10 AWS EventBridge Best Practices

AWS EventBridge is a serverless event bus that makes it easy to connect applications together using data from your own applications, integrated Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications, and AWS services. EventBridge enables you to build event-driven architectures that can respond quickly to changes in your environment.

In this article, we will discuss 10 best practices for using AWS EventBridge to ensure that your event-driven architecture is secure, reliable, and cost-effective. We will also discuss how to use EventBridge to create powerful event-driven workflows that can help you automate your business processes.

1. Use EventBridge to decouple your applications

EventBridge allows you to send events from one application to another without having to directly integrate them. This means that if one of your applications needs to be updated or changed, the other applications won’t be affected.

This is especially useful for microservices architectures, where each service can be independently developed and deployed. EventBridge also makes it easier to scale up or down as needed, since services don’t need to be tightly coupled together. Finally, using EventBridge helps reduce complexity by allowing you to focus on developing individual services instead of worrying about how they interact with each other.

2. Use EventBridge for event-driven architectures

EventBridge is a serverless event bus that allows you to easily connect applications, services, and data sources. It enables you to quickly build event-driven architectures with minimal effort.

EventBridge also provides an easy way to manage events across multiple AWS accounts. This makes it easier for organizations to share events between different teams or departments without having to manually configure each account. Additionally, EventBridge can be used to trigger Lambda functions, which can help automate processes and reduce manual work.

3. Create a single source of truth for events

When you have multiple sources of events, it can be difficult to keep track of which ones are being used and how they’re being processed. This can lead to confusion and errors in your event-driven architecture.

By creating a single source of truth for events, you ensure that all events are tracked and managed from one place. This makes it easier to monitor the flow of events and troubleshoot any issues that arise. Additionally, having a single source of truth helps maintain data integrity by ensuring that only valid events are sent through EventBridge.

4. Use AWS CloudFormation to provision and manage EventBridge resources

AWS CloudFormation allows you to define your EventBridge resources in a template, which can then be used to create and manage the resources. This makes it easier to keep track of all the components that make up an EventBridge setup, as well as making it simpler to update or delete them when needed.

Using AWS CloudFormation also helps ensure that your EventBridge resources are configured correctly and consistently across multiple environments. It also enables you to quickly roll back changes if something goes wrong.

5. Use Amazon CloudWatch Logs Insights to analyze logs from EventBridge rules

CloudWatch Logs Insights allows you to quickly and easily analyze log data from EventBridge rules. This is important because it helps you identify any issues with your rules, such as incorrect routing or missing events. It also provides visibility into the performance of your rules, so you can ensure they are running efficiently. Additionally, CloudWatch Logs Insights enables you to troubleshoot problems faster by providing detailed insights into the logs generated by EventBridge rules.

6. Use custom retry policies on targets

When an event is sent to a target, it may fail due to various reasons. To ensure that the event is processed successfully, EventBridge allows you to configure custom retry policies on targets. This means that if an event fails, EventBridge will automatically retry sending the event to the target until it succeeds or reaches the maximum number of retries configured in the policy.

Using custom retry policies helps reduce the risk of events being lost and ensures that your application logic is executed correctly. It also reduces the need for manual intervention when dealing with failed events.

7. Use dead letter queues (DLQ) with EventBridge

DLQs are queues that store messages that cannot be processed by the consumer. This is important because it allows you to capture and analyze failed events, so you can identify and address any issues with your EventBridge setup. Without DLQs, failed events would simply disappear without a trace, making it difficult to troubleshoot problems.

Using DLQs also helps ensure that all of your events are processed in a timely manner. If an event fails to process due to an issue on the consumer side, the message will remain in the queue until the problem is resolved. This ensures that no events are lost or delayed unnecessarily.

8. Use EventBridge schemas when possible

EventBridge schemas provide a way to structure your events, making them easier to understand and process. This is especially important when you have multiple services sending events to EventBridge.

Using an EventBridge schema also allows you to take advantage of the built-in features that come with it, such as automatic event mapping and filtering. With these features, you can quickly set up rules for routing events to different targets based on their content. Additionally, you can use the schema registry to store and version your schemas, allowing you to easily track changes over time.

9. Add the aws:source field to all events sent to EventBridge

The aws:source field is a unique identifier that helps EventBridge identify the source of an event. This allows EventBridge to route events to the correct target, and it also makes it easier for you to debug any issues with your event-driven architecture.

Adding the aws:source field to all events sent to EventBridge ensures that your events are routed correctly and can be easily identified in case of errors or other issues. It’s a simple best practice that will save you time and effort in the long run.

10. Monitor your EventBridge usage

EventBridge is a powerful tool that can help you automate your processes, but it’s important to make sure that the events being sent and received are accurate.

Monitoring EventBridge usage will allow you to identify any issues quickly and take corrective action if necessary. You should also use CloudWatch alarms to alert you when certain thresholds are exceeded or when errors occur. This way, you can ensure that your EventBridge setup is running smoothly and efficiently.