---
sourceDocument: Yokohama IT Operations Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/yokohama/it-operations-management

 Release :

    - yokohama

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Yokohama IT Operations Management

ft:clusterId :

    - itom

bundleId :

    - itom

workflow :

    - Technology


---

# Advanced query support for AWS and Azure

# Advanced query support for AWS and Azure {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Yokohama
* 
* Updated July 31, 2025
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 2 minutes to read

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## Summary of Advanced Query Support for AWS and Azure

This document provides guidance on creating advanced queries for Service Observability dashboard charts, specifically for AWS and Azure.
The queries must be JSON-formatted and adhere to specific guidelines.
As of version 1.10, users can import charts directly from AWS and Azure.
Show full answer Show less  

## Key Features

* **AWS Queries:** Use the GetMetricData API for data access. Queries can be direct JSON requests or DashboardBody metric widgets. Template variables can represent entities or time ranges.
* **Example AWS Query:** A JSON example is provided for retrieving average CPU utilization and unhealthy host counts for an ELB instance.
* **Azure Queries:** Copy the JSON from the Azure UI and paste it into the Advanced query field. The JSON must include metrics and resource ID information.

## Key Outcomes

By utilizing advanced queries, ServiceNow customers can efficiently visualize performance metrics from AWS and Azure within the Service Observability dashboard, enhancing monitoring capabilities and facilitating data-driven decision-making.  
Understand how to create advanced queries for Service Observability dashboard charts.
Advanced queries in Service Observability support most vendor-specific query languages. Simply copy a query from the APM chart and paste it into the Advanced query field in Service Observability. However, queries to AWS and Azure must be JSON-formatted and follow the guidelines outlined in this topic.  
Note:  
As of version 1.10, you can import charts directly from AWS and Azure. See [Edit APM data charts on Service Observability dashboard templates](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/bdTnl2PFa4NDIeF96VDeNg "Edit Service Observability dashboard templates to view different APM vendor metrics on the Overview or Observability tabs' charts.") for more information.

## AWS advanced queries {#advanced-query-support__section_ovl_dn3_zfc}

Data from AWS is accessed using the `GetMetricData` API. Queries can be either a direct request in JSON format to that API or they can be in the form of a `DashboardBody` metric widget. For example,
you can use the widget representation for a chart that exists on an AWS CloudWatch dashboard.  

## Direct GetMetricData request {#advanced-query-support__example_igf_gp3_zfc}

The following example shows a `GetMetricData` JSON query for a chart that displays the average CPU Utilization for an ELB instance.

    { 

        "StartTime": 1637061900, // can be replaced with "${START}" 
        "EndTime": 1637074500, // can be replaced with "${END}" 
        "MetricDataQueries": [ 
            { 
                "Expression": "SELECT AVG(CPUUtilization) FROM SCHEMA(\"AWS/EC2\", InstanceId)", 
                "Id": "q1", 
                "Period": 300, 
                "Label": "Cluster CpuUtilization" 
            }, 
            { 
                "Id": "m1", 
                "Label": "Unhealthy Behind Load Balancer", 
                "MetricStat": { 
                    "Metric": { 
                        "Namespace": "AWS/ApplicationELB", 
                        "MetricName": "UnHealthyHostCount", 
                        "Dimensions": [ 
                            { 
                                "Name": "LoadBalancer", 
                                "Value": "app/EC2Co-EcsEl-EXAMPLE69Q/fdd2210e799e4376" // can be replaced with "${ENTITIES}" or "${ENTITIES_ELB}" 
                            } 
                        ] 
                    }, 
                    "Period": 300, 
                    "Stat": "Average" 
                } 
            } 
        ] 
    } 

## Copied source for a single object in an AWS CloudWatch dashboard {#advanced-query-support__id_vhs_qq3_zfc}

This example shows the JSON copied directly from a single object in the widgets list of the Source view for a CloudWatch dashboard.

    {
      "type": "metric",
      "x": 9,
      "y": 0,
      "width": 15,
      "height": 5,
      "properties": {
        "view": "timeseries",
        "metrics": [
          [ "AWS/ApplicationELB", "RequestCountPerTarget", "TargetGroup", "targetgroup/api-tg/1e3dc9z72fe21ca2", "AvailabilityZone", "us-west-1a" ],
          ["...", "targetgroup/api-tg-cs/82a1db5f950073e1", ".", "." ]
        ],
        "region": "us-west-1"
      }
    }

Both types of queries can use template variables to represent a set of entities or the start and end time selected in the UI. For example, instead of querying for a single ELB instance, you can replace the `Value` field for the `LoadBalancer` dimension with `${ENTITY_ELB}`. The query is run against each ELB instance associated with the selected service in the Service Observability UI. The chart displays a time series for each one.  
Note:  
JSON objects copied from the source of a CloudWatch dashboard don't include explicit time fields. The values from the time picker in the Service Observability UI are used automatically.
{#advanced-query-support__table_tgs_c53_zfc__entry__2}

| AWS field | Template variable |
|-|-|
| `Dimensions[n].Value` | * `ENTITIES` * `ENTITIES_HOST` * `ENTITIES_LAMBDA` * `ENTITIES_API_GATEWAY_HTTP` * `ENTITIES_API_GATEWAY_REST` * `ENTITIES_ELB` * `ENTITIES_RDS` {#advanced-query-support__ul_e1z_g53_zfc} The `Dimensions[n].Value` field must be a resource identifier key. |
| `StartTime` | `START` |
| `EndTime` | `END` |
[Table 1. Template variables]

{#advanced-query-support__table_tgs_c53_zfc}

## Azure advanced queries {#advanced-query-support__section_d3x_2n3_zfc}

You run an advanced query for an Azure-based chart by copying the source from the Azure UI and pasting it in the Advanced query field.  
To copy the source:

1. In the Azure UI, export and download the dashboard.
2. Copy the JSON for a single chart. Charts are located at `properties.lenses[i].parts[j].metadata.settings.content.options.chart`.
3. Paste the JSON into the query field. The JSON must include at least the following:

       ``` 
       { 
       "metrics": [ 
         "name": string, 
         "resourceMetadata": { 
           "id": string 
           } 
         ] 
       } 
       ``` 

   The `id` field must be either an Azure resource ID or a [template variable](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/hmaNnIApOSYjVQL_YZ1G2g "Understand the template variables that you can use in your queries when editing Service Observability dashboards and charts.").
{#advanced-query-support__ol_msx_xw3_zfc}

