Amazon CloudWatch

2018/11/20 - Amazon CloudWatch - 3 updated api methods

Changes  Amazon CloudWatch now supports alarms on metric math expressions.

DescribeAlarms (updated) Link ¶
Changes (response)
{'MetricAlarms': {'Metrics': [{'Expression': 'string',
                               'Id': 'string',
                               'Label': 'string',
                               'MetricStat': {'Metric': {'Dimensions': [{'Name': 'string',
                                                                         'Value': 'string'}],
                                                         'MetricName': 'string',
                                                         'Namespace': 'string'},
                                              'Period': 'integer',
                                              'Stat': 'string',
                                              'Unit': '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'},
                               'ReturnData': 'boolean'}]}}

Retrieves the specified alarms. If no alarms are specified, all alarms are returned. Alarms can be retrieved by using only a prefix for the alarm name, the alarm state, or a prefix for any action.

See also: AWS API Documentation

Request Syntax

client.describe_alarms(
    AlarmNames=[
        'string',
    ],
    AlarmNamePrefix='string',
    StateValue='OK'|'ALARM'|'INSUFFICIENT_DATA',
    ActionPrefix='string',
    MaxRecords=123,
    NextToken='string'
)
type AlarmNames

list

param AlarmNames

The names of the alarms.

  • (string) --

type AlarmNamePrefix

string

param AlarmNamePrefix

The alarm name prefix. If this parameter is specified, you cannot specify AlarmNames .

type StateValue

string

param StateValue

The state value to be used in matching alarms.

type ActionPrefix

string

param ActionPrefix

The action name prefix.

type MaxRecords

integer

param MaxRecords

The maximum number of alarm descriptions to retrieve.

type NextToken

string

param NextToken

The token returned by a previous call to indicate that there is more data available.

rtype

dict

returns

Response Syntax

{
    'MetricAlarms': [
        {
            'AlarmName': 'string',
            'AlarmArn': 'string',
            'AlarmDescription': 'string',
            'AlarmConfigurationUpdatedTimestamp': datetime(2015, 1, 1),
            'ActionsEnabled': True|False,
            'OKActions': [
                'string',
            ],
            'AlarmActions': [
                'string',
            ],
            'InsufficientDataActions': [
                'string',
            ],
            'StateValue': 'OK'|'ALARM'|'INSUFFICIENT_DATA',
            'StateReason': 'string',
            'StateReasonData': 'string',
            'StateUpdatedTimestamp': datetime(2015, 1, 1),
            'MetricName': 'string',
            'Namespace': 'string',
            'Statistic': 'SampleCount'|'Average'|'Sum'|'Minimum'|'Maximum',
            'ExtendedStatistic': 'string',
            'Dimensions': [
                {
                    'Name': 'string',
                    'Value': 'string'
                },
            ],
            'Period': 123,
            'Unit': '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',
            'EvaluationPeriods': 123,
            'DatapointsToAlarm': 123,
            'Threshold': 123.0,
            'ComparisonOperator': 'GreaterThanOrEqualToThreshold'|'GreaterThanThreshold'|'LessThanThreshold'|'LessThanOrEqualToThreshold',
            'TreatMissingData': 'string',
            'EvaluateLowSampleCountPercentile': 'string',
            'Metrics': [
                {
                    'Id': 'string',
                    'MetricStat': {
                        'Metric': {
                            'Namespace': 'string',
                            'MetricName': 'string',
                            'Dimensions': [
                                {
                                    'Name': 'string',
                                    'Value': 'string'
                                },
                            ]
                        },
                        'Period': 123,
                        'Stat': 'string',
                        'Unit': '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'
                    },
                    'Expression': 'string',
                    'Label': 'string',
                    'ReturnData': True|False
                },
            ]
        },
    ],
    'NextToken': 'string'
}

Response Structure

  • (dict) --

    • MetricAlarms (list) --

      The information for the specified alarms.

      • (dict) --

        Represents an alarm.

        • AlarmName (string) --

          The name of the alarm.

        • AlarmArn (string) --

          The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) of the alarm.

        • AlarmDescription (string) --

          The description of the alarm.

        • AlarmConfigurationUpdatedTimestamp (datetime) --

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

        • ActionsEnabled (boolean) --

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

        • OKActions (list) --

          The actions to execute when this alarm transitions to the OK state from any other state. Each action is specified as an Amazon Resource Name (ARN).

