Centralized Monitoring in AWS cloud using Amazon CloudWatch

A monitoring account is a central AWS account that can view and interact with observability data generated from source accounts. A source account is an individual AWS account that generates observability data for the resources that reside in it. Source accounts share their observability data with the monitoring account. The shared observability data can include the following types of telemetry:

1. Metrics in Amazon CloudWatch. You can choose to share the metrics from all namespaces with the monitoring account, or filter to a subset of namespaces.
2. Log groups in Amazon CloudWatch Logs. You can choose to share all log groups with the monitoring account or filter to a subset of log groups.
3. Traces in AWS X-Ray, etc.

The following high-level steps show you how to set up Amazon CloudWatch cross-account observability. 

Step 1: Configure Monitoring Account

Log in to the Monitoring Account.
Go to CloudWatch > Settings.
Under Monitoring Account Configuration, click Configure.  

Step 2: Define Data and Source Accounts

In the Select Data section, choose the types of data you wish to collect (logs, metrics, etc.).
Enter the list of Source Account IDs (comma-separated) and select the account name under Account Label. Click Configure.

Step 3: Resources to Link Accounts

After configuration, you'll land on a settings screen again. Now, click on Resources to Link Accounts,  then click on Any Account and Copy URL to link source accounts.

Step 4: Link Source Accounts

Open a new browser/incognito window and log into the source account (child account).
Paste the copied URL from Step 3 into a new window. This displays a screen with pre-populated parameters. 
You’ll be prompted to confirm what data to share - verify and hit "Link".

What to Expect

After successful configuration, logs and metrics start flowing from the source to the monitoring account.
It may take up to 45 minutes for data to appear, so allow some buffer time before verification.

Checkout our other guide sharing cost optimization strategies for Amazon CloudWatch Logs and Metrics.