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Amazon Managed Servicefor Prometheus (AMP)

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AMP is AWS’s managed Prometheus-compatible metrics service — PromQL, remote write, and long retention without operating Prometheus servers.

Platform & Operations. Last reviewed July 2026.

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Definition

Amazon Managed Service for Prometheus (AMP) is a Prometheus-compatible monitoring service. You remote-write metrics (often via ADOT or Prometheus servers), query with PromQL, and retain data without running your own Prometheus HA pair. AMP pairs naturally with Amazon Managed Grafana (AMG) for dashboards.

When to use it

  • PromQL-native teams and existing Prometheus exporters
  • High-cardinality Kubernetes metrics that are expensive or awkward as CloudWatch custom metrics
  • Multi-account metric federation patterns that fit Prometheus better than CloudWatch alone

When not to use it

  • Most early CloudWatch + Application Signals estates with no PromQL requirement — AMP is a second billing surface
  • Teams that only need AWS service metrics and basic custom metrics

Tips

  • Ingestion, not retention, usually dominates AMP cost — drop unused series at the scrape/relabel stage
  • Adopt AMP only after Application Signals fails a measured gap (beyond CloudWatch)

Gotchas

Serious

  • Cardinality explosions (unbounded label values) can spike ingest cost overnight
  • Dual-running CloudWatch custom metrics and AMP without a plan doubles spend

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Pictures:James Murray in the Scriptorium (public domain); Card Division of the Library of Congress, 1900–1920 (public domain); Salle des catalogues, Bibliothèque Mazarine, Paris, Marie-Lan Nguyen (CC BY 2.0); Copyright card catalog drawer, Michael Holley Swtpc6800 (public domain); Type in sort case, Edinburgh City of Print (CC BY 2.0); Widener Library reading room, 1920 (public domain). Via Wikimedia Commons.