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ajjindal
ajjindal

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Using Sentry for Lambda Functions

Here's how I instrumented my Python Lambda function. If you are using Node environment, there are parallel docs.

Step 1: Create a dummy function - I created a simple function that tries Division By Zero. (Skip this if you already have your function)

import json

def lambda_handler(event, context):

    message = 'Hello {} {}!'.format(event['first_name'], 
                                    event['last_name'])  

    x=3/0

    return { 
        'message' : message
    }

Step 2: Add Sentry to the Python function folder using pip

pip install --upgrade sentry-sdk

Step 3: Initialize Sentry - This required me to import Sentry's serverless package and wrap my handler.

import json
import sentry_sdk
from sentry_sdk.integrations.aws_lambda import AwsLambdaIntegration

sentry_sdk.init(
    dsn="Your dsn from sentry.io",
    integrations=[AwsLambdaIntegration()],
    traces_sample_rate=1.0,
)

def lambda_handler(event, context):

    message = 'Hello {} {}!'.format(event['first_name'], 
                                    event['last_name'])  

    x=3/0

    return { 
        'message' : message
    }

That's it. I now have complete visibility into my Lambda functions.

The stack traces are detailed and point me to the line of code that's causing the exception.
Screen Shot 2020-10-02 at 3.21.54 PM

Sentry captured my function transactions automatically (although, the transaction is pretty empty because my function doesn't do much)
Screen Shot 2020-10-02 at 3.00.36 PM

Function context like aws_request_id and remaining_time_in_milis are super helpful. In addition, I have deep links to CloudWatch logs.
Screen Shot 2020-10-02 at 3.23.03 PM

In addition, I made couple customizations to my error reporting:

  1. I really care about timeout issues. They end up bleeding into unknown issues that are difficult to debug. So, I enabled timeout_warning.

    sentry_sdk.init(
        dsn="Your dsn from sentry.io",
        integrations=[AwsLambdaIntegration(timeout_warning=True)],
        traces_sample_rate=1.0,
    )
    
  2. Also, while Sentry automatically captured tons of context, I did want to look at my payload to the function. So, I enabled send_default_pii

python
sentry_sdk.init(
    dsn="Your dsn from sentry.io",
    integrations=[AwsLambdaIntegration(timeout_warning=True)],
    traces_sample_rate=1.0,
        send_default_pii=True,
)

With this instrumentation, I have visibility that's unparalleled to any other out there. I can quickly debug issues and identify root causes for slow executing functions. Thus, saving tons of time and unnecessary lambda cost.

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