Log monitoring with AWS log forwarder

deprecated

Deprecation and end of support for AWS log forwarder

The Dynatrace AWS log forwarder is now deprecated in favor of the new Stream logs via Amazon Data Firehose, which allows ingesting cloud logs directly without any additional infrastructure and with increased throughput. To check the available alternative integrations, see Set up Dynatrace on Amazon Web Services.

End of support for the Dynatrace AWS log forwarder is planned for Dec 31, 2024.

DDU consumption for Log Monitoring

DDU pricing applies to cloud Log Monitoring. See DDUs for Log Monitoring for details.

AWS log forwarding allows you to stream logs from Amazon CloudWatch into Dynatrace logs via an ActiveGate.

Resources needed

To enable AWS log forwarding, you need to deploy our special-purpose CloudFormation stack into your AWS account. The stack consists of a Kinesis Firehose instance and a Lambda function. These resources incur AWS costs according to standard AWS billing policy. The same applies to included self-monitoring resources (CloudWatch dashboards and metrics).

Supported services

Service name

CloudWatch log forwarding

Log enrichment

Entity linking

AWS Lambda

AWS App Runner

AWS CloudTrail ¹

Amazon API Gateway

Amazon SNS

Amazon RDS

All services that write to CloudWatch

AWS CloudTrail log group name is chosen by user. For log enrichment, start the log group name with aws-cloudtrail-logs.

Limitations

AWS log forwarder supports maximum 1 GB of data processing per hour in the default configuration.

To measure the throughput, look for these Kinesis metrics in CloudWatch or check the dashboards provided by the deployed stack: Delivery - log entries and Delivery - data volume.
To measure the latency, look for Kinesis - record age.

For scaling recommendations, see the scaling guide below.

Prerequisites

If you're using an earlier version of Dynatrace, see Alternative deployments for instructions.

Dynatrace

If you are using Log Monitoring v1, enable the latest version of Dynatrace log monitoring
Enable generic log ingestion
Create an API token with Ingest logs (API v2) permission

CLI

You can run the deployment from AWS CloudShell or from any machine with AWS CLI installed that supports Bash script execution.

The deployment script uses the default AWS CLI profile configuration. The profile will determine the AWS account and region. To change the account or region:

Use a different profile - in this case, you need to update your configuration file.
Overwrite the default profile temporarily (this option is limited to your shell session) using environment variables.

Permission policy

You need the following permissions to run the deployment script:

{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": [
        "cloudformation:CreateChangeSet",
        "cloudformation:ExecuteChangeSet",
        "cloudformation:DescribeChangeSet",
        "cloudformation:DescribeStackEvents",
        "cloudformation:DescribeStacks",
        "cloudformation:GetTemplateSummary",
        "ec2:DescribeImages",
        "s3:CreateBucket",
        "s3:PutLifecycleConfiguration",
        "s3:PutBucketPublicAccessBlock",
        "iam:GetRole",
        "iam:CreateRole",
        "iam:AttachRolePolicy",
        "iam:PutRolePolicy",
        "iam:GetRolePolicy",
        "iam:PassRole",
        "lambda:CreateFunction",
        "lambda:UpdateFunctionCode",
        "lambda:GetFunction",
        "lambda:GetFunctionCodeSigningConfig",
        "cloudwatch:PutDashboard",
        "cloudwatch:GetDashboard",
        "firehose:DescribeDeliveryStream",
        "firehose:CreateDeliveryStream",
        "firehose:ListTagsForDeliveryStream",
        "logs:DeleteSubscriptionFilter",
        "logs:DescribeLogGroups",
        "logs:PutSubscriptionFilter",
        "ssm:GetParameters"
      ],
      "Resource": "*"
    }
  ]
}

Deploy

Set the following environment variables, making sure to replace the placeholders (<...>) with your own values.
- For TARGET_URL, enter your environment URL: https://<your_environment_ID>.live.dynatrace.com. To learn how to determine your environment ID for the SaaS or Managed deployment, see environment ID.
- For TARGET_API_TOKEN, enter your API token. For instructions, see Prerequisites.
- optional For STACK_NAME, the default value is dynatrace-aws-logs. To provide another name for the CloudFormation stack where you want to deploy the resources, replace the default value with your own.
```
TARGET_URL=<your_environment_URL>
TARGET_API_TOKEN=<your_API_token>
STACK_NAME=dynatrace-aws-logs
```

Download the script and deploy the infrastructure.

wget -O dynatrace-aws-log-forwarder.zip https://github.com/dynatrace-oss/dynatrace-aws-log-forwarder/releases/latest/download/dynatrace-aws-log-forwarder.zip \
&& unzip -qo dynatrace-aws-log-forwarder.zip \
&& ./dynatrace-aws-logs.sh deploy --target-url $TARGET_URL --target-api-token $TARGET_API_TOKEN --stack-name $STACK_NAME --require-valid-certificate true

After deploying the infrastructure, you need to subscribe to the log groups whose logs you want to forward to Dynatrace.