          • (string) --

        • AlarmActions (list) --

          The actions to execute when this alarm transitions to the ALARM state from any other state. Each action is specified as an Amazon Resource Name (ARN).

          • (string) --

        • InsufficientDataActions (list) --

          The actions to execute when this alarm transitions to the INSUFFICIENT_DATA state from any other state. Each action is specified as an Amazon Resource Name (ARN).

          • (string) --

        • StateValue (string) --

          The state value for the alarm.

        • StateReason (string) --

          An explanation for the alarm state, in text format.

        • StateReasonData (string) --

          An explanation for the alarm state, in JSON format.

        • StateUpdatedTimestamp (datetime) --

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

        • MetricName (string) --

          The name of the metric associated with the alarm.

        • Namespace (string) --

          The namespace of the metric associated with the alarm.

        • Statistic (string) --

          The statistic for the metric associated with the alarm, other than percentile. For percentile statistics, use ExtendedStatistic .

        • ExtendedStatistic (string) --

          The percentile statistic for the metric associated with the alarm. Specify a value between p0.0 and p100.

        • Dimensions (list) --

          The dimensions for the metric associated with the alarm.

          • (dict) --

            Expands the identity of a metric.

            • Name (string) --

              The name of the dimension.

            • Value (string) --

              The value representing the dimension measurement.

        • Period (integer) --

          The period, in seconds, over which the statistic is applied.

        • Unit (string) --

          The unit of the metric associated with the alarm.

        • EvaluationPeriods (integer) --

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

        • DatapointsToAlarm (integer) --

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

        • Threshold (float) --

          The value to compare with the specified statistic.

        • ComparisonOperator (string) --

          The arithmetic operation to use when comparing the specified statistic and threshold. The specified statistic value is used as the first operand.

        • TreatMissingData (string) --

          Sets how this alarm is to handle missing data points. If this parameter is omitted, the default behavior of missing is used.

        • EvaluateLowSampleCountPercentile (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 no matter how many data points are available.

        • Metrics (list) --

          • (dict) --

            This structure is used in both GetMetricData and PutMetricAlarm . The supported use of this structure is different for those two operations.

            When used in GetMetricData , it indicates the metric data to return, and whether this call is just retrieving a batch set of data for one metric, or is performing a math expression on metric data. A single GetMetricData call can include up to 100 MetricDataQuery structures.

            When used in PutMetricAlarm , it enables you to create an alarm based on a metric math expression. Each MetricDataQuery in the array specifies either a metric to retrieve, or a math expression to be performed on retrieved metrics. A single PutMetricAlarm call can include up to 20 MetricDataQuery structures in the array. The 20 structures can include as many as 10 structures that contain a MetricStat parameter to retrieve a metric, and as many as 10 structures that contain the Expression parameter to perform a math expression. Any expression used in a PutMetricAlarm operation must return a single time series. For more information, see Metric Math Syntax and Functions in the Amazon CloudWatch User Guide .

            Some of the parameters of this structure also have different uses whether you are using this structure in a GetMetricData operation or a PutMetricAlarm operation. These differences are explained in the following parameter list.

            • Id (string) --

              A short name used to tie this object to the results in the response. This name must be unique within a single call to GetMetricData . If you are performing math expressions on this set of data, this name represents that data and can serve as a variable in the mathematical expression. The valid characters are letters, numbers, and underscore. The first character must be a lowercase letter.

            • MetricStat (dict) --

              The metric to be returned, along with statistics, period, and units. Use this parameter only if this object is retrieving a metric and not performing a math expression on returned data.

              Within one MetricDataQuery object, you must specify either Expression or MetricStat but not both.

              • Metric (dict) --

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

                • Namespace (string) --

                  The namespace of the metric.

                • MetricName (string) --

                  The name of the metric. This is a required field.

                • Dimensions (list) --

                  The dimensions for the metric.

                  • (dict) --

                    Expands the identity of a metric.

                    • Name (string) --

                      The name of the dimension.

                    • Value (string) --

                      The value representing the dimension measurement.

              • Period (integer) --

                The period, in seconds, to use when retrieving the metric.

              • Stat (string) --

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

              • Unit (string) --

                The unit to use for the returned data points.

