint_logs

boolean

Use a botocore.endpoint logger to parse the unique (rather than total) "resource:action" API calls made during a task, outputing the set to the resource_actions key in the task results. Use the aws_resource_action callback to output to total list made during a playbook.

The ANSIBLE_DEBUG_BOTOCORE_LOGS environment variable may also be used.

Choices:

  • false ← (default)

  • true

description

string

A longer description of the alarm.

dimensions

dictionary

A dictionary describing which metric the alarm is applied to.

For more information see the AWS documentation:

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudWatch/latest/monitoring/cloudwatch_concepts.html#Dimension

endpoint_url

aliases: ec2_url, aws_endpoint_url, s3_url

string

URL to connect to instead of the default AWS endpoints. While this can be used to connection to other AWS-compatible services the amazon.aws and community.aws collections are only tested against AWS.

The AWS_URL or EC2_URL environment variables may also be used, in decreasing order of preference.

The ec2_url and s3_url aliases have been deprecated and will be removed in a release after 2024-12-01.

Support for the EC2_URL environment variable has been deprecated and will be removed in a release after 2024-12-01.

evaluate_low_sample_count_percentile

string

added in amazon.aws 8.2.0

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, alarm is evaluated and possibly changes state no matter how many data points are available.

Choices:

  • "ignore"

  • "evaluate"

evaluation_periods

integer

The number of times in which the metric is evaluated before final calculation.

extended_statistic

string

added in amazon.aws 5.5.0

The percentile statistic for the metric specified in the metric name.

insufficient_data_actions

list / elements=string

A list of the names of action(s) to take when the alarm is in the insufficient_data status.

Default: []

metric_name

aliases: metric

string

Name of the monitored metric (e.g. CPUUtilization).

Metric must already exist.

metrics

list / elements=dictionary

added in amazon.aws 5.5.0

An array of MetricDataQuery structures that enable you to create an alarm based on the result of a metric math expression.

Default: []

account_id

string

The ID of the account where the metrics are located, if this is a cross-account alarm.

expression

string

This field can contain either a Metrics Insights query, or a metric math expression to be performed on the returned data.

id

string / required

A short name used to tie this object to the results in the response.

label

string

A human-readable label for this metric or expression.

metric_stat

dictionary

The metric to be returned, along with statistics, period, and units.

metric

dictionary

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

dimensions

list / elements=dictionary

A name/value pair that is part of the identity of a metric.

name

string / required

The name of the dimension.

value

string / required

The value of the dimension.

metric_name

string / required

The name of the metric.

namespace

string

The namespace of the metric.

period

integer / required

The granularity, in seconds, of the returned data points.

stat

string / required

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

unit

string

Unit to use when storing the metric.

period

integer

The granularity, in seconds, of the returned data points.

return_data

boolean

This option indicates whether to return the timestamps and raw data values of this metric.

Choices:

  • false

  • true

name

string / required

Unique name for the alarm.

namespace

string

Name of the appropriate namespace (AWS/EC2, System/Linux, etc.), which determines the category it will appear under in CloudWatch.

ok_actions

list / elements=string

A list of the names of action(s) to take when the alarm is in the ok status, denoted as Amazon Resource Name(s).

Default: []

period

integer

The time (in seconds) between metric evaluations.

profile

aliases: aws_profile

string

A named AWS profile to use for authentication.

See the AWS documentation for more information about named profiles https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/cli-configure-profiles.html.

The AWS_PROFILE environment variable may also be used.

The profile option is mutually exclusive with the aws_access_key, aws_secret_key and security_token options.

region

aliases: aws_region, ec2_region

string

The AWS region to use.

For global services such as IAM, Route53 and CloudFront, region is ignored.

The AWS_REGION or EC2_REGION environment variables may also be used.

See the Amazon AWS documentation for more information http://docs.aws.amazon.com/general/latest/gr/rande.html#ec2_region.

The ec2_region alias has been deprecated and will be removed in a release after 2024-12-01

Support for the EC2_REGION environment variable has been deprecated and will be removed in a release after 2024-12-01.

secret_key

aliases: aws_secret_access_key, aws_secret_key, ec2_secret_key

string

AWS secret access key.

See the AWS documentation for more information about access tokens https://docs.aws.amazon.com/general/latest/gr/aws-sec-cred-types.html#access-keys-and-secret-access-keys.

The AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, AWS_SECRET_KEY, or EC2_SECRET_KEY environment variables may also be used in decreasing order of preference.

The secret_key and profile options are mutually exclusive.

The aws_secret_access_key alias was added in release 5.1.0 for consistency with the AWS botocore SDK.

The ec2_secret_key alias has been deprecated and will be removed in a release after 2024-12-01.

Support for the EC2_SECRET_KEY environment variable has been deprecated and will be removed in a release after 2024-12-01.

session_token

aliases: aws_session_token, security_token, aws_security_token, access_token

string

AWS STS session token for use with temporary credentials.

See the AWS documentation for more information about access tokens https://docs.aws.amazon.com/general/latest/gr/aws-sec-cred-types.html#access-keys-and-secret-access-keys.

The AWS_SESSION_TOKEN, AWS_SECURITY_TOKEN or EC2_SECURITY_TOKEN environment variables may also be used in decreasing order of preference.

The security_token and profile options are mutually exclusive.

Aliases aws_session_token and session_token were added in release 3.2.0, with the parameter being renamed from security_token to session_token in release 6.0.0.

The security_token, aws_security_token, and access_token aliases have been deprecated and will be removed in a release after 2024-12-01.

