AWS SQS Prometheus Dashboard

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.

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

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