            • Expression (string) --

              The math expression to be performed on the returned data, if this object is performing a math expression. This expression can use the Id of the other metrics to refer to those metrics, and can also use the Id of other expressions to use the result of those expressions. For more information about metric math expressions, see Metric Math Syntax and Functions in the Amazon CloudWatch User Guide .

              Within each MetricDataQuery object, you must specify either Expression or MetricStat but not both.

            • Label (string) --

              A human-readable label for this metric or expression. This is especially useful if this is an expression, so that you know what the value represents. If the metric or expression is shown in a CloudWatch dashboard widget, the label is shown. If Label is omitted, CloudWatch generates a default.

            • ReturnData (boolean) --

              When used in GetMetricData , this option indicates whether to return the timestamps and raw data values of this metric. If you are performing this call just to do math expressions and do not also need the raw data returned, you can specify False . If you omit this, the default of True is used.

              When used in PutMetricAlarm , specify True for the one expression result to use as the alarm. For all other metrics and expressions in the same PutMetricAlarm operation, specify ReturnData as False.

    • NextToken (string) --

      The token that marks the start of the next batch of returned results.

DescribeAlarmsForMetric (updated) Link ¶
Changes (response)
{'MetricAlarms': {'Metrics': [{'Expression': 'string',
                               'Id': 'string',
                               'Label': 'string',
                               'MetricStat': {'Metric': {'Dimensions': [{'Name': 'string',
                                                                         'Value': 'string'}],
                                                         'MetricName': 'string',
                                                         'Namespace': 'string'},
                                              'Period': 'integer',
                                              'Stat': 'string',
                                              'Unit': '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'},
                               'ReturnData': 'boolean'}]}}

Retrieves the alarms for the specified metric. To filter the results, specify a statistic, period, or unit.

See also: AWS API Documentation

Request Syntax

client.describe_alarms_for_metric(
    MetricName='string',
    Namespace='string',
    Statistic='SampleCount'|'Average'|'Sum'|'Minimum'|'Maximum',
    ExtendedStatistic='string',
    Dimensions=[
        {
            'Name': 'string',
            'Value': 'string'
        },
    ],
    Period=123,
    Unit='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'
)
type MetricName

string

param MetricName

[REQUIRED]

The name of the metric.

type Namespace

string

param Namespace

[REQUIRED]

The namespace of the metric.

type Statistic

string

param Statistic

The statistic for the metric, other than percentiles. For percentile statistics, use ExtendedStatistics .

type ExtendedStatistic

string

param ExtendedStatistic

The percentile statistic for the metric. Specify a value between p0.0 and p100.

type Dimensions

list

param Dimensions

The dimensions associated with the metric. If the metric has any associated dimensions, you must specify them in order for the call to succeed.

  • (dict) --

    Expands the identity of a metric.

    • Name (string) -- [REQUIRED]

      The name of the dimension.

    • Value (string) -- [REQUIRED]

      The value representing the dimension measurement.

type Period

integer

param Period

The period, in seconds, over which the statistic is applied.

type Unit

string

param Unit

The unit for the metric.

rtype

dict

returns

Response Syntax

{
    'MetricAlarms': [
        {
            'AlarmName': 'string',
            'AlarmArn': 'string',
            'AlarmDescription': 'string',
            'AlarmConfigurationUpdatedTimestamp': datetime(2015, 1, 1),
            'ActionsEnabled': True|False,
            'OKActions': [
                'string',
            ],
            'AlarmActions': [
                'string',
            ],
            'InsufficientDataActions': [
                'string',
            ],
            'StateValue': 'OK'|'ALARM'|'INSUFFICIENT_DATA',
            'StateReason': 'string',
            'StateReasonData': 'string',
            'StateUpdatedTimestamp': datetime(2015, 1, 1),
            'MetricName': 'string',
            'Namespace': 'string',
            'Statistic': 'SampleCount'|'Average'|'Sum'|'Minimum'|'Maximum',
            'ExtendedStatistic': 'string',
            'Dimensions': [
                {
                    'Name': 'string',
                    'Value': 'string'
                },
            ],
            'Period': 123,
            'Unit': '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',
            'EvaluationPeriods': 123,
            'DatapointsToAlarm': 123,
            'Threshold': 123.0,
            'ComparisonOperator': 'GreaterThanOrEqualToThreshold'|'GreaterThanThreshold'|'LessThanThreshold'|'LessThanOrEqualToThreshold',
            'TreatMissingData': 'string',
            'EvaluateLowSampleCountPercentile': 'string',
            'Metrics': [
                {
                    'Id': 'string',
                    'MetricStat': {
                        'Metric': {
                            'Namespace': 'string',
                            'MetricName': 'string',
                            'Dimensions': [
                                {
                                    'Name': 'string',
                                    'Value': 'string'
                                },
                            ]
                        },
                        'Period': 123,
                        'Stat': 'string',
                        'Unit': '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'
                    },
                    'Expression': 'string',
                    'Label': 'string',
                    'ReturnData': True|False
                },
            ]
        },
    ]
}

