AWS Config now supports periodic recording: Efficiently scale your change tracking

/ Tutorial

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Benefits of periodic recording
  3. How to enable and configure periodic recording in AWS Config
  4. Understanding the configuration items
  5. Optimizing the collection and storage of configuration items
  6. Tracking and enforcing compliance with periodic recording
  7. Integrating periodic recording with other AWS services
  8. Best practices for using periodic recording in AWS Config
  9. Troubleshooting common issues with periodic recording
  10. Conclusion

1. Introduction

AWS Config is a service provided by Amazon Web Services that allows you to track the state of your cloud resources and their configurations over time. It enables you to monitor and manage the inventory, configuration changes, and compliance of your AWS resources.

With the introduction of periodic recording, AWS Config now provides an efficient way to scale your change tracking capabilities. Periodic recording lowers the volume and cost of collecting configuration changes by aggregating them over a specified time period. In this guide, we will explore the benefits, configuration options, integrations, and best practices for using periodic recording in AWS Config.

2. Benefits of periodic recording

Periodic recording offers several advantages over continuous recording in AWS Config:

  • Reduced volume and cost: By recording configuration changes once per day, you can significantly reduce the volume of configuration items collected. This leads to cost savings on storage and processing resources.

  • Scalability and performance: With periodic recording, tracking and monitoring frequently changing resources becomes more scalable, as the number of configuration items generated is reduced. This improvement in scalability translates to better overall performance of your tracking processes.

  • Simplified change auditing: Periodic recording provides a consolidated view of the most recent state of your resources over a specified time period. This simplifies the process of auditing and reviewing changes, making it easier to identify potential issues and ensure compliance with organizational policies.

3. How to enable and configure periodic recording in AWS Config

Enabling and configuring periodic recording in AWS Config is a straightforward process. Follow these steps to get started:

  1. Open the AWS Management Console and navigate to the AWS Config service.
  2. Click on “Settings” in the left navigation pane.
  3. In the “Data recording” section, click on “Enable periodic recording”.
  4. Specify the time interval for periodic recording (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly).
  5. Set the preferred time for data aggregation.
  6. Choose the resources and AWS services for which you want to enable periodic recording.
  7. Click “Save” to enable and apply the changes.

4. Understanding the configuration items

Configuration items in AWS Config represent the state of a resource at a specific point in time. It includes metadata such as resource ID, resource type, configuration properties, and relationship information with other resources.

With periodic recording, configuration items are generated at the specified time intervals, reflecting the most recent state of the tracked resources within that period. It’s important to understand how these configuration items are generated and how they can be used for auditing, compliance, and troubleshooting purposes.

5. Optimizing the collection and storage of configuration items

While periodic recording can reduce the volume and cost of configuration items, it’s still important to optimize their collection and storage to ensure efficient resource utilization and performance. This section will cover best practices for optimizing the collection and storage of configuration items in AWS Config.

Topics covered:
– Filter rules to exclude non-essential resources
– Using resource tags for improved organization and filtering
– Leverage lifecycle rules for automated data archival and deletion
– Optimizing storage options for cost-efficiency

6. Tracking and enforcing compliance with periodic recording

One of the primary use cases of AWS Config is to track and enforce compliance with organizational policies and regulatory standards. Periodic recording enhances this capability by providing a consolidated view of resource states over time. This section will explore how you can leverage periodic recording in AWS Config to track and enforce compliance effectively.

Topics covered:
– Creating custom AWS Config rules to check for compliance
– Using aggregated configuration history for auditing purposes
– Integrating with AWS Lambda for automated remediation of non-compliant resources
– Leveraging AWS CloudFormation for policy enforcement and drift detection

7. Integrating periodic recording with other AWS services

AWS Config can be integrated with various other AWS services to enhance its functionality and provide a comprehensive monitoring and management solution for your cloud resources. This section will explore the integrations and synergies between periodic recording in AWS Config and other AWS services.

Topics covered:
– Integrating with Amazon CloudWatch for monitoring and alerting
– Using AWS Config notifications to trigger automated actions
– Leveraging AWS Config data with AWS CloudTrail for deeper visibility and auditing

8. Best practices for using periodic recording in AWS Config

To maximize the benefits of periodic recording in AWS Config, it’s important to follow best practices and optimize your implementation. This section will provide key recommendations and best practices for using periodic recording effectively.

Topics covered:
– Designing an efficient configuration tracking strategy
– Using AWS Config aggregators for centralized monitoring and management
– Implementing a tagging strategy for improved resource organization and tracking
– Regularly reviewing and updating AWS Config rules for compliance management

9. Troubleshooting common issues with periodic recording

While periodic recording in AWS Config is designed to be simple and reliable, there may be occasions when you encounter issues or face challenges. This section will cover common problems and their troubleshooting steps, helping you overcome any obstacles in utilizing periodic recording effectively.

Topics covered:
– Configuration item discrepancies and inconsistencies
– Configuration item retrieval failures
– Resource-specific challenges in periodic recording
– Debugging and diagnosing AWS Config behavior for effective troubleshooting

10. Conclusion

Periodic recording in AWS Config provides an efficient and scalable solution for tracking and managing changes in your cloud resources. By aggregating configuration items at specified time intervals, you can reduce costs, improve performance, and simplify compliance tracking.

In this guide, we have explored the benefits, configuration options, best practices, and troubleshooting steps for using periodic recording in AWS Config. By following these recommendations and leveraging the capabilities of AWS Config, you can streamline change tracking and ensure compliance across your cloud infrastructure.