AWS in Daily Operations: Monitoring, Alerts, and What Happens When Things Go (or Don’t Go) Wrong
Behind every reliable system is a well-monitored infrastructure. At Touch4IT, we design and operate cloud environments built on AWS not only to deliver robust software but also to ensure continuous, efficient, and secure operations long after deployment.
What Do We Monitor and How?
We monitor both the AWS resources used by each application and the actual infrastructure on which it runs. This includes everything from instance performance to minute-by-minute budgets on individual services.
Of course, logs are essential, and we use both external monitoring from AWS and internal alerting systems. These alert us to problems such as critical service outages or severe errors within containers.
Most Common Alerts: Upgrades and Cost-related Warnings
One of the most common triggers for alerts is the end-of-life (EOL) of a service version, particularly when working with services such as Amazon EKS (Kubernetes clusters). When we receive such a notification, we start planning an upgrade path to a newer version, reducing risks and preventing unnecessary costs associated with running outdated services.
We also monitor unexpected cost increases, enabling our teams to respond swiftly and optimize infrastructure utilization.
Visualization and Metrics Tools
We use CloudWatch Dashboards to visualize key metrics and system statuses. These dashboards help us track the health of our environments, view alarms, and monitor the performance of services like EKS in real-time.
Incident Management: Our Internal Process
Incident response depends on the severity and type of the issue. Once a problem is identified, we follow a structured resolution process and generate an incident report accordingly.
All major incidents are recorded through Redmine, utilizing our internal IMS system, which ensures consistent documentation and transparency. Most importantly, the client is always kept informed about any critical issues that occur.
Managing maintenance with high availability in mind
We carry out infrastructure maintenance during off-peak hours to reduce potential disruptions for users. When it comes to Amazon EKS, for instance, the platform automatically handles the upgrade process for worker nodes, ensuring continuous operation while keeping the cluster up to date.
Conclusion
Building strong infrastructure is just the first step. What truly matters is how you operate, maintain, and improve that infrastructure over time. Our approach at Touch4IT ensures that AWS environments are not only well-designed but also closely monitored, cost-efficient, and ready for change. This allows our clients to focus on growing their business instead of dealing with outages.