Support for the EC2_SECRET_KEY and AWS_SECURITY_TOKEN environment variables has been deprecated and will be removed in a release after 2024-12-01.

state

string

Register or deregister the alarm.

Choices:

  • "present" ← (default)

  • "absent"

statistic

string

Operation applied to the metric.

Works in conjunction with period and evaluation_periods to determine the comparison value.

Choices:

  • "SampleCount"

  • "Average"

  • "Sum"

  • "Minimum"

  • "Maximum"

threshold

float

Sets the min/max bound for triggering the alarm.

treat_missing_data

string

Sets how the alarm handles missing data points.

Choices:

  • "breaching"

  • "notBreaching"

  • "ignore"

  • "missing" ← (default)

unit

string

The threshold’s unit of measurement.

Choices:

  • "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"

validate_certs

boolean

When set to false, SSL certificates will not be validated for communication with the AWS APIs.

Setting validate_certs=false is strongly discouraged, as an alternative, consider setting aws_ca_bundle instead.

Choices:

  • false

  • true ← (default)

Notes

Note

  • Caution: For modules, environment variables and configuration files are read from the Ansible ‘host’ context and not the ‘controller’ context. As such, files may need to be explicitly copied to the ‘host’. For lookup and connection plugins, environment variables and configuration files are read from the Ansible ‘controller’ context and not the ‘host’ context.

  • The AWS SDK (boto3) that Ansible uses may also read defaults for credentials and other settings, such as the region, from its configuration files in the Ansible ‘host’ context (typically ~/.aws/credentials). See https://boto3.amazonaws.com/v1/documentation/api/latest/guide/credentials.html for more information.

Examples

- name: create alarm
  amazon.aws.cloudwatch_metric_alarm:
    state: present
    region: ap-southeast-2
    name: "cpu-low"
    metric_name: "CPUUtilization"
    namespace: "AWS/EC2"
    statistic: Average
    comparison: "LessThanOrEqualToThreshold"
    threshold: 5.0
    period: 300
    evaluate_low_sample_count_percentile: "ignore"
    evaluation_periods: 3
    unit: "Percent"
    description: "This will alarm when a instance's CPU usage average is lower than 5% for 15 minutes"
    dimensions: {'InstanceId': 'i-XXX'}
    alarm_actions: ["action1", "action2"]

- name: create alarm with metrics
  amazon.aws.cloudwatch_metric_alarm:
    state: present
    region: ap-southeast-2
    name: "cpu-low"
    metrics:
      - id: 'CPU'
        metric_stat:
          metric:
            dimensions:
              name: "InstanceId"
              value: "i-xx"
            metric_name: "CPUUtilization"
            namespace: "AWS/EC2"
          period: "300"
          stat: "Average"
          unit: "Percent"
        return_data: false
    alarm_actions: ["action1", "action2"]

- name: Create an alarm to recover a failed instance
  amazon.aws.cloudwatch_metric_alarm:
    state: present
    region: us-west-1
    name: "recover-instance"
    metric: "StatusCheckFailed_System"
    namespace: "AWS/EC2"
    statistic: "Minimum"
    comparison: "GreaterThanOrEqualToThreshold"
    threshold: 1.0
    period: 60
    evaluation_periods: 2
    unit: "Count"
    description: "This will recover an instance when it fails"
    dimensions: {"InstanceId":'i-XXX'}
    alarm_actions: ["arn:aws:automate:us-west-1:ec2:recover"]

Return Values

Common return values are documented here, the following are the fields unique to this module:

Key

Description

actions_enabled

boolean

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

Returned: always

alarm_actions

list / elements=string

The actions to execute when this alarm transitions to an ALARM state from any other state.

Returned: always

alarm_arn

string

The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) of the alarm.

Returned: always

comparison

string

The arithmetic operation to use when comparing the specified statistic and threshold.

Returned: always

description

string

The description of the alarm.

Returned: always

dimensions

list / elements=dictionary

The dimensions for the metric.

Returned: always

name

string

The name of the dimension.

Returned: always

value

string

The value of the dimension.

Returned: always

evaluate_low_sample_count_percentile

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.

Returned: always

evaluation_periods

integer

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

Returned: always

extended_statistic

string

The percentile statistic for the metric associated with the alarm.

Returned: always

insufficient_data_actions

list / elements=string

The actions to execute when this alarm transitions to an INSUFFICIENT_DATA state from any other state.

Returned: always

last_updated

string

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

Returned: always

metric

string

Name of the monitored metric (e.g. CPUUtilization).

Returned: always

metric_name

string

Name of the monitored metric (e.g. CPUUtilization).

Returned: always

metrics

list / elements=dictionary

An array of MetricDataQuery structures, used in an alarm based on a metric math expression.

Returned: always

name

string

Unique name for the alarm.

Returned: always

namespace

string

Name of the appropriate namespace (AWS/EC2, System/Linux, etc.).

Determines the category it will appear under in CloudWatch.

Returned: always

ok_actions

list / elements=string

The actions to execute when this alarm transitions to an OK state from any other state.

Returned: always

period

integer

The length, in seconds, used each time the metric specified in MetricName is evaluated.

Valid values are 10, 30, and any multiple of 60.

Returned: always

state_reason

string

An explanation for the alarm state, in text format.

Returned: always

state_value

string

The state value for the alarm.

Returned: always

statistic

string

The statistic for the metric associated with the alarm, other than percentile.

Returned: always

threshold

float

The value to compare with the specified statistic.

Returned: always

treat_missing_data

string

Sets how alarm is to handle missing data points.

Returned: always

unit

string

Unit used when storing the metric

Returned: always

Authors

  • Zacharie Eakin (@Zeekin)