6 Critical AWS Free Tier Limit Alerts and How to Set Up Email Notifications

When you're operating within the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Free Tier, it's essential to stay vigilant about your usage limits to avoid unexpected charges. Setting up email notifications for critical limit alerts is a great way to ensure you're always in the loop. Here are six critical AWS Free Tier limit alerts you should monitor and how to set up email notifications for them.

1. EC2 Instance Hours

The AWS Free Tier includes a certain number of free hours for an Amazon EC2 Micro Instance. Once you exceed these hours, you'll be charged for additional usage. To avoid this, set up an alert that notifies you when your EC2 instance usage approaches the free tier limit.

How to Set Up the Alert:

• Navigate to the AWS Management Console.
• Go to CloudWatch.
• Create a new alarm based on the "CPUUtilization" metric for your EC2 instance.
• Set the threshold for the alarm to trigger when CPU usage exceeds a certain percentage for a prolonged period, indicating high usage.
• Configure the alarm to send an email notification when triggered.

2. EBS Storage

Monitoring your Elastic Block Store (EBS) volume usage is crucial, as exceeding the free tier limit can lead to additional charges.

Setting Up the Alert:

• In CloudWatch, create an alarm based on the "VolumeReadBytes" and "VolumeWriteBytes" metrics.
• Set thresholds to monitor unusual or excessive disk activity.
• Configure email notifications for when these thresholds are breached.

3. S3 Storage and Requests

Keep track of your Amazon S3 storage usage and the number of requests made, as these are limited in the free tier.

Alert Setup:

• Use CloudWatch to monitor "BucketSizeBytes" and "NumberOfObjects" metrics.
• Set alarms for when these metrics approach the free tier limits.
• Ensure email notifications are enabled for these alarms.

4. RDS Instances

If you're using Amazon RDS within the free tier, monitor your database instance usage.

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Configuring the Alert:

• In CloudWatch, monitor the "CPUUtilization" and "FreeStorageSpace" metrics for your RDS instance.
• Set up alarms to notify you when these metrics reach critical levels.
• Enable email notifications for these alarms.

5. DynamoDB Read/Write Capacity

DynamoDB usage within the free tier is limited by read and write capacity units.

Alert Configuration:

• Monitor "ConsumedReadCapacityUnits" and "ConsumedWriteCapacityUnits" metrics in CloudWatch.
• Create alarms to be triggered when consumption approaches the free tier limits.
• Configure these alarms to send email notifications.

6. Lambda Function Executions and Duration

If you're using AWS Lambda, keep an eye on your function executions and their durations.

Setting the Alert:

• In CloudWatch, monitor "Invocations" and "Duration" metrics for your Lambda functions.
• Set alarms to notify you if invocations or durations exceed expected levels, indicating potential cost overruns.
• Enable email notifications for these critical alarms.

By setting up these critical AWS Free Tier limit alerts and configuring email notifications, you can ensure that you're always aware of your usage and avoid unexpected charges. Remember to regularly review and adjust your alarms as your AWS usage patterns change. Staying vigilant about your AWS Free Tier limits will help you make the most of your resources while keeping costs under control.