This dashboard provides comprehensive monitoring of AWS Simple Queue Service (SQS) using Prometheus metrics collected via a third-party exporter. It offers detailed visibility into queue message states, processing status, and capacity utilization to help optimize queue performance and troubleshoot message processing issues.
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What This Dashboard Monitors
This dashboard tracks essential AWS SQS metrics to help you:
- Queue Health Monitoring: Track message states across different queue phases
- Message Flow Analysis: Monitor visible, delayed, and in-flight message counts
- Processing Efficiency: Identify bottlenecks and processing delays
- Capacity Planning: Understand queue utilization patterns and scaling needs
- Multi-Environment Support: Monitor queues across different deployment environments
- Regional Monitoring: Track SQS performance across AWS regions
Prerequisites
This dashboard is built using metrics from the third-party SQS Prometheus exporter:
- Repository: https://github.com/jmal98/sqs-exporter
- Setup Required: Deploy the SQS exporter to collect metrics from your AWS SQS queues
- Prometheus Integration: Ensure the exporter is configured to send metrics to your Prometheus instance
Metrics Included
Queue Message Status Overview
Status of Messages in Queue
- Description: Comprehensive view of all message states within selected queues
- Metrics Tracked:
- Delayed Messages: Messages waiting to be available for processing
- Visible Messages: Messages ready for immediate consumption
- Not Visible Messages: Messages currently being processed (in-flight)
- Use Case: Get a complete picture of queue processing state at a glance
- Grouping: By queue name for multi-queue monitoring
Individual Message State Metrics
Approximate Number of Messages
- Description: Count of messages available for retrieval from the queue
- Metric:
sqs_approximatenumberofmessages - Use Case: Monitor queue depth and consumer demand
- Critical for: Understanding processing backlog and scaling decisions
Approximate Number of Messages Delayed
- Description: Count of messages that are delayed and not yet available for reading
- Metric:
sqs_approximatenumberofmessagesdelayed - Use Case: Track scheduled or delayed message processing
- Planning: Essential for understanding future processing load
Approximate Number of Messages Not Visible
- Description: Count of messages that have not timed-out and aren't deleted (in-flight)
- Metric:
sqs_approximatenumberofmessagesnotvisible - Use Case: Monitor concurrent message processing and consumer activity
- Performance: High values may indicate slow processing or consumer issues
Dashboard Variables
This dashboard includes comprehensive filtering capabilities:
Region Selection
- Variable:
region - Description: Select specific AWS region for monitoring
- Type: Single selection
- Dynamic: Populated from available SQS metrics
Queue Selection
- Variable:
queue.name - Description: Select one or multiple SQS queues to monitor
- Type: Multi-select with "All" option
- Flexibility: Monitor specific queues or all queues simultaneously
Environment Selection
- Variable:
deployment.environment - Description: Filter by deployment environment (staging, production, etc.)
- Type: Single selection
- Use Case: Environment-specific monitoring and troubleshooting
Message State Definitions
Visible Messages
- State: Ready for immediate processing
- Consumer Action: Can be received and processed
- Monitoring: Track for queue backlog and consumer capacity
Delayed Messages
- State: Scheduled for future availability
- Consumer Action: Not yet available for processing
- Monitoring: Track scheduled workload and timing patterns
Not Visible (In-Flight) Messages
- State: Currently being processed by consumers
- Consumer Action: Received but not yet deleted
- Monitoring: Indicates active processing and consumer performance
