AWS RDS for MySQL

The AWS RDS for MySQL integration combines three sources:

Source	Component	Data
CloudWatch metrics (`AWS/RDS`)	Prometheus CloudWatch exporter, scraped by the collector’s `prometheus` receiver	Instance CPU, memory, storage, IOPS, latency, network
MySQL engine	Collector’s `mysql` receiver, connecting to the instance	Connections, row operations, locks, buffer pool, threads
CloudWatch Logs	Collector’s `awscloudwatch` receiver	Error, slow query, general and audit logs

Connecting it adds the AWS RDS MySQL and MySQL dashboards. In the app the integration is called AWS RDS (MySQL).

Use this page when your MySQL database runs on Amazon RDS.

Prerequisites

An otelcol-contrib collector, v0.88.0 or newer, where you can add config files and environment variables. See Integrations.
Java 11 or newer for the CloudWatch exporter, or Docker to run its image instead.
AWS credentials for the exporter and the collector. Both use the standard AWS SDK chain: AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID and AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, a shared profile, an EC2 instance profile, or an EKS or ECS role.

IAM permissions:

{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": [
        "cloudwatch:ListMetrics",
        "cloudwatch:GetMetricStatistics",
        "cloudwatch:GetMetricData",
        "tag:GetResources",
        "logs:DescribeLogGroups",
        "logs:FilterLogEvents"
      ],
      "Resource": "*"
    }
  ]
}

tag:GetResources is only needed if you filter by tag with aws_tag_select.

For engine metrics (optional): network access from the collector to the instance endpoint on port 3306, and a monitoring user, for example:

CREATE USER 'monitoring'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY '<password>';
GRANT PROCESS, REPLICATION CLIENT ON *.* TO 'monitoring'@'%';
GRANT SELECT ON performance_schema.* TO 'monitoring'@'%';

For logs: the instance publishes its logs to CloudWatch Logs. Turn this on under Log exports when you modify the instance in the RDS console. Each log type gets a group named /aws/rds/instance/<db-instance-id>/<type>, such as .../error or .../slowquery.

Collect metrics

Run the CloudWatch exporter. Download the JAR:

curl -sLSO https://github.com/prometheus/cloudwatch_exporter/releases/download/v0.15.5/cloudwatch_exporter-0.15.5-jar-with-dependencies.jar

Save this config and set region:

region: us-east-1
metrics:
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: BinLogDiskUsage, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: BurstBalance, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: CheckpointLag, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average, Maximum]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: ConnectionAttempts, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average, Maximum]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: CPUUtilization, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average, Maximum]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: DatabaseConnections, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average, Maximum]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: DiskQueueDepth, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: DiskQueueDepthLogVolume, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: EBSByteBalance%, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: EBSIOBalance%, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: FreeableMemory, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average, Maximum]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: FreeLocalStorage, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: FreeStorageSpace, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: FreeStorageSpaceLogVolume, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: MaximumUsedTransactionIDs, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: NetworkReceiveThroughput, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average, Maximum]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: NetworkTransmitThroughput, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average, Maximum]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: OldestReplicationSlotLag, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average, Maximum]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: ReadIOPS, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average, Maximum]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: ReadIOPSLocalStorage, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average, Maximum]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: ReadIOPSLogVolume, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average, Maximum]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: ReadLatency, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average, Maximum]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: ReadLatencyLocalStorage, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average, Maximum]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: ReadLatencyLogVolume, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average, Maximum]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: ReadThroughput, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average, Maximum]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: ReadThroughputLogVolume, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average, Maximum]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: ReplicaLag, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average, Maximum]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: ReplicationChannelLag, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: ReplicationSlotDiskUsage, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: TransactionLogsDiskUsage, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: TransactionLogsGeneration, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: WriteIOPS, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average, Maximum]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: WriteLatency, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average, Maximum]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: WriteThroughput, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average, Maximum]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: SwapUsage, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average, Maximum]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: DBLoad, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average, Maximum]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: DBLoadCPU, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average, Maximum]}
  - {aws_namespace: AWS/RDS, aws_metric_name: DBLoadNonCPU, aws_dimensions: [DBInstanceIdentifier], aws_statistics: [Average, Maximum]}

Start it on port 9106:

java -jar cloudwatch_exporter-0.15.5-jar-with-dependencies.jar 9106 aws-rds-mysql-metrics.yaml

Open http://localhost:9106/metrics and check that aws_rds_* metrics appear.

Configure the collector. It scrapes the exporter and, optionally, connects to MySQL. Drop the mysql receiver if you only want CloudWatch metrics.

receivers:
  mysql:
    endpoint: ${env:MYSQL_ENDPOINT}
    username: ${env:MYSQL_USERNAME}
    password: ${env:MYSQL_PASSWORD}
    collection_interval: 60s
    # Query limits for mysql.statement_events.count and .wait.time.
    statement_events:
      digest_text_limit: 120
      time_limit: 24h
      limit: 250
    metrics:
      mysql.client.network.io:
        enabled: true
      mysql.commands:
        enabled: true
      mysql.connection.count:
        enabled: true
      mysql.connection.errors:
        enabled: true
      mysql.joins:
        enabled: true
      mysql.query.count:
        enabled: true
      mysql.query.slow.count:
        enabled: true
      mysql.replica.sql_delay:
        enabled: true
      mysql.replica.time_behind_source:
        enabled: true

  prometheus/cloudwatch:
    config:
      scrape_configs:
        - job_name: aws-cloudwatch-metrics
          scrape_interval: 300s
          scrape_timeout: 120s
          static_configs:
            - targets: ["${env:CLOUDWATCH_EXPORTER_ENDPOINT}"]

exporters:
  otlp/fusescope:
    endpoint: ${env:OTLP_DESTINATION_ENDPOINT}
    tls:
      insecure: true

service:
  pipelines:
    metrics/mysql:
      receivers: [mysql, prometheus/cloudwatch]
      exporters: [otlp/fusescope]

