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Datadog recommends the Serverless CloudFormation macro for customers using AWS SAM to deploy their serverless applications.

The macro automatically configures ingestion of metrics, traces, and logs from your serverless applications by:

  • Installing and configuring the Datadog Lambda Library and Lambda Extension for your Python, Node.js, .NET, and Java Lambda functions.
  • Enabling the collection of enhanced Lambda metrics and custom metrics from your Lambda functions.
  • Managing subscriptions from the Datadog Forwarder to your Lambda function log groups, if desired.

Installation

To make the Datadog serverless macro available for use in your AWS account, deploy a CloudFormation stack with a Datadog-provided template. This deployment includes a CloudFormation macro resource and a Lambda function that is invoked when the macro is run. Deploying this stack enables you to use the macro on other CloudFormation stacks deployed in the same account. For more details about defining a macro in your account, see the CloudFormation documentation page.

Note: The Datadog serverless macro needs to be created once in each region that contains stacks you wish to transform.

Option 1: AWS Console

Launch Stack

Create the Datadog serverless macro stack in your AWS account using the Launch Stack template link above.

Option 2: AWS CLI

If you are installing for the first time, deploy with:

aws cloudformation create-stack \
  --stack-name datadog-serverless-macro \
  --template-url https://datadog-cloudformation-template.s3.amazonaws.com/aws/serverless-macro/latest.yml \
  --capabilities CAPABILITY_AUTO_EXPAND CAPABILITY_IAM

Usage with AWS SAM

To deploy your serverless application with SAM, add the Datadog Serverless CloudFormation macro under the Transform section in your template.yml file, after the required SAM transform. Also add a DDGitData parameter and pass it to the macro to enable Datadog Source Code Integration:

Transform:
  - AWS::Serverless-2016-10-31
  - Name: DatadogServerless
    Parameters:
      stackName: !Ref "AWS::StackName"
      apiKey: "<DATADOG_API_KEY>"
      pythonLayerVersion: "<LAYER_VERSION>" # Use appropriate parameter for other runtimes
      extensionLayerVersion: "<LAYER_VERSION>"
      service: "<SERVICE>" # Optional
      env: "<ENV>" # Optional
      version: "<VERSION>" # Optional
      tags: "<TAGS>" # Optional
      # Pass DDGitData here to enable Source Code Integration tagging
      gitData: !Ref DDGitData
      # For additional parameters, see the Configuration section

Parameters:
  DDGitData:
    Type: String
    Default: ""
    Description: "The output of $(git rev-parse HEAD),$(git config --get remote.origin.url). Used for Datadog Source Code Integration tagging"

To set the DDGitData parameter for Datadog’s Source Code Integration, use SAM’s --parameter-overrides option:

sam deploy --parameter-overrides  DDGitData="$(git rev-parse HEAD),$(git config --get remote.origin.url)"

Note: If you did not modify the provided template.yml file when you installed the macro, then the name of the macro defined in your account will be DatadogServerless. If you have modified the original template, make sure the name of the transform you add here matches the Name property of the AWS::CloudFormation::Macro resource.

Note: If you want to specify some of the configuration only once, you can modify template.yml and add the environment variables you want to configure for that region. This is a way to control additional default values. The example below sets DD_API_KEY_SECRET_ARN and DD_ENV, which the macro will treats as default values:

Resources:
  MacroFunction:
    Type: AWS::Serverless::Function
    DependsOn: MacroFunctionZip
    Properties:
      FunctionName:
        Fn::If:
          - SetFunctionName
          - Ref: FunctionName
          - Ref: AWS::NoValue
      Description: Processes a CloudFormation template to install Datadog Lambda layers for Lambda functions.
      Handler: src/index.handler
      ...
      Environment:
        Variables:
          DD_API_KEY_SECRET_ARN: "arn:aws:secretsmanager:us-west-2:123456789012:secret:DdApiKeySecret-e1v5Yn7TvIPc-d1Qc4E"
          DD_ENV: "dev"

Updating

If you are updating the macro after a new release, use the update-stack method:

aws cloudformation update-stack \
  --stack-name datadog-serverless-macro \
  --template-url https://datadog-cloudformation-template.s3.amazonaws.com/aws/serverless-macro/latest.yml \
  --capabilities CAPABILITY_AUTO_EXPAND CAPABILITY_IAM

You may also specify a version of the macro from the latest releases by replacing latest.yml with the release version, e.g. 0.1.2.yml.