To subscribe to log groups, you have the options described below.

Use parameter [--stack-name <your_stack_name>] in case you changed the default value during deployment.

Usage recommendation: Use this option if the number of log groups you'd like to subscribe to is small.

To subscribe: Run the command below, making sure to replace <your_log_group_list> with a space-separated list of the log group names you want to subscribe to.

Example list: /aws/lambda/my-lambda /aws/apigateway/my-api

./dynatrace-aws-logs.sh subscribe --log-groups <your_log_group_list>

Subscribe by reading log groups from file

Usage recommendation: Use this option if the number of log groups you'd like to subscribe to is large.

Create a file and enter each log group name on a separate line.
Save the file.
Run the command below, making sure to replace <your_file_name> with the actual file name.
```
./dynatrace-aws-logs.sh subscribe --log-groups-from-file <your_file_name>
```

Log groups auto-discovery

To simplify file creation, you can use the auto-discovery command below to list the names of all log groups in your account. You can adjust the list manually before subscribing.

Be sure to replace <your_log_groups_file> with the name of the file to which you want to redirect the output.

./dynatrace-aws-logs.sh discover-log-groups > <your_log_groups_file>

Usage recommendation: By default, you subscribe to all the logs in the log group. Use this option if you want to restrict the logs you subscribe to. See Filter and Pattern Syntax for details on the pattern syntax.

Limitation: You can use only two subscription filters per log group, so the possibility of creating multiple filters with different patterns is limited. If you create a subscription filter that exceeds the limit, an AWS LimitExceededException occurs.

To subscribe: Run the command below, making sure to replace <your_log_group_list> and <your_filter_pattern> with your own values.

./dynatrace-aws-logs.sh subscribe --log-groups <your_log_group_list> --filter-pattern <your_filter_pattern>

Subscription usage and options

For additional subscription options, see the commands below.

Consult the Subscription table for the commands below when replacing placeholders (<...>) with your own values.

dynatrace-aws-logs.sh subscribe {--log-groups <your_log_group_list> | --log-groups-from-file <your_file_name>}
                    [--stack-name <your_stack_name>] [--filter-pattern <your_filter_pattern>] [--role-arn ROLE_ARN] [--firehose-arn FIREHOSE_ARN]

Subscription table

Command-line parameter

Environment variable

Description

Default value

--log-groups

LOG_GROUPS_LIST

A space-separated list of log group names you want to subscribe to. For example:
/aws/lambda/my-lambda /aws/apigateway/my-api.

--log-groups-from-file

LOG_GROUPS_FILE

A file listing the log groups you want to subscribe to. The file should contain each log group name on a separate line.

--filter-pattern

FILTER_PATTERN

If set, it allows you to subscribe to a filtered stream of logs.

You subscribe to all logs in the log group.

--stack-name

STACK_NAME

The name of the CloudFormation stack where you have deployed the resources.

dynatrace-aws-logs

--firehose-arn

FIREHOSE_ARN

Specify to which Amazon Data Firehose the logs should be streamed by providing its ARN (Amazon Resource Name).
Usage recommendation: Set this option if you have permission or performance issues with CloudFormation.

It will be extracted from the output of the CloudFormation stack used in the deploy step: either the $DEFAULT_STACK_NAME default value or the one specified with the --stack-name <your_stack_name> option.

--role-arn

ROLE_ARN

The ARN of an IAM role that grants CloudWatch Logs permission to deliver ingested log events to the destination stream.
Usage recommendation: Set this option if you have permission or performance issues with CloudFormation.

Unsubscribe from log groups

If you don't want to forward logs to Dynatrace anymore, use one of the two options below to unsubscribe from log groups.

Unsubscribe by listing the log group names

Run the command below, making sure to replace <your_log_group_list> with a space-separated list of the log group names you want to unsubscribe from.