Variable	Example	Description
`MYSQL_ENDPOINT`	`mydb.abc123.us-east-1.rds.amazonaws.com:3306`	RDS instance endpoint.
`MYSQL_USERNAME`	`monitoring`	Monitoring user.
`MYSQL_PASSWORD`		Its password.
`CLOUDWATCH_EXPORTER_ENDPOINT`	`localhost:9106`	Where the CloudWatch exporter listens.
`OTLP_DESTINATION_ENDPOINT`	`fusescope-collector.example.com:4317`	FuseScope collector, OTLP gRPC.

Run the collector with --config mysql-metrics.yaml, as shown in Run the collector.

Collect logs

The awscloudwatch receiver polls the log groups you name. It does not parse the entries: the body holds the raw MySQL log line.

receivers:
  awscloudwatch/rds_mysql_logs:
    region: us-east-1
    logs:
      poll_interval: 1m
      groups:
        named:
          /aws/rds/instance/mydb/error:
          /aws/rds/instance/mydb/slowquery:

processors:
  attributes/add_source_mysql:
    actions:
      - key: source
        value: rds_mysql
        action: insert
  batch:
    send_batch_size: 10000
    send_batch_max_size: 11000
    timeout: 10s

exporters:
  otlp/fusescope:
    endpoint: ${env:OTLP_DESTINATION_ENDPOINT}
    tls:
      insecure: true

service:
  pipelines:
    logs/mysql:
      receivers: [awscloudwatch/rds_mysql_logs]
      processors: [attributes/add_source_mysql, batch]
      exporters: [otlp/fusescope]

Set region, replace the group names with yours, and set OTLP_DESTINATION_ENDPOINT. Run the collector with --config mysql-logs.yaml. To parse the entries, add a log pipeline that matches source = rds_mysql.

Set insecure: false in the exporter when the FuseScope endpoint uses TLS.

Connect it in FuseScope

Open Integrations › AWS RDS (MySQL).
Click Connect AWS RDS (MySQL), then I have already configured.
Click Test Connection. The badge reads This integration is working properly once logs with source = rds_mysql or aws_rds_* metrics arrive. Until then it reads Listening for data…. CloudWatch metrics can take a few minutes to show.

What’s included

AWS RDS MySQL dashboard, with a dbinstance_identifier variable:

CPUUtilization, FreeableMemory, SwapUsage
DatabaseConnections
FreeStorageSpace, BinLogDiskUsage, DiskQueueDepth, EBSIOBalance%, EBSByteBalance%
ReadIOPS, WriteIOPS, ReadLatency, WriteLatency, ReadThroughput, WriteThroughput
Network transmit/receive

MySQL dashboard, from the mysql receiver, with a mysql.instance.endpoint variable:

Connection/Errors, Thread type count, Open resources count
Row operations, Row locks, MySQL locks, count of table I/O wait events
Buffer pool usage by status, Buffer pool pages by kind, Total buffer pool page flushes
Data pages by status, InnoDB log operations, Count by handlers, Prepared statement count

No log pipelines and no alert rules.

Data collected

Logs

Field	Path	Type
Timestamp	`timestamp`	timestamp
Body	`body`	string
Source	`attributes.source` (`rds_mysql`)	string

Metrics

CloudWatch metrics are named aws_rds_<metric>_<statistic> and carry the dbinstance_identifier label. The most useful ones are below. The Data Collected tab lists all of them.

Metric	CloudWatch unit	Description
`aws_rds_cpuutilization_average`	Percent	CPU use.
`aws_rds_freeable_memory_average`	Bytes	Available memory.
`aws_rds_swap_usage_average`	Bytes	Swap in use.
`aws_rds_database_connections_average`	Count	Client connections.
`aws_rds_free_storage_space_average`	Bytes	Free storage.
`aws_rds_bin_log_disk_usage_average`	Bytes	Disk used by binary logs.
`aws_rds_disk_queue_depth_average`	Count	Outstanding I/O requests.
`aws_rds_read_iops_average`	Count/Second	Read operations per second.
`aws_rds_write_iops_average`	Count/Second	Write operations per second.
`aws_rds_read_latency_average`	Seconds	Time per read.
`aws_rds_write_latency_average`	Seconds	Time per write.
`aws_rds_read_throughput_average`	Bytes/Second	Bytes read from disk.
`aws_rds_write_throughput_average`	Bytes/Second	Bytes written to disk.
`aws_rds_network_receive_throughput_average`	Bytes/Second	Incoming network traffic.
`aws_rds_network_transmit_throughput_average`	Bytes/Second	Outgoing network traffic.
`aws_rds_ebsiobalance__average`	Percent	Remaining EBS I/O burst credits.
`aws_rds_ebsbyte_balance__average`	Percent	Remaining EBS throughput burst credits.
`aws_rds_replica_lag_average`	Seconds	Read replica lag.
`aws_rds_dbload_average`	None	Average active sessions (Performance Insights).

The mysql receiver adds mysql.* metrics, such as mysql.connection.count, mysql.row_operations, mysql.buffer_pool.pages and mysql.threads. See the receiver’s list.