Configuration

To further configure your plugin, use the following custom parameters:

ParameterDescription
addLayersWhether to add the Lambda Layers or expect the user to bring their own. Defaults to true. When true, the Lambda Library version variables are also required. When false, you must include the Datadog Lambda library in your functions’ deployment packages.
pythonLayerVersionVersion of the Python Lambda layer to install, such as “21”. Required if you are deploying at least one Lambda function written in Python and addLayers is true. Find the latest version number from https://github.com/DataDog/datadog-lambda-python/releases.
nodeLayerVersionVersion of the Node.js Lambda layer to install, such as “29”. Required if you are deploying at least one Lambda function written in Node.js and addLayers is true. Find the latest version number from https://github.com/DataDog/datadog-lambda-js/releases.
dotnetLayerVersionVersion of the .NET Lambda layer to install, such as “14”. Required if you are deploying at least one Lambda function written in .NET and addLayers is true. Find the latest version number from https://github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-dotnet-aws-lambda-layer/releases.
javaLayerVersionVersion of the Java Lambda layer to install, such as “12”. Required if you are deploying at least one Lambda function written in Java and addLayers is true. Find the latest version number from https://github.com/DataDog/datadog-lambda-java/releases.
extensionLayerVersionVersion of the Datadog Lambda Extension layer to install, such as “5”. When extensionLayerVersion is set, apiKey (or if encrypted, apiKMSKey or apiKeySecretArn) needs to be set as well.
addExtensionWhether to add the Lambda extension layer to the Lambda function. Defaults to false. When true, the extension layer is applied which handles sending logs, traces and custom metrics. The parameter extensionLayerVersion must be set. While using extensionLayerVersion do not set forwarderArn. To learn more, read the Datadog Lambda Extension documentation.
excludeWhen set, the macro will ignore specified lambda functions. Use this if there are any functions that do not require datadog instrumentation. Defaults to [].
forwarderArnWhen set, the plugin will automatically subscribe the functions’ log groups to the Datadog Forwarder. Alternatively, you can define the log subscription using the AWS::Logs::SubscriptionFilter resource. Note: The ‘FunctionName’ property must be defined for functions that are deployed for the first time because the macro needs the function name to create the log groups and subscription filters. ‘FunctionName’ must NOT contain any CloudFormation functions, such as !Sub.
stackNameThe name of the CloudFormation stack being deployed. Only required when a forwarderArn is provided and Lambda functions are dynamically named (when the FunctionName property isn’t provided for a Lambda). For more information on how to add this parameter for SAM and CDK, see the examples below.
flushMetricsToLogsSend custom metrics via logs with the Datadog Forwarder Lambda function (recommended). Defaults to true. When set to false, the Datadog API key must be defined using apiKey (or if encrypted, apiKMSKey or apiKeySecretArn).
siteSet which Datadog site to send data, only needed when flushMetricsToLogs is false. Possible values are datadoghq.com, datadoghq.eu, us3.datadoghq.com, us5.datadoghq.com, ap1.datadoghq.com, and ddog-gov.com. The default is datadoghq.com.
apiKeyThe Datadog API Key, only needed when flushMetricsToLogs is set to false.
apiKeySecretArnThe ARN of the secret storing the Datadog API key in AWS Secrets Manager. Use this parameter in place of apiKey when flushMetricsToLogs is false or extensionLayerVersion is set. Remember to add the secretsmanager:GetSecretValue permission to the Lambda execution role.
apiKMSKeyDatadog API Key encrypted using KMS. Use this parameter in place of apiKey when flushMetricsToLogs is false, and you are using KMS encryption.
enableEnhancedMetricsEnable enhanced metrics for Lambda functions. Defaults to true. The Datadog Forwarder Lambda function must subscribe the function log group.
enableXrayTracingEnable tracing on Lambda functions. Defaults to false.
enableDDTracingEnable tracing on Lambda function using dd-trace, Datadog’s APM library. Defaults to true. The Datadog Forwarder Lambda function must subscribe the function log group.
enableDDLogsEnable Datadog log collection for the Lambda function. Note: This setting has no effect on logs sent via the Datadog Forwarder. Defaults to true.
serviceWhen set along with the extensionLayerVersion, the macro adds a DD_SERVICE environment variable to all lambda functions with the provided value. When set along with the forwarderArn, the macro adds a service tag to all Lambda functions with the provided value.
envWhen set along with the extensionLayerVersion, the macro adds a DD_ENV environment variable to all lambda functions with the provided value. When set along with the forwarderArn, the macro adds an env tag to all Lambda functions with the provided value.
versionWhen set along with the extensionLayerVersion, the macro adds a DD_VERSION environment variable to all lambda functions with the provided value. When set along with the forwarderArn, the macro adds a version tag to all Lambda functions with the provided value.
tagsA comma separated list of key:value pairs as a single string. When set along with extensionLayerVersion, a DD_TAGS environment variable is added on all Lambda functions with the provided value. When set along with forwarderArn, the macro parses the string and sets each key:value pair as a tag on all Lambda functions.
logLevelSets the log level. Set to DEBUG for extended logging.
captureLambdaPayloadAutomatically tags the function execution span with request and response payloads, so they can be displayed in the APM application.
enableColdStartTracingSet to false to disable Cold Start Tracing. Used in NodeJS and Python. Defaults to true.
coldStartTraceMinDurationSets the minimum duration (in milliseconds) for a module load event to be traced via Cold Start Tracing. Number. Defaults to 3.
coldStartTraceSkipLibsoptionally skip creating Cold Start Spans for a comma-separated list of libraries. Useful to limit depth or skip known libraries. Default depends on runtime.
enableProfilingEnable the Datadog Continuous Profiler with true. Supported in Beta for NodeJS and Python. Defaults to false.
encodeAuthorizerContextWhen set to true for Lambda authorizers, the tracing context will be encoded into the response for propagation. Supported for NodeJS and Python. Defaults to true.
decodeAuthorizerContextWhen set to true for Lambdas that are authorized via Lambda authorizers, it will parse and use the encoded tracing context (if found). Supported for NodeJS and Python. Defaults to true.
apmFlushDeadlineUsed to determine when to submit spans before a timeout occurs, in milliseconds. When the remaining time in an AWS Lambda invocation is less than the value set, the tracer attempts to submit the current active spans and all finished spans. Supported for NodeJS and Python. Defaults to 100 milliseconds.

