Centralized Logging Benefits: Centralized logging is essential for operational visibility in scalable systems, especially those using multiple EC2 instances like our e-commerce website. CloudWatch provides this capability, along with other monitoring features.

CloudWatch Agent: This is the best way to send custom application logs from EC2 instances to CloudWatch. Here's the process:

Install the CloudWatch agent on each EC2 instance.

Configure the agent with a configuration file, specifying:

Which log files to collect.

The format in which to send logs to CloudWatch (e.g., JSON).

The specific CloudWatch Logs log group and log stream for these logs.

Viewing and Analyzing Logs: Once the agent is pushing logs, use the CloudWatch Logs console or API:

View and search the logs across all instances.

Set up alarms based on log events.

Use CloudWatch Logs Insights for sophisticated queries and analysis.