Configure AWS User Notifications for AWS Services

Introduction

Amazon Web Service (AWS) recently announced a new service, ‘AWS User Notifications’ that enables you to centrally setup and view notifications from various AWS services like AWS EC2 instance state changes, AWS S3 object events, AWS CloudWatch alarms, AWS Support case updates, etc. Configuring and viewing notifications in the Console Notifications Center is available at zero additional cost.

You can view notifications from AWS Services across accounts, regions, and services in a Console Notification Center.       

You can also configure multiple delivery channels where you would like to receive notifications, including Email, AWS Console mobile app push notifications, and AWS chatbot notifications.

How to set up AWS User Notifications?

1. Notification Configuration – To receive AWS notifications, you must first create notification configurations. It is a placeholder of your selected AWS services that you want to be notified about. If you are creating a notification configuration for the first time, you need to set up a notification hub first.
2. Notification Hub – The notification hub allows you to select the region where your notification data will be stored and processed. You must select at least one notification hub in the account to use AWS User notifications.
   
3. Delivery Channels – Configure delivery channels where you want notifications sent out via Emails, AWS Chatbot, and AWS Console Mobile App.

Configure Notification Configurations

Step 1. Go to AWS User Notifications in AWS Management Console.

Step 2. Navigate to Notification Center and select Create Notification Configurations.

Step 3. Create at least one notification hub to proceed further with creating notification configuration.

Step 4. Add a name and description of your choice for your notification configuration. Here, I am configuring notifications to monitor the EC2 instance state.

Step 5. Create an Event rule using Pattern Builder to create one or more event rules to receive notifications about specific events.

• Select the AWS Service name to use as an event source.
• Select Event types.
• Select AWS Regions where your service data is stored.

You can create multiple Event rules for each Event type.

Step 6. Choose Aggregation settings to define how you want to receive notifications. It reduces the number of notifications that you receive by combining multiple events into a few notifications based on the option you choose. If you want to receive notifications about events instantly, you can choose the ‘Do not aggregate’ option.

Here, I just choose the default option, Receive within 5 minutes.

Step 7. Configure the delivery channel where you want notifications to be sent. This is an optional setting.

Step 8. If you have already configured the delivery channel as Email, then you choose that recipient email address.

Step 9. Manage Tags is also optional here. You can define the Key and Value you want to assign to an AWS resource to identify your resource.

Step 10. As a final step, just click on the button Create Notification Configuration.

Step 11. Go back to the Notification configuration window to check the notification configuration ‘MonitorEC2Instance’ you created.

Step 12. Navigate to the EC2 console and perform some changes to the EC2 instance state, like Stop, Start, and Terminate.

Step 13. You should be able to see all these events as notifications in Notification Center.

View Notifications

After creating Notification Configuration, you should be able to view notifications for events matching event rules as configured in earlier steps.

1. To view notifications in the Navigation bar, click on the Bell icon to view notifications. To view more details about notifications, click on a selected notification.
   
2. You can also view notifications in the Console Notification Center. Navigate to AWS User Notification and view the list of notifications in the Notification Center section.
   

Availability

Currently, User Notification is available in US East (Ohio, N.Virginia), US West (N. California, Oregon), Asia Pacific (Mumbai, Osaka, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo), Canada (Central), Europe (Frankfurt, Ireland, London, Paris, Stockholm), South America. (São Paulo)