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Monitoring and logging are foundational pillars of operating reliable, secure, and scalable Linux workloads in the cloud. As organizations migrate enterprise applications to Amazon Web Services, visibility into system performance, application behavior, and security events becomes critical for maintaining uptime and meeting compliance requirements. On AWS EC2, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 (RHEL 8) is a common choice for production environments due to its long-term support, stability, and enterprise tooling.
This article explores best practices, native tools, and cloud-integrated approaches for monitoring and logging RHEL 8 systems running on Amazon EC2. From system-level metrics to centralized log aggregation, we will cover how to design an observability strategy that scales with your workloads. In the middle of this discussion, it is important to highlight that Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 on AWS EC2 provides a strong foundation for enterprise monitoring thanks to its modern system architecture, predictable lifecycle, and compatibility with AWS-native services.
Why Monitoring and Logging Matter in Cloud Environments
In traditional on-premises infrastructure, monitoring often focuses on hardware utilization and local system logs. In the cloud, the scope expands significantly. Instances are ephemeral, scaling events are frequent, and workloads may span multiple regions or availability zones.
Effective monitoring and logging on RHEL 8 systems enable you to:
- Detect performance bottlenecks before they impact users
- Troubleshoot failures in distributed applications
- Identify security incidents and suspicious behavior
- Meet auditing and compliance requirements
- Optimize infrastructure costs by understanding usage patterns
Without proper observability, even well-architected EC2 environments can become difficult to manage as they grow.
Understanding the Monitoring Stack on RHEL 8
RHEL 8 introduced several modern components that simplify monitoring and logging. At the operating system level, systemd plays a central role, unifying service management, logging, and resource control.
Key components include:
- systemd-journald for structured logging
- Performance Co-Pilot (PCP) for metrics collection
- rsyslog for traditional log forwarding
- SELinux auditing for security-related events
These tools form the baseline monitoring and logging stack on RHEL 8 and integrate well with both open-source and AWS-native observability solutions.
System Metrics Monitoring on AWS EC2
Native AWS Metrics with CloudWatch
Amazon EC2 automatically publishes a core set of metrics to Amazon CloudWatch, including CPU utilization, disk I/O, and network throughput. While these metrics are useful, they do not provide deep insight into the operating system or application layer.
To extend visibility, you can install the CloudWatch Agent on RHEL 8. This agent allows you to collect:
- Memory utilization
- Swap usage
- Disk space and inode usage
- Custom application metrics
By combining EC2 metrics with OS-level data, CloudWatch becomes a central hub for monitoring RHEL 8 workloads.
Performance Co-Pilot (PCP)
RHEL 8 includes Performance Co-Pilot, a powerful framework for collecting, storing, and analyzing system performance metrics. PCP provides:
- Low-overhead metrics collection
- Historical performance data
- Detailed insights into CPU, memory, storage, and processes
PCP is particularly useful for diagnosing intermittent performance issues that may not be visible through high-level cloud metrics alone.
Logging Architecture on RHEL 8
systemd-journald and Structured Logs
Unlike traditional syslog-only systems, RHEL 8 uses systemd-journald to capture structured logs from services, the kernel, and user processes. These logs include metadata such as service name, process ID, and timestamps, making them easier to filter and analyze.
journald logs can be retained locally, forwarded to rsyslog, or exported to external systems. This flexibility allows you to design logging pipelines that match your operational needs.
Traditional Logs with rsyslog
Despite the shift toward journald, many applications still write logs to text files under /var/log. rsyslog remains an essential component for forwarding these logs to centralized destinations.
Common use cases include:
- Sending logs to a centralized log server
- Forwarding logs to Amazon CloudWatch Logs
- Integrating with third-party SIEM platforms
On RHEL 8, rsyslog can be configured to read from journald, ensuring compatibility with modern and legacy logging approaches.
Centralized Logging on AWS
Amazon CloudWatch Logs
CloudWatch Logs is a natural choice for centralizing logs from RHEL 8 EC2 instances. Using the CloudWatch Agent, you can stream:
- System logs
- Application logs
- Security and audit logs
Centralized logging simplifies troubleshooting, enables long-term retention, and allows you to define metric filters and alarms based on log patterns.
Integration with Open-Source Logging Stacks
Many organizations prefer open-source logging stacks such as the ELK stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, and Kibana) or OpenSearch. RHEL 8 integrates cleanly with these platforms through Filebeat, Fluent Bit, or rsyslog.
These solutions provide:
- Advanced search and filtering
- Dashboards for log analytics
- Correlation across multiple systems and services
When running on AWS EC2, these stacks can be deployed on dedicated instances or managed services, depending on operational requirements.
Security Monitoring and Audit Logging
SELinux and Auditd
Security is a core strength of RHEL 8, and monitoring security events is essential in cloud environments. SELinux enforces mandatory access controls and generates audit events when policies are violated.
The auditd service captures:
- Authentication attempts
- Privilege escalations
- Policy violations
- File access events
Forwarding audit logs to a centralized system enables security teams to detect anomalies and respond quickly to potential threats.
AWS Security Integrations
In addition to OS-level security monitoring, AWS provides services such as GuardDuty and CloudTrail. While these services operate at the AWS account level, combining them with RHEL 8 audit logs creates a more complete security picture.
Monitoring Applications on RHEL 8
System metrics alone are not sufficient for modern applications. Application-level monitoring provides insight into response times, error rates, and throughput.
Common approaches include:
- Exposing metrics via Prometheus exporters
- Collecting logs from application frameworks
- Using APM tools compatible with RHEL 8
On AWS EC2, application metrics can be pushed to CloudWatch or external monitoring platforms, allowing teams to correlate infrastructure health with application performance.
Best Practices for Monitoring and Logging RHEL 8 on EC2
To build a robust observability strategy, consider the following best practices:
- Standardize monitoring and logging configurations across instances
- Centralize logs and metrics to avoid data silos
- Retain logs according to compliance and operational requirements
- Monitor both system and application layers
- Regularly review alerts to reduce noise and improve signal quality
Automation tools and configuration management can help enforce these practices consistently across environments.
Conclusion
Monitoring and logging are essential components of operating RHEL 8 systems on AWS EC2 at scale. By combining RHEL 8’s built-in tools with AWS-native services and open-source platforms, organizations gain deep visibility into system performance, application behavior, and security events.
A well-designed monitoring and logging architecture not only reduces downtime and accelerates troubleshooting but also strengthens security and compliance posture. As cloud environments continue to evolve, investing in observability for RHEL 8 workloads ensures that your infrastructure remains reliable, secure, and ready to support critical business applications.
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