# Delete CloudWatch Alarms in Insufficient State

## What It Does

Identifies and deletes CloudWatch Alarms that are in the `INSUFFICIENT_DATA` state. These alarms often indicate that metrics are no longer being reported or monitored.

## Risk and Scope

| Detail                   | Value             |
| ------------------------ | ----------------- |
| **Risk Level**           | Low               |
| **AWS Service Targeted** | Amazon CloudWatch |

{% hint style="warning" %}

## Permissions Required

**Read Permissions**

* `cloudwatch:DescribeAlarms`

**Delete Permissions**

* `cloudwatch:DeleteAlarms` 

> These permissions are granted **only to the runbook**, not to the OneLens platform itself.
> {% endhint %}

## Optimization Policies Addressed

This runbook remediates violation tickets triggered by the following policy:

| Policy ID | Policy Name                                           |
| --------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| cw\_101   | Ensure no CloudWatch Alarms are in insufficient state |

## Risk Mitigation

{% hint style="success" %}

## Risk Mitigation Strategy

* The change is assessed as **low risk** with limited scope and impact.
* **No downtime** is expected during or after implementation.
* **No additional safety measures** are required due to the non-disruptive nature of the change.
* A **rollback plan is not defined**, as standard procedures are sufficient to manage the change.
  {% endhint %}

## How to Install

Refer to the [Runbook Setup Guide ](/automate/remediations/runbooks/install-runbooks.md#installing-a-runbook)for steps to install and enable this runbook in your environment.

## Runbook Workflow

### 1. Start

**Trigger:** Initiates the Runbook execution for deleting unused CloudWatch alarms.

### 2. DescribeAlarms

**Action:** Executes the `DescribeAlarms` API call to retrieve the list of alarms and their current states.

### 3. If/Else

**Condition:** Evaluates whether any alarms meet the criteria for further action based on their state.

1. **IsValidForDelete** \
   Validates if the filtered alarms meet criteria for deletion.
   1. **DeleteAlarms**\
      Executes the `DeleteAlarms` API call on the validated alarms.
   2. **RunScript**\
      If no other eligible resource is found, raises a runtime error, failing the workflow explicitly.
2. **Else (no alarms in that state or invalid structure):**

   Exit through the `Else` path — no further action taken.

## See How it Works

<figure><img src="/files/MWRn60H9NN7VTQpSbpZO" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## Triggering the Runbook

To run this workflow:

### **1. Locate the Ticket**

Identify the ticket associated with the above mentioned policy violation.

### **2. Execute the Runbook**

Follow the steps described in the [executing a runbook](/automate/remediations/runbooks.md#executing-a-runbook) section to apply this runbook to the ticket.


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