Monitoring Stack AWS CDK

The below provides a developer oriented README - for a quickstart/tutorial to deploy the monitoring stack, see setup.

This CDK project deploys an open-source monitoring solution on AWS EC2 that includes both Bugsink (error tracking) and Uptime Kuma (uptime monitoring) with automatic DNS configuration and SSL certificates using Docker Compose and Caddy reverse proxy.

Prerequisites

• AWS CLI configured with appropriate credentials
• Node.js and npm installed
• AWS CDK CLI installed (npm install -g aws-cdk)
• A Route 53 hosted zone for your domain

Quickstart

The below is a summary of more detailed setup instructions provided in setup.

1. Clone the repository and install dependencies:

bash npm install

1. Configure environment variables:

bash cp .env.dist .env

1. Edit the .env file with your configuration:

```bash # Stack name for CloudFormation CDKSTACKNAME=monitoring-stack

# Your Route 53 hosted zone ID (found in AWS Console > Route 53 > Hosted zones) CDKHOSTEDZONE_ID=Z1234567890ABC

# The domain name for your hosted zone (e.g., example.com) CDKHOSTEDZONEDOMAINNAME=example.com

# The subdomain where Bugsink will be accessible (e.g., bugsink) # This will create bugsink.example.com CDKBUGSINKSUBDOMAIN=bugsink

# The subdomain where Uptime Kuma will be accessible (e.g., uptime) # This will create uptime.example.com CDKUPTIMESUBDOMAIN=uptime ```

Deployment

1. Bootstrap CDK (first time only):

bash npx cdk bootstrap

1. Deploy the stack:

bash npx cdk deploy

1. Access your monitoring services:

After deployment, your services will be available at:

• Bugsink (Error Tracking): https://{CDK_BUGSINK_SUBDOMAIN}.{CDK_HOSTED_ZONE_DOMAIN_NAME}
• Uptime Kuma (Uptime Monitoring): https://{CDK_UPTIME_SUBDOMAIN}.{CDK_HOSTED_ZONE_DOMAIN_NAME}

Login credentials for Bugsink are automatically generated and stored in AWS Secrets Manager.

What Gets Deployed

• VPC: A new VPC with public subnet (single AZ for cost optimization)
• EC2 Instance: An EC2 instance (t3.small by default) running both monitoring services
• Elastic IP: A static IP address for the instance
• Route 53 Records: DNS A records for both subdomains pointing to your instance
• Security Groups: Firewall rules allowing HTTP (80) and HTTPS (443) access
• AWS Secrets Manager: Secure storage for database passwords and API keys
• Docker Services:
  • Bugsink: Error tracking and monitoring application
  • Uptime Kuma: Uptime monitoring dashboard
  • MySQL: Database for Bugsink
  • Caddy: Reverse proxy with automatic SSL certificate management

Architecture

The deployed solution uses Docker Compose to coordinate multiple services:

• Caddy acts as a reverse proxy, automatically obtaining SSL certificates from Let's Encrypt
• Bugsink provides error tracking capabilities with Django backend
• Uptime Kuma offers uptime monitoring with a web-based dashboard
• MySQL serves as the database for Bugsink
• All services run on a single EC2 instance with persistent data storage

Configuration

• Default instance: t3.small (can be customized)
• Default storage: 80GB EBS volume (can be customized)
• Automatic SSL certificate generation via Let's Encrypt
• Persistent data storage for databases and application data
• Systemd service for automatic startup and management

Monitoring and Logs

Once deployed, you can monitor your services:

```bash

SSH into the instance (using Session Manager)

aws ssm start-session --target

Check service status

docker compose ps

View logs

docker compose logs bugsink docker compose logs uptime-kuma docker compose logs caddy docker compose logs mysql

View installation logs

tail -f /home/ubuntu/user-data.log ```

Cleanup

To destroy all resources:

bash cdk destroy

Note: This will permanently delete all data stored in the monitoring applications. Make sure to backup any important data before destroying the stack.

Troubleshooting

• Ensure your AWS credentials have the necessary permissions for EC2, VPC, Route 53, Secrets Manager, and CloudFormation
• Verify that your hosted zone exists and the domain is properly configured
• Check that the subdomains don't already exist in your hosted zone
• SSL certificates may take a few minutes to generate after deployment
• Ensure DNS propagation is complete before accessing the services
• Check the user-data logs on the instance for deployment issues: /home/ubuntu/user-data.log

Security Considerations

• Database credentials are automatically generated and stored securely in AWS Secrets Manager
• SSL certificates are automatically managed by Caddy
• The instance is accessible only via HTTPS (port 443) and HTTP (port 80, for Let's Encrypt challenges)
• Consider restricting access further by modifying security groups if needed

Adding SMTP to BugSink and uptime-kuma

BugSink

Follow the settings at Bugsink settings in the Email section, including at least:

• EMAIL_HOST
• EMAILHOSTUSER
• EMAILHOSTPASSWORD

To configure these, connect to the instance using AWS Session Manager, then

sudo su - ubuntu cd ~ docker compose down vim docker-compose.yml

add the above environment variables in the Bugsink service,

then save the file and

docker-compose up -d

uptime-kuma

You can configure SMTP while the server is running. Simply visit settings -> Notifications -> Setup Notification -> Notification type Email (SMTP) then fill out the form. You can test the connection to validate correct settings.

Cost Considerations

Based on 2025 Pricing - Sydney region:

Monthly Operating Costs (USD):

• EC2 t3.small instance: $19.34 ($0.0264/hour × 24 × 30.5 days)
• EBS GP3 storage (80GB): $7.68 ($0.096 × 80GB)
• AWS Secrets Manager: $0.80 (2 secrets × $0.40 each)
• Elastic IP: Free (when associated with running instance)

Total Monthly Cost: $27.82 USD (~$42.56 AUD)

Annual Cost: $333.84 USD (~$510.78 AUD)

Cost Optimization Options:

• Use t3.micro (2GB RAM) for lighter workloads: saves ~$10/month
• Reduce EBS storage from 80GB to 40GB: saves ~$3.84/month
• Use Reserved Instances (1-year term): saves ~30-40% on EC2 costs

Cost Breakdown:

• EC2 compute: 70% of total cost
• Storage: 28% of total cost
• Secrets management: 2% of total cost

This represents a cost-effective solution for organizations needing both error tracking and uptime monitoring, with predictable monthly expenses and multiple optimization paths available.