./dynatrace-aws-logs.sh unsubscribe --log-groups <your_log_group_list>

Unsubscribe by reading log groups from a file

Run the command below, making sure to replace <your_file_name> with the file name you created to subscribe by reading log groups from file.

./dynatrace-aws-logs.sh unsubscribe --log-groups-from-file <your_file_name>

Unsubscribe usage and options

For additional unsubscribe options, see the commands below.

Consult the Unsubscribe table for the commands below when replacing the placeholders (<...>) with your own values.

dynatrace-aws-logs.sh unsubscribe {--log-groups <your_log_group_list> | --log-groups-from-file <your_file_name>} [--stack-name <your_stack_name>]

Unsubscribe table

Command-line parameter

Environment variable

Description

Default value

--log-groups

LOG_GROUPS_LIST

A space-separated list of log group names you want to unsubscribe from. For example:
/aws/lambda/my-lambda /aws/apigateway/my-api.

--log-groups-from-file

LOG_GROUPS_FILE

A file listing log groups you want to unsubscribe from, with each log group name on a separate line.

--stack-name

STACK_NAME

The name of the CloudFormation stack where you have deployed the resources.

dynatrace-aws-logs

Update to new version

To replace your old stack with a new version of the AWS log forwarder stack, deploy the new stack using the same parameters that you used before (especially the stack name, if you changed it from the default value).

Alternative deployments

If you don't want to use direct ingest through the Cluster API, you need to use an existing ActiveGate version 1.217+. The ActiveGate must be available publicly. The stack will be created without a dedicated ActiveGate if you choose this option.

Although the Log Forwarder will still work without self-monitoring metrics, it is recommended to have them also ingested into CloudWatch. Therefore, internet access to AWS endpoints is required.

See below for instructions.

Deploy with existing ActiveGate

Prerequisites

Dynatrace version 1.217+

Dynatrace requirements
CLI requirements
You need the following permission policy:

{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": [
        "cloudformation:CreateChangeSet",
        "cloudformation:ExecuteChangeSet",
        "cloudformation:DescribeChangeSet",
        "cloudformation:DescribeStackEvents",
        "cloudformation:DescribeStacks",
        "cloudformation:GetTemplateSummary",
        "ec2:DescribeImages",
        "s3:CreateBucket",
        "s3:PutLifecycleConfiguration",
        "s3:PutBucketPublicAccessBlock",
        "iam:GetRole",
        "iam:CreateRole",
        "iam:AttachRolePolicy",
        "iam:PutRolePolicy",
        "iam:GetRolePolicy",
        "iam:PassRole",
        "lambda:CreateFunction",
        "lambda:UpdateFunctionCode",
        "lambda:GetFunction",
        "lambda:GetFunctionCodeSigningConfig",
        "cloudwatch:PutDashboard",
        "cloudwatch:GetDashboard",
        "firehose:DescribeDeliveryStream",
        "firehose:CreateDeliveryStream",
        "firehose:ListTagsForDeliveryStream",
        "logs:DeleteSubscriptionFilter",
        "logs:DescribeLogGroups",
        "logs:PutSubscriptionFilter",
        "ssm:GetParameters"
      ],
      "Resource": "*"
    }
  ]
}

Set the following environment variables, making sure to replace the placeholders (<...>) with your own values, as follows.
- For TARGET_URL, enter the API URL of your ActiveGate endpoint: https://<your_activegate_IP_or_hostname>:9999/e/<your_environment_ID>. To learn how to determine your environment ID, see environment ID.
- For TARGET_API_TOKEN, enter your API token. For instructions, see Prerequisites.
If you want Dynatrace to verify the SSL certificate of your Dynatrace environment URL, you can set REQUIRE_VALID_CERTIFICATE to true.
```
TARGET_URL=<your_API_URL>
TARGET_API_TOKEN=<your_API_token>
REQUIRE_VALID_CERTIFICATE=false
```

Download the script and deploy the infrastructure.

wget -O dynatrace-aws-log-forwarder.zip https://github.com/dynatrace-oss/dynatrace-aws-log-forwarder/releases/latest/download/dynatrace-aws-log-forwarder.zip \
&& unzip -qo dynatrace-aws-log-forwarder.zip \
&& ./dynatrace-aws-logs.sh deploy --target-url $TARGET_URL --target-api-token $TARGET_API_TOKEN --require-valid-certificate $REQUIRE_VALID_CERTIFICATE

Deployment usage and options

For additional deployment options, see the command below.

dynatrace-aws-logs.sh deploy --target-url <your_API_URL> --target-api-token <your_API_token> [--require-valid-certificate {true|false}] [--stack-name <your_stack_name>] [--max-log-length <max_log_content_length>] [--tags <value> [<value>...] ]

For a complete list of parameters, see the deploy table below.

