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AWS Config Logs

By default, AWS Config delivers configuration history and snapshot files to your Amazon S3 bucket.

Create log ingestion

You can create a log ingestion into Amazon OpenSearch Service either by using the Centralized Logging with OpenSearch console or by deploying a standalone CloudFormation stack.

Important

  • AWS Config must be enabled in the same region as the Centralized Logging with OpenSearch solution.
  • The Amazon S3 bucket region must be the same as the Centralized Logging with OpenSearch solution.
  • The Amazon OpenSearch Service index is rotated on a daily basis by default, and you can adjust the index in the Additional Settings.

Using the Centralized Logging with OpenSearch Console

  1. Sign in to the Centralized Logging with OpenSearch Console.
  2. In the navigation pane, under Log Analytics Pipelines, choose Service Log.
  3. Choose the Create a log ingestion button.
  4. In the AWS Services section, choose AWS Config Logs.
  5. Choose Next.
  6. Under Specify settings, choose Automatic or Manual for Log creation.
    • For Automatic mode, make sure the S3 bucket location is correct, and enter the AWS Config Name.
    • For Manual mode, enter the AWS Config Name and Log location.
    • (Optional) If you are ingesting AWS Config logs from another account, select a linked account from the Account dropdown list first.
  7. Choose Next.
  8. In the Specify OpenSearch domain section, select an imported domain for Amazon OpenSearch domain.
  9. Choose Yes for Sample dashboard if you want to ingest an associated built-in Amazon OpenSearch Service dashboard.
  10. You can change the Index Prefix of the target Amazon OpenSearch Service index if needed. The default prefix the AWS Config Name you entered in previous steps.
  11. In the Log Lifecycle section, enter the number of days to manage the Amazon OpenSearch Service index lifecycle. The Centralized Logging with OpenSearch will create the associated Index State Management (ISM) policy automatically for this pipeline.
  12. Choose Next.
  13. Add tags if needed.
  14. Choose Create.

Using the CloudFormation Stack

This automated AWS CloudFormation template deploys the Centralized Logging with OpenSearch - AWS Config Log Ingestion solution in the AWS Cloud.

Launch in AWS Console Download Template
AWS Standard Regions Launch Stack Template
AWS China Regions Launch Stack Template

  1. Log in to the AWS Management Console and select above button to launch the AWS CloudFormation template. You can also download the template as a starting point for your own implementation.

  2. To launch the stack in a different AWS Region, use the Region selector in the console navigation bar.

  3. On the Create stack page, verify that the correct template URL shows in the Amazon S3 URL text box and choose Next.

  4. On the Specify stack details page, assign a name to your solution stack.

  5. Under Parameters, review the parameters for the template and modify them as necessary. This solution uses the following parameters.

Parameter Default Description
Log Bucket Name <Requires input> The S3 bucket name which stores the logs.
Log Bucket Prefix <Requires input> The S3 bucket path prefix which stores the logs.
Log Source Account ID <Optional> The AWS Account ID of the S3 bucket. Required for cross-account log ingestion (Please add a member account first). By default, the Account ID you logged in at Step 1 will be used.
Log Source Region <Optional> The AWS Region of the S3 bucket. By default, the Region you selected at Step 2 will be used.
Log Source Account Assume Role <Optional> The IAM Role ARN used for cross-account log ingestion. Required for cross-account log ingestion (Please add a member account first).
KMS-CMK ARN <Optional> The KMS-CMK ARN for encryption. Leave it blank to create a new KMS CMK.
Enable OpenSearch Ingestion as processor <Optional> Ingestion table Arn. Leave empty if you do not use OSI as Processor.
S3 Backup Bucket <Requires input> The S3 backup bucket name to store the failed ingestion logs.
Engine Type OpenSearch The engine type of the OpenSearch. Select OpenSearch or Elasticsearch.
OpenSearch Domain Name <Requires input> The domain name of the Amazon OpenSearch cluster.
OpenSearch Endpoint <Requires input> The OpenSearch endpoint URL. For example, vpc-your_opensearch_domain_name-xcvgw6uu2o6zafsiefxubwuohe.us-east-1.es.amazonaws.com
Index Prefix <Requires input> The common prefix of OpenSearch index for the log. The index name will be <Index Prefix>-<Log Type>-<Other Suffix>.
Create Sample Dashboard Yes Whether to create a sample OpenSearch dashboard.
VPC ID <Requires input> Select a VPC which has access to the OpenSearch domain. The log processing Lambda will reside in the selected VPC.
Subnet IDs <Requires input> Select at least two subnets which have access to the OpenSearch domain. The log processing Lambda will reside in the subnets. Make sure the subnets have access to the Amazon S3 service.
Security Group ID <Requires input> Select a Security Group which will be associated with the log processing Lambda. Make sure the Security Group has access to the OpenSearch domain.
Number Of Shards 5 Number of shards to distribute the index evenly across all data nodes. Keep the size of each shard between 10-50 GB.
Number of Replicas 1 Number of replicas for OpenSearch Index. Each replica is a full copy of an index. If the OpenSearch option is set to Domain with standby, you need to configure it to 2.
Age to Warm Storage <Optional> The age required to move the index into warm storage (e.g. 7d). Index age is the time between its creation and the present. Supported units are d (days) and h (hours). This is only effective when warm storage is enabled in OpenSearch.
Age to Cold Storage <Optional> The age required to move the index into cold storage (e.g. 30d). Index age is the time between its creation and the present. Supported units are d (days) and h (hours). This is only effective when cold storage is enabled in OpenSearch.
Age to Retain <Optional> The age to retain the index (e.g. 180d). Index age is the time between its creation and the present. Supported units are d (days) and h (hours). If value is "", the index will not be deleted.
Rollover Index Size <Optional> The minimum size of the shard storage required to roll over the index (e.g. 30GB).
Index Suffix yyyy-MM-dd The common suffix format of OpenSearch index for the log(Example: yyyy-MM-dd, yyyy-MM-dd-HH). The index name will be <Index Prefix>-<Log Type>-<Index Suffix>-000001.
Compression type best_compression The compression type to use to compress stored data. Available values are best_compression and default.
Refresh Interval 1s How often the index should refresh, which publishes its most recent changes and makes them available for searching. Can be set to -1 to disable refreshing. Default is 1s.
EnableS3Notification True An option to enable or disable notifications for Amazon S3 buckets. The default option is recommended for most cases.
LogProcessorRoleName <Optional> Specify a role name for the log processor. The name should NOT duplicate an existing role name. If no name is specified, a random name is generated.
QueueName <Optional> Specify a queue name for an SQS. The name should NOT duplicate an existing queue name. If no name is given, a random name will be generated.

