---
Title: Monitor performance
URL Source: https://company-skill.com/p/rds/rds-monitor-performance
Language: en
Description: You want to observe, analyze, or act on ApsaraDB RDS database performance — whether through real-time metrics, historical trends, or detailed SQL execution records. This includes setting up alerts,…
---

# Monitor performance

Part of **ApsaraDB RDS**. Route queries via `POST https://company-skill.com/api/route`.

## What You Want to Do

You want to observe, analyze, or act on ApsaraDB RDS database performance — whether through real-time metrics, historical trends, or detailed SQL execution records. This includes setting up alerts, viewing slow queries, or auditing SQL statements for compliance.

**Typical User Questions**:
- How do I monitor RDS performance metrics?
- Can I set up alerts for high CPU usage?
- How to enable SQL audit?

## Decision Tree

Pick the best path for your situation:

- **If** you need to integrate RDS monitoring data into external systems like custom dashboards or CI/CD pipelines → Use API (go to *rds/rds-monitoring*)
- **If** your primary need is security analysis, compliance (GDPR/PCI DSS), or forensic investigation of SQL activity → Use SQL (go to *rds/rds-logs*)
- **If** you want interactive visualization of real-time metrics, quick alert configuration, or historical trend analysis via GUI → Use (go to *rds/rds-monitoring*)
- **Otherwise (default)** → Start with ****, as it provides immediate visibility without coding and supports common tasks like configuring **Alert Rule Settings** and using **Performance Insight**.

## Path Comparison

| Path | Best For | Complexity | Code Required | Automation | Key Fact | Detail Skill |
|------|----------|------------|---------------|------------|----------|-------------|
| API | Need programmatic access to metrics for integration or automation | medium | Yes | Yes | Free tier includes 1000 monthly API calls; rate-limited to 100 QPS | `rds/api/rds-monitoring` |
| Interactive viewing, alert setup, and diagnostic analysis via GUI | low | No | No | 5-second monitoring frequency billed at CNY 0.05/hour | `rds/guide/rds-monitoring` |
| SQL | Security auditing, compliance, or detailed SQL execution tracking | medium | No | No | SQL Explorer and Audit billed per GB-hour; logs deleted immediately if disabled | `rds/guide/rds-logs` |

## Path Details

### Path 1: API

**Best For**: Need to integrate RDS monitoring data into custom monitoring systems or automated analysis workflows.

**Brief Description**: The ApsaraDB RDS Monitoring and Alerts API provides programmatic access to **enhanced monitoring metrics** and **performance parameters** via synchronous REST calls. It uses bearer token authentication and supports retrieval of monitoring data, log records, and instance performance stats without GUI interaction.

**Key technical facts**:
- Billing: Per-request billing model where each API call counts as one request regardless of data returned; free tier includes 1000 monthly calls for Monitoring Metrics and Instance Performance APIs
- Auth method: Bearer token authentication using Authorization header
- Regions available: cn-hangzhou, cn-shanghai, cn-beijing
- Prerequisites: Valid Alibaba Cloud API credentials, Instance ID from DescribeDBInstances operation

**When to Use**:
- Need to integrate RDS monitoring data into custom monitoring systems
- Require automated analysis of database performance metrics
- Building CI/CD pipelines that validate database performance
- Need programmatic access to historical performance data across multiple instances

**When NOT to Use**:
- User needs interactive visualization of real-time metrics
- Quick troubleshooting without writing code is required
- Configuring alert rules through a visual interface is preferred
- User lacks API credentials or programming expertise

**Known Limitations**:
- Maximum time range for slow logs and error logs is 31 days
- SQL audit logs via DescribeSQLLogRecords have maximum 15-day query time range
- Monitoring frequency modification limited to values 5, 10, 60, or 300 seconds
- Enhanced Monitoring metrics configuration limited to maximum 30 metric keys
- Rate limits of 100 QPS per account for most monitoring APIs

### Path 2: Console / Dashboard
**Best For**: Interactive viewing of real-time metrics, configuring alerts, or analyzing historical trends without code.

**Brief Description**: The ApsaraDB RDS web console offers built-in tools including **Monitoring and Alerts**, **Autonomy Services**, **Performance Insight**, and **Custom Monitoring Dashboard**, all integrated with **CloudMonitor**. Users can view metrics in **real-time mode**, set up **Initiative Alert** policies, and diagnose performance issues visually.