Response Structure

  • (dict) --

    • MetricAlarms (list) --

      The information for each alarm with the specified metric.

      • (dict) --

        Represents an alarm.

        • AlarmName (string) --

          The name of the alarm.

        • AlarmArn (string) --

          The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) of the alarm.

        • AlarmDescription (string) --

          The description of the alarm.

        • AlarmConfigurationUpdatedTimestamp (datetime) --

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

        • ActionsEnabled (boolean) --

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

        • OKActions (list) --

          The actions to execute when this alarm transitions to the OK state from any other state. Each action is specified as an Amazon Resource Name (ARN).

          • (string) --

        • AlarmActions (list) --

          The actions to execute when this alarm transitions to the ALARM state from any other state. Each action is specified as an Amazon Resource Name (ARN).

          • (string) --

        • InsufficientDataActions (list) --

          The actions to execute when this alarm transitions to the INSUFFICIENT_DATA state from any other state. Each action is specified as an Amazon Resource Name (ARN).

          • (string) --

        • StateValue (string) --

          The state value for the alarm.

        • StateReason (string) --

          An explanation for the alarm state, in text format.

        • StateReasonData (string) --

          An explanation for the alarm state, in JSON format.

        • StateUpdatedTimestamp (datetime) --

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

        • MetricName (string) --

          The name of the metric associated with the alarm.

        • Namespace (string) --

          The namespace of the metric associated with the alarm.

        • Statistic (string) --

          The statistic for the metric associated with the alarm, other than percentile. For percentile statistics, use ExtendedStatistic .

        • ExtendedStatistic (string) --

          The percentile statistic for the metric associated with the alarm. Specify a value between p0.0 and p100.

        • Dimensions (list) --

          The dimensions for the metric associated with the alarm.

          • (dict) --

            Expands the identity of a metric.

            • Name (string) --

              The name of the dimension.

            • Value (string) --

              The value representing the dimension measurement.

        • Period (integer) --

          The period, in seconds, over which the statistic is applied.

        • Unit (string) --

          The unit of the metric associated with the alarm.

        • EvaluationPeriods (integer) --

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

        • DatapointsToAlarm (integer) --

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

        • Threshold (float) --

          The value to compare with the specified statistic.

        • ComparisonOperator (string) --

          The arithmetic operation to use when comparing the specified statistic and threshold. The specified statistic value is used as the first operand.

        • TreatMissingData (string) --

          Sets how this alarm is to handle missing data points. If this parameter is omitted, the default behavior of missing is used.

        • EvaluateLowSampleCountPercentile (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 no matter how many data points are available.

        • Metrics (list) --

          • (dict) --

            This structure is used in both GetMetricData and PutMetricAlarm . The supported use of this structure is different for those two operations.

            When used in GetMetricData , it indicates the metric data to return, and whether this call is just retrieving a batch set of data for one metric, or is performing a math expression on metric data. A single GetMetricData call can include up to 100 MetricDataQuery structures.

            When used in PutMetricAlarm , it enables you to create an alarm based on a metric math expression. Each MetricDataQuery in the array specifies either a metric to retrieve, or a math expression to be performed on retrieved metrics. A single PutMetricAlarm call can include up to 20 MetricDataQuery structures in the array. The 20 structures can include as many as 10 structures that contain a MetricStat parameter to retrieve a metric, and as many as 10 structures that contain the Expression parameter to perform a math expression. Any expression used in a PutMetricAlarm operation must return a single time series. For more information, see Metric Math Syntax and Functions in the Amazon CloudWatch User Guide .

