AWS Managed Grafana for one or multiple AWS Organizations

In this article, I will explain how AWS Managed Grafana can be used to easily monitor CloudWatch Log Groups and metrics across entire AWS Organizations and create comprehensive dashboards. If needed, multiple AWS Accounts and Organizations can be connected to AWS Managed Grafana using the CloudWatch cross-account observability feature.

Overview of the solution

As shown in the architecture diagram, AWS Managed Grafana is created in a Monitoring AWS Account. Additionally, an IAM Role is created for each AWS Organization that needs to be connected. This role can be assumed by AWS Managed Grafana and has the CloudWatchReadOnlyAccess permission. The CloudWatch cross-account observability feature can also be activated in the Monitoring Account. To do this, a sink is created in the Monitoring Account, and a link is established in all AWS accounts that need to be connected.

This setup allows the IAM Role, and consequently AWS Managed Grafana, to access all CloudWatch Log Groups and metrics for which a link has been created.

This can also be used across multiple AWS Organizations by creating an IAM Role in the additional AWS Organization plus enabling CloudWatch cross-account observability.

Deployment of the Solution

1. Create CloudWatch cross-account observability Sink

In the Monitoring Account, the CloudWatch cross-account observability Sink is created using a CloudFormation template. If needed, the oam:ResourceTypes can be expanded; currently, only "AWS::CloudWatch::Metric" and "AWS::Logs::LogGroup" are authorized.

AWSTemplateFormatVersion: '2010-09-09'
Description: Create a Sink and attach a Policy for CloudWatch cross-account observability

Parameters:
  PrincipalOrgID:
    Type: String
    Description: 'The AWS Organization ID for which the policy will allow access'

Resources:
  ObservabilitySink:
    Type: 'AWS::Oam::Sink'
    Properties:
      Name: 'observabilitySink'
      Policy:
        Version: '2012-10-17'
        Statement:
        - Effect: Allow
          Principal: "*"
          Resource: "*"
          Action:
          - "oam:CreateLink"
          - "oam:UpdateLink"
          Condition:
            StringEquals:
              aws:PrincipalOrgID: !Ref PrincipalOrgID
            ForAllValues:StringEquals:
              oam:ResourceTypes:
                - "AWS::CloudWatch::Metric"
                - "AWS::Logs::LogGroup"

Outputs:
  SinkIdentifier:
    Description: 'The Sink identifier of the created sink'
    Value: !GetAtt 
      - ObservabilitySink
      - Arn        

2. Create CloudWatch cross-account observability Link

In all accounts where Grafana needs to access CloudWatch LogGroups and metrics, the CloudWatch cross-account observability Link must be created using a CloudFormation template. This template can easily be rolled out as a StackSet across all desired accounts.

AWSTemplateFormatVersion: 2010-09-09

Parameters:
  MonitoringAccountID:
    Type: String
    Description: AccountID from Monitoring Account

  SinkIdentifier:
    Type: String
    Description: SinkIdentifier for OAM-Link

Conditions:
  SkipMonitoringAccount: !Not
    - !Equals
      - !Ref AWS::AccountId
      - !Ref MonitoringAccountID

Resources:
  Link:
    Type: AWS::Oam::Link
    Condition: SkipMonitoringAccount
    Properties:
      LabelTemplate: "$AccountName"
      ResourceTypes: 
        - "AWS::CloudWatch::Metric"
        - "AWS::Logs::LogGroup"
      SinkIdentifier: !Ref SinkIdentifier        

3. Create IAM Role for Grafana

In the Monitoring Account, the following IAM Role must be created, which can be assumed by Grafana with the CloudWatchReadOnlyAccess policy.

AWSTemplateFormatVersion: 2010-09-09
Description: Set up an IAM Role for Grafana in the Monitoring Accounts so it can access CloudWatch Metrics and Log Groups

Parameters:
  MonitoringAccountID:
    Type: String
    Description: The AWS Account ID of the monitoring account (e.g., Grafana account)

Resources:
  CloudWatchGrafanaRole:
    Type: AWS::IAM::Role
    Properties: 
      RoleName: CloudWatchGrafanaRole
      AssumeRolePolicyDocument: 
        Version: '2012-10-17'
        Statement: 
          - Effect: 'Allow'
            Principal: 
              AWS: !Sub 'arn:aws:iam::${MonitoringAccountID}:root'
            Action: 'sts:AssumeRole'
            Condition: 
              StringEquals: 
                'sts:ExternalId': 'grafana'
      ManagedPolicyArns:
        - arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/CloudWatchReadOnlyAccess        

4. Create AWS Managed Grafana

In the Monitoring Account, Grafana can now be created. There are various options that can be chosen, such as PluginAdminEnabled or AuthenticationProviders. Below is a CloudFormation template that works for the solution I have described and uses AWS Identity Center as the Authentication Provider.

At the location Resources -> AmazonGrafanaWorkspaceIAMRole -> Properties -> Policies -> PolicyDocument -> Statement -> Resource ->, all ARNs of the IAM roles created in Step 3 must be inserted.