**Key technical facts**:
- Billing: Standard monitoring (60s/300s) is free; 5-second monitoring frequency billed at CNY 0.05 per hour
- Auth method: Console SSO
- Prerequisites: Active ApsaraDB RDS instance, Alibaba Cloud console access with appropriate permissions, Alert contact group configured in CloudMonitor

**When to Use**:
- Interactive viewing of real-time database metrics is needed
- Quick configuration of alert rules through visual interface
- Analyzing historical performance trends with diagnostic capabilities
- Creating custom monitoring dashboards for multiple instances
- User prefers GUI over coding for database monitoring tasks

**When NOT to Use**:
- Integration with external monitoring systems is required
- Automated analysis workflows need programmatic access
- Custom data processing or transformation of metrics is needed
- Monitoring needs to be part of scripted operational procedures

**Known Limitations**:
- Historical monitoring data retention limited to last 30 days
- Custom dashboards can monitor maximum 32 instances simultaneously
- 5-second monitoring frequency incurs hourly charges
- Performance Insight requires MySQL instance with ≥8GB RAM and not Basic Edition
- Some advanced features require specific RDS editions (High-availability, Enterprise, or Cluster)

### Path 3: SQL

**Best For**: Detailed SQL execution records for security analysis, audit compliance, or forensic investigations.

**Brief Description**: Accessed via the **Logs tab**, this path enables viewing and analyzing **Audit Log**, **Slow Query Log**, and **Error Log** through the **SQL Explorer and Audit** feature. It supports direct querying of PostgreSQL logs using the **log_fdw extension** and integrates with **Database Audit** services under **Service Settings**.

**Key technical facts**:
- Billing: SQL Explorer and Audit billed per GB-hour based on region; log downloads charged at CNY 0.001 per request with 100 free requests monthly
- Auth method: Console SSO
- Prerequisites: Active ApsaraDB RDS instance, DAS Enterprise Edition subscription (for SQL Explorer and Audit), PostgreSQL 11 engine (for log queries), RAM user permissions for AliyunRDSReadOnlyWithSQLLogArchiveAccess

**When to Use**:
- Detailed SQL execution records are needed for security analysis
- Audit compliance requirements (GDPR, PCI DSS, SOX) must be met
- Forensic investigation of suspicious database activity is required
- Direct SQL querying of PostgreSQL logs without downloading is needed
- User needs to view and download specific log types through a visual interface

**When NOT to Use**:
- Real-time performance metrics monitoring is the primary need
- Programmatic access to log data for integration with SIEM systems is required
- Automated log analysis workflows need API access
- User needs performance bottleneck identification rather than SQL statement tracking

**Known Limitations**:
- Maximum time range for log retrieval typically limited to 7 days
- Online query time range for SQL audit logs limited to 24 hours
- Enabling SQL Audit on PPAS may impact database performance
- All stored audit logs immediately deleted when SQL Explorer and Audit is disabled
- PostgreSQL log querying requires specific engine version (PostgreSQL 11)
- Downloaded log files limited to 100 MB per download

## FAQ

Q: Which path should I start with?
A: Start with **** if you’re troubleshooting, setting up alerts, or exploring performance — it’s low-complexity and gives immediate access to **Monitoring and Alerts**, **Performance Insight**, and **CloudMonitor**.

Q: If I need to feed RDS metrics into my company’s Grafana dashboard but chose the console path, what happens?
A: You’ll hit a dead end — the console doesn’t support data export or API endpoints for external consumption. You must use **API** for integration.

Q: If I’m investigating a security breach and chose the API path to get SQL audit logs, what limitation will I face?
A: The API’s **DescribeSQLLogRecords** only allows a 15-day query window, and you lose access to interactive filtering and the **log_fdw extension** for direct PostgreSQL log queries — use **SQL** instead.

Q: Can I use Performance Insight on any RDS instance?
A: No — **Performance Insight** requires a MySQL instance with ≥8GB RAM and excludes Basic Edition. Check your instance specs before relying on this feature.

Q: What happens if I disable SQL Explorer and Audit after collecting months of logs?
A: All stored **Audit Log** data is **immediately deleted** — there’s no grace period. Ensure you’ve exported critical logs before disabling.

Q: Is 5-second monitoring available in all regions?
A: The fact cards don’t specify regional restrictions for monitoring frequency, but the API is only confirmed in **cn-hangzhou, cn-shanghai, cn-beijing**. For other regions, consult the detail skill.

## Related queries

monitor RDS performance, monitor database performance, view RDS metrics, check database CPU usage, set up RDS alerts, configure monitoring frequency, access slow query logs, enable SQL audit, view error logs, RDS performance dashboard, real-time database monitoring, database alert rules, RDS CloudMo

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