            Some of the parameters of this structure also have different uses whether you are using this structure in a GetMetricData operation or a PutMetricAlarm operation. These differences are explained in the following parameter list.

            • Id (string) --

              A short name used to tie this object to the results in the response. This name must be unique within a single call to GetMetricData . If you are performing math expressions on this set of data, this name represents that data and can serve as a variable in the mathematical expression. The valid characters are letters, numbers, and underscore. The first character must be a lowercase letter.

            • MetricStat (dict) --

              The metric to be returned, along with statistics, period, and units. Use this parameter only if this object is retrieving a metric and not performing a math expression on returned data.

              Within one MetricDataQuery object, you must specify either Expression or MetricStat but not both.

              • Metric (dict) --

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

                • Namespace (string) --

                  The namespace of the metric.

                • MetricName (string) --

                  The name of the metric. This is a required field.

                • Dimensions (list) --

                  The dimensions for the metric.

                  • (dict) --

                    Expands the identity of a metric.

                    • Name (string) --

                      The name of the dimension.

                    • Value (string) --

                      The value representing the dimension measurement.

              • Period (integer) --

                The period, in seconds, to use when retrieving the metric.

              • Stat (string) --

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

              • Unit (string) --

                The unit to use for the returned data points.

            • Expression (string) --

              The math expression to be performed on the returned data, if this object is performing a math expression. This expression can use the Id of the other metrics to refer to those metrics, and can also use the Id of other expressions to use the result of those expressions. For more information about metric math expressions, see Metric Math Syntax and Functions in the Amazon CloudWatch User Guide .

              Within each MetricDataQuery object, you must specify either Expression or MetricStat but not both.

            • Label (string) --

              A human-readable label for this metric or expression. This is especially useful if this is an expression, so that you know what the value represents. If the metric or expression is shown in a CloudWatch dashboard widget, the label is shown. If Label is omitted, CloudWatch generates a default.

            • ReturnData (boolean) --

              When used in GetMetricData , this option indicates whether to return the timestamps and raw data values of this metric. If you are performing this call just to do math expressions and do not also need the raw data returned, you can specify False . If you omit this, the default of True is used.

              When used in PutMetricAlarm , specify True for the one expression result to use as the alarm. For all other metrics and expressions in the same PutMetricAlarm operation, specify ReturnData as False.

PutMetricAlarm (updated) Link ¶
Changes (request)
{'Metrics': [{'Expression': 'string',
              'Id': 'string',
              'Label': 'string',
              'MetricStat': {'Metric': {'Dimensions': [{'Name': 'string',
                                                        'Value': 'string'}],
                                        'MetricName': 'string',
                                        'Namespace': 'string'},
                             'Period': 'integer',
                             'Stat': 'string',
                             'Unit': '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'},
              'ReturnData': 'boolean'}]}

Creates or updates an alarm and associates it with the specified metric or metric math expression.

When this operation creates an alarm, the alarm state is immediately set to INSUFFICIENT_DATA . The alarm is then evaluated and its state is set appropriately. Any actions associated with the new state are then executed.

When you update an existing alarm, its state is left unchanged, but the update completely overwrites the previous configuration of the alarm.

If you are an IAM user, you must have Amazon EC2 permissions for some alarm operations:

  • iam:CreateServiceLinkedRole for all alarms with EC2 actions

  • ec2:DescribeInstanceStatus and ec2:DescribeInstances for all alarms on EC2 instance status metrics

  • ec2:StopInstances for alarms with stop actions

  • ec2:TerminateInstances for alarms with terminate actions

  • ec2:DescribeInstanceRecoveryAttribute and ec2:RecoverInstances for alarms with recover actions

If you have read/write permissions for Amazon CloudWatch but not for Amazon EC2, you can still create an alarm, but the stop or terminate actions are not performed. However, if you are later granted the required permissions, the alarm actions that you created earlier are performed.

If you are using an IAM role (for example, an EC2 instance profile), you cannot stop or terminate the instance using alarm actions. However, you can still see the alarm state and perform any other actions such as Amazon SNS notifications or Auto Scaling policies.

If you are using temporary security credentials granted using AWS STS, you cannot stop or terminate an EC2 instance using alarm actions.