  1. Choose Next.

  2. On the Configure stack options page, choose Next.

  3. On the Review page, review and confirm the settings. Check the box acknowledging that the template creates AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) resources.

  4. Choose Create stack to deploy the stack.

You can view the status of the stack in the AWS CloudFormation console in the Status column. You should receive a CREATE_COMPLETE status in approximately 10 minutes.

View dashboard

The dashboard includes the following visualizations.

Visualization Name Source Field Description
Global Filters
  • awsAccountId
  • awsRegion
  • resourceType
  • resourceId
  • resourceName
The charts are filtered according to Account ID, Region, Resource Type and other conditions.
Total Change Events
  • log event
Shows the number of configuration changes detected across all AWS resources during a selected time period.
Top Resource Types
  • resourceType
Displays the breakdown of configuration changes by the most frequently modified AWS resource types during a selected time period.
Config History
  • log event
Presents a bar chart that displays the distribution of events over time.
Total Delete Events
  • log event
Shows the number of AWS resource deletion events detected by AWS Config during a selected time period.
Config Status
  • configurationItemStatus
Displays the operational state of the AWS Config service across monitored regions and accounts.
Top S3 Changes
  • resourceName
 Displays the Amazon S3 buckets undergoing the highest number of configuration changes during a selected time period.
Top Changed Resources
  • resourceName
  • resourceId
  • resourceType
 Displays the individual AWS resources undergoing the highest number of configuration changes during a selected time period.
Top VPC Changes
  • resourceId
 Presents a bar chart that Displays the Amazon VPCs undergoing the highest number of configuration changes during a selected time period.
Top Subnet Changes
  • resourceId
 Delivers targeted visibility into the subnets undergoing the most transformation for governance, security and stability.
Top Network Interface Changes
  • resourceId
 Spotlights the Amazon VPC network interfaces seeing the most configuration changes during a selected period.
Top Security Group Changes
  • resourceId
 Top 10 changed groups rank by total modification count.
EC2 Config
  • @timestamp
  • awsAccountId
  • awsRegion
  • resourceId
  • configurationItemStatus
 Allows reconstructing the incremental changes applied to EC2 configurations over time for auditing.
RDS Config
  • @timestamp
  • awsAccountId
  • awsRegion
  • resourceId
  • resourceName
  • configurationItemStatus
 Shows the configuration history and changes detected by AWS Config for RDS database resources
Latest Config Changes
  • @timestamp
  • awsAccountId
  • awsRegion
  • resourceType
  • resourceId
  • resourceName
  • relationships
  • configurationItemStatus
 Offers an at-a-glance overview of infrastructure modifications.

Sample Dashboard

You can access the built-in dashboard in Amazon OpenSearch to view log data. For more information, see Access Dashboard.

You can click the below image to view the high-resolution sample dashboard.

config-db