Datadog Monitoring & Alerting Setup ( EC2 Ubuntu — Slack, Gmail, Zapier, and WhatsApp).

PROJECT TITLE: DATADOG MONITORING & ALERTING SETUP

PREPARED BY: COVENANT

DATE: 1st, SEPTEMBER, 2025

PROJECT OVERVIEW:

This project demonstrates the deployment and monitoring of a cloud-hosted server with real-time alerting and third-party integrations.

I begin by creating an Ubuntu EC2 server on AWS and establishing secure connectivity via MobaXterm. Once the server is operational, I install the Datadog agent to serve as the central monitoring tool.

Key monitoring capabilities are enabled, including process monitoring, network traffic analysis, and log collection. These features ensure that both system performance and application behaviors are continuously tracked.

To extend visibility and ensure rapid incident response, Datadog is integrated with multiple communication platforms:

• Slack for team collaboration and real-time notifications.
• Gmail for email-based alerts and audit trails.
• WhatsApp (via Twilio and webhook) for mobile, instant alerting.

A CPU usage high monitor is configured within Datadog to track abnormal utilization. To validate the setup, I perform stress testing on the EC2 instance, intentionally pushing the system beyond normal load. This triggers alerts, which are successfully delivered across Slack, Gmail, Zapier, and WhatsApp.

Through this project, I demonstrate skills in:

• Cloud Infrastructure Management (AWS EC2 setup and configuration).
• Monitoring and Observability (Datadog agent, metrics, logs, process monitoring).
• Incident Management and Integrations (Slack, Gmail, Zapier, and WhatsApp automation).
• Performance Testing (stress-testing servers to validate alerts).