Deploy table

Command-line parameter

Environment variable

Description

Default value

--target-url

TARGET_URL

required The API URL to your Dynatrace SaaS environment logs ingest target.
If you choose to use an existing environment ActiveGate, set it to your ActiveGate endpoint: https://<your_activegate_IP_or_hostname>:9999/e/<your_environment_ID>
Note: To determine <your_environment_ID>, see environment ID.

--target-api-token

TARGET_API_TOKEN

required Your API token. For instructions, see Prerequisites.

--require-valid-certificate

REQUIRE_VALID_CERTIFICATE

optional If true, the log forwarder Lambda function verifies the SSL certificate of your Dynatrace environment URL.

false

--stack-name

STACK_NAME

optional The name of the CloudFormation stack where you want to deploy the resources.

dynatrace-aws-logs

--max-log-length

MAX_LOG_CONTENT_LENGTH

optional Log content's max length. If log exceeds this length it will be truncated. For values over 8192 there's also a change in Dynatrace settings needed—you need to contact a Dynatrace product expert via live chat within your environment.

8192

--tags

TAGS

optional A list of tags to associate with the stack that is created or updated. Syntax: TagKey1=TagValue1 TagKey2=TagValue2 …

Verification

You can use the verification methods provided below to fix an unsuccessful deployment process.

Verify deployment status

To verify deployment correctness

In AWS Console, go to CloudFormation.
Select your log forwarder stack from the list on the left by stack name (the default value is dynatrace-aws-logs).
If you find any issues or discrepancies in any of the fields below, select Delete to delete the stack, and then repeat the deployment process.
- In Stack info, check the stack status; it should be CREATE_COMPLETE.
- In Parameters, check if the parameter values are consistent with the values you provided during deployment.
- In Events, look for any events with a failed status.

Verify connectivity status

To verify AWS log forwarder connectivity and inspect operational logs

In AWS Console, go to CloudWatch Dashboards.
Find the self-monitoring dashboard for AWS log forwarding. It will have a name like DynatraceLogForwarder-SelfMonitoring-eu-north-1-dynatrace-aws-logs, where the middle part is the AWS region and the last part is the stack name you chose (the default is dynatrace-aws-logs).
Inspect the dashboard for any obvious issues.
Go to CloudFormation.
Select your log forwarder stack from the list on the left by stack name (the default value is dynatrace-aws-logs).
Select the Resources tab and then select the link next to Lambda.
On the Lambda screen, select the Monitor tab and then select Logs.
Select one of the listed log streams and look for exceptions in the logs.

Scaling guide

To scale up the default throughput, we recommend increasing the Lambda Function's memory and the number of provisioned instances to run concurrently. The values to use depend on the actual load. The following are the maximum tested and supported values.

Maximum throughput

Lambda memory

Number of instances

up to 15 MB/minute (1 GB/hour)

256 MB

1

up to 500 MB/minute (30 GB/hour)

1024 MB

5

As a last resort, scale horizontally: deploy more integrations and subscribe each of them to different log groups to distribute the load.

Uninstall AWS log forwarding

To uninstall AWS log forwarding

Unsubscribe all log groups. You can use the log groups auto-discovery method described in Subscribe by reading log groups from file and pass the auto-discovery output file to the unsubscribe command. See Unsubscribe from log groups for details.
In AWS Console, go to your CloudFormation stack.
Select the Resources tab and navigate to the DeliveryBucket S3 bucket.
Remove all objects in the bucket.
Go back to the CloudFormation stack and select Delete.

Log monitoring with AWS log forwarder

Resources needed

Limitations

Prerequisites

Dynatrace

CLI

Permission policy

Deploy

Subscribe to log groups

Subscribe by listing log group names

Subscribe by reading log groups from file

Subscribe with a subscription filter pattern

Subscription table

Unsubscribe from log groups

Unsubscribe by listing the log group names

Unsubscribe by reading log groups from a file

Unsubscribe table

Update to new version

Alternative deployments

Deploy with existing ActiveGate

Deploy table

Verification

Verify deployment status

Verify connectivity status

Scaling guide

Uninstall AWS log forwarding

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