Monitoring AWS Lambda Costs With Terraform

Using AWS-native tools like CloudWatch for observability is a cost-effective approach before opting for third-party services. Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools like Terraform allow you to automate dashboard creation, metrics tracking, and alarm setups for monitoring AWS Lambda performance.

You Should Know:

Terraform Code for CloudWatch Dashboard (Lambda Monitoring)

resource "aws_cloudwatch_dashboard" "lambda_dashboard" {
dashboard_name = "Lambda-Performance-Monitoring"
dashboard_body = jsonencode({
widgets = [
{
type = "metric"
x = 0
y = 0
width = 12
height = 6
properties = {
metrics = [
["AWS/Lambda", "Invocations", "FunctionName", "my-lambda-function"],
["AWS/Lambda", "Errors", "FunctionName", "my-lambda-function"],
["AWS/Lambda", "Duration", "FunctionName", "my-lambda-function"]
]
period = 300
stat = "Sum"
region = "us-east-1"
title = "Lambda Performance Metrics"
}
}
]
})
}

AWS CLI Command to Verify Lambda Metrics

aws cloudwatch get-metric-statistics \
--namespace AWS/Lambda \
--metric-name Invocations \
--dimensions Name=FunctionName,Value=my-lambda-function \
--start-time $(date -u +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ" --date "-5 minutes") \
--end-time $(date -u +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ") \
--period 60 \
--statistics Sum

Setting Up Alarms for Lambda Errors

resource "aws_cloudwatch_metric_alarm" "lambda_error_alarm" {
alarm_name = "lambda-error-alarm"
comparison_operator = "GreaterThanThreshold"
evaluation_periods = 1
metric_name = "Errors"
namespace = "AWS/Lambda"
period = 300
statistic = "Sum"
threshold = 1
alarm_description = "Triggers when Lambda errors exceed threshold"
dimensions = {
FunctionName = "my-lambda-function"
}
alarm_actions = ["arn:aws:sns:us-east-1:123456789012:my-sns-topic"]
}

Linux Command to Monitor AWS Resources

watch -n 5 "aws lambda list-functions --query 'Functions[].FunctionName'"

Windows PowerShell Command for AWS Lambda Logs

Get-CWLogEvents -LogGroupName "/aws/lambda/my-lambda-function" -StartTime (Get-Date).AddHours(-1) -EndTime (Get-Date)

What Undercode Say

AWS CloudWatch combined with Terraform provides a robust, scalable, and automated way to monitor Lambda functions. By leveraging IaC, teams ensure consistency across environments while reducing manual errors. Key takeaways:
– Use Terraform for automated CloudWatch dashboards.
– Set alarms for critical Lambda metrics (errors, throttles).
– Monitor costs using AWS Cost Explorer alongside CloudWatch.
– Automate log analysis with AWS CLI or PowerShell.

Expected Output:

A fully automated AWS Lambda monitoring system with dashboards, alarms, and logs, reducing reliance on third-party tools while maintaining cost efficiency.

Prediction

As cloud-native monitoring evolves, more organizations will shift from third-party observability tools to AWS-native solutions integrated with IaC for better cost control and automation.

Reference: Monitoring AWS Lambda Costs with Terraform (dev.to)