The first time you create an alarm in the AWS Management Console, the CLI, or by using the PutMetricAlarm API, CloudWatch creates the necessary service-linked role for you. The service-linked role is called AWSServiceRoleForCloudWatchEvents . For more information, see AWS service-linked role .

See also: AWS API Documentation

Request Syntax

client.put_metric_alarm(
    AlarmName='string',
    AlarmDescription='string',
    ActionsEnabled=True|False,
    OKActions=[
        'string',
    ],
    AlarmActions=[
        'string',
    ],
    InsufficientDataActions=[
        'string',
    ],
    MetricName='string',
    Namespace='string',
    Statistic='SampleCount'|'Average'|'Sum'|'Minimum'|'Maximum',
    ExtendedStatistic='string',
    Dimensions=[
        {
            'Name': 'string',
            'Value': 'string'
        },
    ],
    Period=123,
    Unit='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',
    EvaluationPeriods=123,
    DatapointsToAlarm=123,
    Threshold=123.0,
    ComparisonOperator='GreaterThanOrEqualToThreshold'|'GreaterThanThreshold'|'LessThanThreshold'|'LessThanOrEqualToThreshold',
    TreatMissingData='string',
    EvaluateLowSampleCountPercentile='string',
    Metrics=[
        {
            'Id': 'string',
            'MetricStat': {
                'Metric': {
                    'Namespace': 'string',
                    'MetricName': 'string',
                    'Dimensions': [
                        {
                            'Name': 'string',
                            'Value': 'string'
                        },
                    ]
                },
                'Period': 123,
                'Stat': 'string',
                'Unit': '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'
            },
            'Expression': 'string',
            'Label': 'string',
            'ReturnData': True|False
        },
    ]
)
type AlarmName

string

param AlarmName

[REQUIRED]

The name for the alarm. This name must be unique within your AWS account.

type AlarmDescription

string

param AlarmDescription

The description for the alarm.

type ActionsEnabled

boolean

param ActionsEnabled

Indicates whether actions should be executed during any changes to the alarm state. The default is TRUE.

type OKActions

list

param OKActions

The actions to execute when this alarm transitions to an OK state from any other state. Each action is specified as an Amazon Resource Name (ARN).

Valid Values: arn:aws:automate:*region* :ec2:stop | arn:aws:automate:*region* :ec2:terminate | arn:aws:automate:*region* :ec2:recover | arn:aws:automate:*region* :ec2:reboot | ``arn:aws:sns:region :account-id :sns-topic-name `` | ``arn:aws:autoscaling:region :account-id :scalingPolicy:policy-id autoScalingGroupName/group-friendly-name :policyName/policy-friendly-name ``

Valid Values (for use with IAM roles): arn:aws:swf:*region* :*account-id* :action/actions/AWS_EC2.InstanceId.Stop/1.0 | arn:aws:swf:*region* :*account-id* :action/actions/AWS_EC2.InstanceId.Terminate/1.0 | arn:aws:swf:*region* :*account-id* :action/actions/AWS_EC2.InstanceId.Reboot/1.0

  • (string) --

type AlarmActions

list

param AlarmActions

The actions to execute when this alarm transitions to the ALARM state from any other state. Each action is specified as an Amazon Resource Name (ARN).

Valid Values: arn:aws:automate:*region* :ec2:stop | arn:aws:automate:*region* :ec2:terminate | arn:aws:automate:*region* :ec2:recover | ``arn:aws:sns:region :account-id :sns-topic-name `` | ``arn:aws:autoscaling:region :account-id :scalingPolicy:policy-id autoScalingGroupName/group-friendly-name :policyName/policy-friendly-name ``

Valid Values (for use with IAM roles): arn:aws:swf:*region* :*account-id* :action/actions/AWS_EC2.InstanceId.Stop/1.0 | arn:aws:swf:*region* :*account-id* :action/actions/AWS_EC2.InstanceId.Terminate/1.0 | arn:aws:swf:*region* :*account-id* :action/actions/AWS_EC2.InstanceId.Reboot/1.0

  • (string) --

type InsufficientDataActions

list

param InsufficientDataActions

The actions to execute when this alarm transitions to the INSUFFICIENT_DATA state from any other state. Each action is specified as an Amazon Resource Name (ARN).

