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Build a CloudWatch dashboard around the question responders need to answer: is the problem at the input, inside the MediaLive channel, or at an output destination? Use the AWS/MediaLive namespace, select dimensions that identify the channel path, and separate input-health panels from output and destination panels. Add alarms only after setting thresholds to match the channel’s expected behavior and incident response needs; AWS does not prescribe universal thresholds.
What CloudWatch shows—and how quickly
MediaLive sends metric datapoints to CloudWatch every second. That does not mean the CloudWatch console redraws graphs every second: AWS documents a minimum console refresh rate of 30 seconds for MediaLive metrics. CloudWatch aggregates datapoints according to the statistic and period selected, so use a short period to inspect recent incidents and a coarser period for longer-term patterns.
MediaLive metric data is available for up to 15 months, but the maximum query range depends on the period: three hours at one-second periods; 360 hours (15 days) at periods from five through 60 seconds; 1,512 hours (63 days) at five-minute periods; and 455 days (15 months) at periods of one hour or longer. See AWS’s MediaLive CloudWatch metrics documentation for metric semantics, dimensions, and period guidance.
Choose dimensions before adding graphs
In CloudWatch, metrics are identified by their namespace, metric name, and dimension pairs. For MediaLive, dimensions can include ChannelID, Pipeline, ActiveInputFailoverLabel, OutputGroupName, and AudioDescriptionName. Choose dimensions that match the path you need to investigate rather than selecting every available dimension.
#1 Best Overall
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- Channel and pipeline: Use
ChannelIDandPipelineto distinguish channel paths. Standard channels have two pipelines; single-pipeline channels use pipeline 0. - Active input failover: Include
ActiveInputFailoverLabelwhen automatic input failover is configured and you want to isolate the active input. Without this dimension, some metrics may reflect both inputs. Do not add it blindly to a channel without automatic input failover; it can result in no data. - Output group: Use
OutputGroupNameto separate destination behavior where the metric supports it.
Missing data is not automatically proof of an outage. It can reflect channel state, initialization, input availability, transport type, or an inapplicable dimension. For example, AWS documents that InputVideoFrameRate at zero means input was received at some point since channel start but no frames arrived during the current period. No datapoints can mean that no input has been received since start—or that the selected failover dimension does not apply. Review the metric and channel state together; see AWS’s metric definitions.
Build the dashboard around operational questions
Create a CloudWatch dashboard with metric widgets in the AWS/MediaLive namespace. Give each panel a title that identifies the channel, pipeline, output group or other selected scope, and set a time range appropriate to the question. AWS dashboards support both text and metric widgets in a JSON dashboard body; the CloudWatch dashboard documentation describes the format.
Rank #2
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Is input arriving consistently?
InputVideoFrameRate— AWS recommends theMaxstatistic. A zero value means no frames arrived in the current period, although input had been received since the channel started.ChannelInputErrorSeconds— Consider this for applicable RTP Push, SRT, or MediaConnect inputs.NetworkIn— Useful as traffic-rate context, but it includes more than media payload and is not a pure ingest-bitrate measurement.
Is MediaLive producing outputs?
ActiveOutputs— AWS recommends theMinimumstatistic. It counts outputs being produced and successfully written; zero means none are successfully written. Check whether pause-on-input-loss behavior makes that state intentional for your channel.FillMsec— Tracks input frames dropped during the period and replaced with fill frames. A non-zero value can indicate unhealthy input; automatic failover may keep it at zero.NetworkOut— TheAveragestatistic provides output traffic context, but the metric includes other service traffic and is not media-only.
Are HTTP destinations rejecting output?
Output4xxErrorsandOutput5xxErrors— Use theSumstatistic for HTTP output destinations to see destination error counts.
Does pipeline or workflow state need attention?
Add PipelinesLocked or active-alert metrics where they apply to the channel configuration and have a defined operational response. MediaLive exposes other metrics as well; select them according to the workflow and failure modes you need to detect rather than filling the dashboard with unrelated graphs.
Metric math can create derived time series for dashboard widgets. Use it only when the result is well-defined: the input metrics should have compatible dimensions and periods, and their missing-data behavior should not make the calculation misleading. See CloudWatch metric math documentation.
Rank #3
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Set alarms for actionable deviations
CloudWatch alarms can evaluate metric thresholds and send notifications or take actions. There is no universal MediaLive threshold for a low frame rate or high error count: choose one from the channel’s configured input and output expectations, historical normal behavior, tolerated incident duration, and escalation process. Define the statistic, comparison operator, threshold, period, and number of datapoints to evaluate based on what responders should do.
Decide explicitly how an alarm should treat missing data. A stopped, initializing, paused, or waiting-for-input channel may produce expected gaps; treating every gap as an incident can create noisy alerts. Conversely, a missing datapoint may be important for a channel expected to be continuously active. Check the channel’s operating states and response policy before selecting the alarm’s missing-data behavior. AWS documents alarm configuration in its CloudWatch alarm guide.
Rank #4
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MediaLive state-change and alert events can also be delivered through CloudWatch Events, commonly surfaced through EventBridge. AWS notes that event delivery is best-effort, so use event rules as a complement to a metric-alarm strategy, not as its replacement. See MediaLive event documentation.
MediaLive workflow monitor can associate alarm template groups with signal maps. Templates use an existing CloudWatch metric and specify its statistic, comparison operator, threshold, period, and datapoints. AWS offers recommended templates, but verify that each fits the resources and response objectives in your workflow before relying on it. See workflow monitor alarm documentation.
Use the MediaLive Health tab for a quick check
The MediaLive console’s Health tab shows some metrics over ranges from the last hour through the last week. AWS says CloudWatch exposes all MediaLive metrics and longer historical data; metrics can also be retrieved through the CLI, REST API, or SDK. A namespace card appears in a selected Region only if a channel has been started within the last 15 months. The Health tab has no charge to view its supported metrics. CloudWatch console viewing and API retrieval charges are separate considerations, so check current CloudWatch pricing for your usage.
Common monitoring pitfalls
- Graph has no data: Check the channel state, whether the channel has started, the selected time range and Region, and the metric’s dimensions. Remove
ActiveInputFailoverLabelif automatic input failover is not configured. - Frame rate is zero: Interpret this as no frames during the current period, not necessarily as proof that input has never arrived. Compare it with channel state and other input signals.
- Active outputs is zero: Confirm whether outputs should be active and whether pause-on-input-loss behavior makes zero expected. If not, inspect input condition and destination-related metrics.
- Network traffic looks different from media bitrate:
NetworkInandNetworkOutinclude traffic beyond media payload, so do not treat either as an exact media-only bitrate. - Alarm fires during a normal transition: Review the threshold, evaluation period, number of datapoints, and missing-data treatment against initializing, paused, stopped, or waiting-for-input behavior.
- Dashboard looks stale: The console’s documented minimum refresh rate is 30 seconds. MediaLive’s one-second datapoint delivery does not mean the console view refreshes at that rate.
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