AWSTemplateFormatVersion: '2010-09-09'
Description: CloudFormation template to create an Amazon Managed Grafana workspace for Monitoring

Resources:
  AmazonGrafanaWorkspaceIAMRole:
    Type: 'AWS::IAM::Role'
    Properties:
      ManagedPolicyArns:
        - 'arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/service-role/AmazonGrafanaCloudWatchAccess'
      AssumeRolePolicyDocument:
        Version: 2012-10-17
        Statement:
          - Effect: Allow
            Principal:
              Service:
                - grafana.amazonaws.com
            Action:
              - 'sts:AssumeRole'
      Policies:
        - PolicyName: AllowSTSforCloudWatch
          PolicyDocument:
            Version: 2012-10-17
            Statement:
              - Effect: Allow
                Action: 'sts:AssumeRole'
                Resource:
                  - 'arn:aws:iam::1234567890:role/CloudWatchGrafanaRole'

  GrafanaWorkspace:
    Type: AWS::Grafana::Workspace
    Properties: 
      AccountAccessType: CURRENT_ACCOUNT
      AuthenticationProviders: 
        - AWS_SSO
      DataSources: 
        - CLOUDWATCH
      Description: "Monitoring for all CloudWatch Log Groups and Metrics solution"
      Name: Monitoring-CloudWatch-Solution
      PermissionType: SERVICE_MANAGED
      PluginAdminEnabled: true
      GrafanaVersion: 10.4
      RoleArn: !GetAtt 
        - AmazonGrafanaWorkspaceIAMRole
        - Arn
        

Note Steps 1-3 must be performed in each AWS organization that needs to be linked to Grafana!

Using the Solution

You can now add yourself as an admin through the Amazon Managed Grafana Service.

Afterwards, you need to connect the data sources. To do this, simply enter the IAM roles of the individual AWS Organizations and click "Save & Test".

In this case, I have set up two data sources: one for the Prod AWS Organization and one for the Test AWS Organization.

Finally, you can now build dashboards as you like, accessing all CloudWatch Log Groups and metrics from all connected accounts.

Costs of the solution

Cross-account observability in CloudWatch comes with no extra cost for logs and metrics.

The Amazon Managed Grafana Service is priced based on active users, which provides an even more cost-effective solution. Here's how it works:

• Admin/Editor User: $9 USD per active user per month
• Viewer User: $5 USD per active user per month

Importantly, billing is based on active users, not the total number of users with access. For example:

If you've granted access to 100 Editors and 100 Viewers, but in a given month only 20 Editors and 30 Viewers actually log in to the workspace, you'll only be billed for those active users: 20 Editors and 30 Viewers.

This solution offers great value for your money. It lets you monitor multiple AWS Organizations from one place at a low cost per user. It's especially useful for companies with many AWS accounts that need to keep an eye on everything at once.

Final Words

This AWS Managed Grafana solution for monitoring multiple AWS Organizations showcases the power of cloud-native tools in simplifying complex monitoring tasks. It offers a centralized, cost-effective, and scalable approach to overseeing diverse AWS environments.

Key benefits include:

1. Simplified monitoring across multiple AWS Organizations
2. Cost-effectiveness with active user-based pricing
3. Easy scalability as your infrastructure grows
4. Secure monitoring using AWS's built-in features
5. Customizable dashboards for specific needs

I hope you found this article helpful and informative. Implementing this solution can greatly enhance your AWS monitoring capabilities, but we understand that every organization has unique needs and challenges.

If you need assistance in setting up this solution, customizing it for your specific requirements, or have any questions about AWS monitoring and management, please don't hesitate to reach out to our team at PCG.

Check out our AWS Landing Zone & Monitoring!

Feel free to share your feedback and thoughts on the topic!

About PCG

Public Cloud Group (PCG) supports companies in their digital transformation through the use of public cloud solutions.

With a product portfolio designed to accompany organisations of all sizes in their cloud journey and competence that is a synonym for highly qualified staff that clients and partners like to work with, PCG is positioned as a reliable and trustworthy partner for the hyperscalers, relevant and with repeatedly validated competence and credibility.

We have the highest partnership status with the three relevant hyperscalers: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google, and Microsoft. As experienced providers, we advise our customers independently with cloud implementation, application development, and managed services.

About Me

I am Patrick Zink from Germany, your go-to AWS Lead Architect when it comes to cloud solutions that work.

What I Do:

• SAP on AWS: Bringing SAP environments up to speed with AWS.
• Cloud Architecture: Skilled in organizing cloud environments for simplicity and control.
• Networking: Experienced in setting up reliable and secure cloud networks.
• Compute: Scaling and maintaining compute resources effectively.
• Cost Savings: Finding and fixing the leaks in your AWS spend.
• Security: Keeping things tight and secure in the cloud.? Automation: Making things run smoother and faster without the manual hassle.