Valid Values: arn:aws:automate:*region* :ec2:stop | arn:aws:automate:*region* :ec2:terminate | arn:aws:automate:*region* :ec2:recover | ``arn:aws:sns:region :account-id :sns-topic-name `` | ``arn:aws:autoscaling:region :account-id :scalingPolicy:policy-id autoScalingGroupName/group-friendly-name :policyName/policy-friendly-name ``

Valid Values (for use with IAM roles): >arn:aws:swf:*region* :*account-id* :action/actions/AWS_EC2.InstanceId.Stop/1.0 | arn:aws:swf:*region* :*account-id* :action/actions/AWS_EC2.InstanceId.Terminate/1.0 | arn:aws:swf:*region* :*account-id* :action/actions/AWS_EC2.InstanceId.Reboot/1.0

  • (string) --

type MetricName

string

param MetricName

The name for the metric associated with the alarm.

If you are creating an alarm based on a math expression, you cannot specify this parameter, or any of the Dimensions , Period , Namespace , Statistic , or ExtendedStatistic parameters. Instead, you specify all this information in the Metrics array.

type Namespace

string

param Namespace

The namespace for the metric associated specified in MetricName .

type Statistic

string

param Statistic

The statistic for the metric specified in MetricName , other than percentile. For percentile statistics, use ExtendedStatistic . When you call PutMetricAlarm and specify a MetricName , you must specify either Statistic or ExtendedStatistic, but not both.

type ExtendedStatistic

string

param ExtendedStatistic

The percentile statistic for the metric specified in MetricName . Specify a value between p0.0 and p100. When you call PutMetricAlarm and specify a MetricName , you must specify either Statistic or ExtendedStatistic, but not both.

type Dimensions

list

param Dimensions

The dimensions for the metric specified in MetricName .

  • (dict) --

    Expands the identity of a metric.

    • Name (string) -- [REQUIRED]

      The name of the dimension.

    • Value (string) -- [REQUIRED]

      The value representing the dimension measurement.

type Period

integer

param Period

The length, in seconds, used each time the metric specified in MetricName is evaluated. Valid values are 10, 30, and any multiple of 60.

Be sure to specify 10 or 30 only for metrics that are stored by a PutMetricData call with a StorageResolution of 1. If you specify a period of 10 or 30 for a metric that does not have sub-minute resolution, the alarm still attempts to gather data at the period rate that you specify. In this case, it does not receive data for the attempts that do not correspond to a one-minute data resolution, and the alarm may often lapse into INSUFFICENT_DATA status. Specifying 10 or 30 also sets this alarm as a high-resolution alarm, which has a higher charge than other alarms. For more information about pricing, see Amazon CloudWatch Pricing .

An alarm's total current evaluation period can be no longer than one day, so Period multiplied by EvaluationPeriods cannot be more than 86,400 seconds.

type Unit

string

param Unit

The unit of measure for the statistic. For example, the units for the Amazon EC2 NetworkIn metric are Bytes because NetworkIn tracks the number of bytes that an instance receives on all network interfaces. You can also specify a unit when you create a custom metric. Units help provide conceptual meaning to your data. Metric data points that specify a unit of measure, such as Percent, are aggregated separately.

If you specify a unit, you must use a unit that is appropriate for the metric. Otherwise, the CloudWatch alarm can get stuck in the INSUFFICIENT DATA state.

type EvaluationPeriods

integer

param EvaluationPeriods

[REQUIRED]

The number of periods over which data is compared to the specified threshold. If you are setting an alarm that requires that a number of consecutive data points be breaching to trigger the alarm, this value specifies that number. If you are setting an "M out of N" alarm, this value is the N.

An alarm's total current evaluation period can be no longer than one day, so this number multiplied by Period cannot be more than 86,400 seconds.

type DatapointsToAlarm

integer

param DatapointsToAlarm

The number of datapoints that must be breaching to trigger the alarm. This is used only if you are setting an "M out of N" alarm. In that case, this value is the M. For more information, see Evaluating an Alarm in the Amazon CloudWatch User Guide .

type Threshold

float

param Threshold

[REQUIRED]

The value against which the specified statistic is compared.

type ComparisonOperator

string

param ComparisonOperator

[REQUIRED]

The arithmetic operation to use when comparing the specified statistic and threshold. The specified statistic value is used as the first operand.

type TreatMissingData

string

param TreatMissingData

Sets how this alarm is to handle missing data points. If TreatMissingData is omitted, the default behavior of missing is used. For more information, see Configuring How CloudWatch Alarms Treats Missing Data .