How it works

This macro modifies your CloudFormation template to install the Datadog Lambda Library by attaching the Lambda Layers for Node.js, Python, .NET, and Java to your functions. It redirects to a replacement handler that initializes the Lambda Library without any required code changes.

Troubleshooting

Debug Logs

In order to help debug issues, you can look at the CloudWatch Logs for the macro Lambda function. To find the CloudWatch logs:

  • Find the macro CloudFormation stack (named datadog-serverless-macro if you copied the command under instructions)
  • Click on the resources tab and the CloudWatch Log Group should be available with Logical ID MacroFunctionLogGroup

Error message: ‘FunctionName’ property is undefined for…

This error occurs when you provide a forwarderArn and are deploying your Lambda function for the first time, so no log group currently exists, and the macro cannot create this log group or subscribe to the Forwarder for you. One way to fix this issue is to explicitly define the FunctionName property on your Lambda (see the example below).

Resources:
  MyLambda:
    Type: AWS::Serverless::Function
    Properties:
      Handler: index.handler
      Runtime: nodejs12.x
      FunctionName: MyFunctionName # Add this property to your Lambdas

If you cannot (or prefer not) define the FunctionName explicitly, then remove the forwarderArn parameter from the SAM template or CDK source code, and instead define the subscription filters using the AWS::Logs::SubscriptionFilter resource like below.

Resources:
  MyLogSubscriptionFilter:
    Type: "AWS::Logs::SubscriptionFilter"
    Properties:
      DestinationArn: "<DATADOG_FORWARDER_ARN>"
      LogGroupName: "<CLOUDWATCH_LOG_GROUP_NAME>"
      FilterPattern: ""

Error message: ’logGroupNamePrefix’ failed to satisfy constraint…

The forwarderArn option does not work when FunctionName contains CloudFormation functions, such as !Sub. In this case, the macro does not have access to the actual function name (CloudFormation executes functions after transformations). It therefore cannot create log groups and subscription filters for your functions.

Remove the forwarderArn parameter from the SAM template or CDK source code, and instead define the subscription filters using the AWS::Logs::SubscriptionFilter resource like below.

Resources:
  MyLogSubscriptionFilter:
    Type: "AWS::Logs::SubscriptionFilter"
    Properties:
      DestinationArn: "<DATADOG_FORWARDER_ARN>"
      LogGroupName: "<CLOUDWATCH_LOG_GROUP_NAME>"
      FilterPattern: ""

Error message: ‘Failed to execute transform DatadogServerless’

This error can occur if the IAM user executing the command lacks the lambda:InvokeFunction permission. Add the permission to the user’s IAM role.

Community

For product feedback and questions, join the #serverless channel in the Datadog community on Slack.