How to Monitor API Gateway Request Count(SUM) in CloudWatch Without Enabling Logs

To monitor API Gateway request counts per API without enabling CloudWatch Logs, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to CloudWatch:

   • Open the AWS Management Console.
   • Go to the CloudWatch service.

2. Select Metrics:

   • Click on “Metrics” in the left navigation pane.
   • Choose “API Gateway” under the “AWS Namespaces” section.

3. View Metrics by API:

   • Filter by specific API names or endpoints using dimensions like ApiName or Stage.

4. Create a Graph:

   • Select the Count metric for each API you want to monitor.
   • Add each API’s Count metric to the graph for comparison.

5. Use API Gateway Dashboard:

   • Open the API Gateway service in the AWS Management Console.
   • Go to the “Dashboard” section to view an overview of your APIs, including request counts.

For more detailed information, refer to the AWS API Gateway Metrics documentation.

You can monitor API Gateway request counts and identify which APIs are generating the highest traffic without enabling CloudWatch Logs. Here's how you can accomplish this:

1. Use CloudWatch Metrics: CloudWatch automatically collects metrics for API Gateway, including the Count metric which represents the total number of API requests. You can view these metrics in the CloudWatch console.

2. Filter by API: To break down the metrics by specific API, you can use dimensions. The 'ApiId' dimension allows you to filter metrics for a particular API. You can also use the 'ApiId, Stage' dimension to further narrow down to a specific stage of an API.

3. View in CloudWatch Console: In the CloudWatch console, navigate to Metrics, then choose "All metrics". Select "AWS/ApiGateway" namespace. You can then choose "By Api Name" to view metrics grouped by API.

4. Use CloudWatch Metrics Insights: For a more detailed analysis, you can use CloudWatch Metrics Insights. This allows you to run SQL-like queries on your metric data. For example, you could run a query to identify the top APIs by request count.

5. Create a Dashboard: To track this information over time, consider creating a CloudWatch dashboard. You can add widgets that display the Count metric for each of your APIs, allowing you to easily compare traffic across different APIs.

6. Set up Alarms: If you want to be notified when an API's request count exceeds a certain threshold, you can set up CloudWatch Alarms based on the Count metric.

Remember, these methods don't require enabling detailed CloudWatch Logs, which can incur additional costs. They use the standard metrics that API Gateway automatically sends to CloudWatch.

For cost tracking, keep in mind that API Gateway pricing is tiered based on the total number of requests across all your APIs. While identifying high-traffic APIs is useful for optimization, your actual costs will depend on the total requests across all APIs.

By using these CloudWatch features, you should be able to effectively monitor your API request counts, identify your highest-traffic APIs, and make informed decisions about your API usage and costs.
Sources
Monitor REST API execution with Amazon CloudWatch metrics - Amazon API Gateway
Monitor CloudWatch metrics for HTTP APIs in API Gateway - Amazon API Gateway
View API Gateway metrics in the CloudWatch console - Amazon API Gateway
AWS API usage metrics - Amazon CloudWatch