Valid Values: breaching | notBreaching | ignore | missing

type EvaluateLowSampleCountPercentile

string

param EvaluateLowSampleCountPercentile

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, the alarm is always evaluated and possibly changes state no matter how many data points are available. For more information, see Percentile-Based CloudWatch Alarms and Low Data Samples .

Valid Values: evaluate | ignore

type Metrics

list

param Metrics

An array of MetricDataQuery structures that enable you to create an alarm based on the result of a metric math expression. Each item in the Metrics array either retrieves a metric or performs a math expression.

If you use the Metrics parameter, you cannot include the MetricName , Dimensions , Period , Namespace , Statistic , or ExtendedStatistic parameters of PutMetricAlarm in the same operation. Instead, you retrieve the metrics you are using in your math expression as part of the Metrics array.

  • (dict) --

    This structure is used in both GetMetricData and PutMetricAlarm . The supported use of this structure is different for those two operations.

    When used in GetMetricData , it indicates the metric data to return, and whether this call is just retrieving a batch set of data for one metric, or is performing a math expression on metric data. A single GetMetricData call can include up to 100 MetricDataQuery structures.

    When used in PutMetricAlarm , it enables you to create an alarm based on a metric math expression. Each MetricDataQuery in the array specifies either a metric to retrieve, or a math expression to be performed on retrieved metrics. A single PutMetricAlarm call can include up to 20 MetricDataQuery structures in the array. The 20 structures can include as many as 10 structures that contain a MetricStat parameter to retrieve a metric, and as many as 10 structures that contain the Expression parameter to perform a math expression. Any expression used in a PutMetricAlarm operation must return a single time series. For more information, see Metric Math Syntax and Functions in the Amazon CloudWatch User Guide .

    Some of the parameters of this structure also have different uses whether you are using this structure in a GetMetricData operation or a PutMetricAlarm operation. These differences are explained in the following parameter list.

    • Id (string) -- [REQUIRED]

      A short name used to tie this object to the results in the response. This name must be unique within a single call to GetMetricData . If you are performing math expressions on this set of data, this name represents that data and can serve as a variable in the mathematical expression. The valid characters are letters, numbers, and underscore. The first character must be a lowercase letter.

    • MetricStat (dict) --

      The metric to be returned, along with statistics, period, and units. Use this parameter only if this object is retrieving a metric and not performing a math expression on returned data.

      Within one MetricDataQuery object, you must specify either Expression or MetricStat but not both.

      • Metric (dict) -- [REQUIRED]

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

        • Namespace (string) --

          The namespace of the metric.

        • MetricName (string) --

          The name of the metric. This is a required field.

        • Dimensions (list) --

          The dimensions for the metric.

          • (dict) --

            Expands the identity of a metric.

            • Name (string) -- [REQUIRED]

              The name of the dimension.

            • Value (string) -- [REQUIRED]

              The value representing the dimension measurement.

      • Period (integer) -- [REQUIRED]

        The period, in seconds, to use when retrieving the metric.

      • Stat (string) -- [REQUIRED]

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

      • Unit (string) --

        The unit to use for the returned data points.

    • Expression (string) --

      The math expression to be performed on the returned data, if this object is performing a math expression. This expression can use the Id of the other metrics to refer to those metrics, and can also use the Id of other expressions to use the result of those expressions. For more information about metric math expressions, see Metric Math Syntax and Functions in the Amazon CloudWatch User Guide .

      Within each MetricDataQuery object, you must specify either Expression or MetricStat but not both.

    • Label (string) --

      A human-readable label for this metric or expression. This is especially useful if this is an expression, so that you know what the value represents. If the metric or expression is shown in a CloudWatch dashboard widget, the label is shown. If Label is omitted, CloudWatch generates a default.

    • ReturnData (boolean) --

      When used in GetMetricData , this option indicates whether to return the timestamps and raw data values of this metric. If you are performing this call just to do math expressions and do not also need the raw data returned, you can specify False . If you omit this, the default of True is used.

      When used in PutMetricAlarm , specify True for the one expression result to use as the alarm. For all other metrics and expressions in the same PutMetricAlarm operation, specify ReturnData as False.

returns

None