AWS AI Services Reference
Service Quick Reference
| Service | What It Does | Pricing Tier | When to Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| CloudWatch Basic Metrics | Monitor any AWS resource metric | Free (standard metrics) | Always — baseline monitoring |
| CloudWatch Anomaly Detection | Automatic baseline learning + deviation alerts | $0.30/alarm/month beyond 10 free | When you have enough history (2+ weeks) and stable patterns |
| Cost Explorer Web UI | Cost trends, service breakdown, forecasting | Free (web console) | Monthly cost review, anomaly investigation |
| Cost Explorer API | Programmatic cost data access | $0.01 per API request | When building cost reporting automation |
| Amazon Q Developer | Code explanation, security review, generation | Free (50 agentic req/month via Builder ID) | IaC review, code security scan |
| Amazon Q Business | Enterprise AI assistant with org data | Paid ($20-40/user/month) | Out of scope for this course |
| DevOps Guru | Cross-service operational anomaly detection | 3-month free trial, then resource-based | Optional stretch — enable only if you'll disable it |
| CodeGuru Reviewer | Automated code review and security analysis | Free trial, then per-line pricing | Code review automation, security scanning |
| Amazon Bedrock | Foundation model API access | Pay per token | Module 10+ — building custom agent backends |
CLI Commands Used in Lab
CloudWatch
# List all metrics in a namespace
aws cloudwatch list-metrics --namespace AWS/EC2 --region us-east-1
# List all alarms
aws cloudwatch describe-alarms --region us-east-1
# List alarms in ALARM state only
aws cloudwatch describe-alarms \
--state-value ALARM \
--region us-east-1
# Get metric statistics (last hour of CPU data for one instance)
aws cloudwatch get-metric-statistics \
--namespace AWS/EC2 \
--metric-name CPUUtilization \
--dimensions Name=InstanceId,Value=i-1234567890abcdef0 \
--start-time $(date -u -v-1H +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ") \
--end-time $(date -u +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ") \
--period 300 \
--statistics Average \
--region us-east-1
Cost Explorer
# Get cost and usage for last 30 days, grouped by service
aws ce get-cost-and-usage \
--time-period Start=$(date -v-30d +"%Y-%m-%d"),End=$(date +"%Y-%m-%d") \
--granularity MONTHLY \
--metrics BlendedCost \
--group-by Type=DIMENSION,Key=SERVICE \
--region us-east-1
# Get cost anomalies (requires Cost Anomaly Detection enabled)
aws ce get-anomalies \
--date-interval StartDate=$(date -v-30d +"%Y-%m-%d"),EndDate=$(date +"%Y-%m-%d")
Note: The Cost Explorer API charges $0.01 per request. The web console is free. Use the CLI commands above only for automation and scripting — manual exploration belongs in the console.
Free Tier Details (Verified April 2026)
| Service | Free Tier Limit | After Free Tier |
|---|---|---|
| CloudWatch Alarms | 10 alarms free | $0.10/alarm/month |
| CloudWatch Anomaly Detection | 10 anomaly detection ranges free | $0.30/alarm/month |
| CloudWatch Metrics | 10 custom metrics, basic AWS metrics always free | $0.30/custom metric/month |
| Cost Explorer UI | Unlimited free | — |
| Cost Explorer API | 0 free requests | $0.01/request |
| Q Developer (Free) | 50 agentic requests/month, unlimited inline suggestions | Upgrade to Pro for more |
| DevOps Guru | 3-month free trial | ~$0.0028/resource-hour analyzed |
AWS Free Tier Note: As of July 2025, AWS changed the free tier from "always free" to a 6-month credit for new accounts. Services previously "always free" (like CloudWatch basic metrics) remain free indefinitely — only the initial credits structure changed.