7 84 Health checks status check

A Route 53 health check probes a resource — typically an IP, machine or other AWS endpoint — at a regular interval. After three consecutive failures the endpoint is flagged unhealthy; after three consecutive successes it goes back to healthy. The default check interval is 30 seconds, and you can lower it to 10 seconds for a "fast" check at a higher cost. Behind the scenes around 15 background checkers query your endpoint, which means about 30 checks per minute at default settings.

Probes support HTTP, HTTPS and TCP. There is no certificate-chain validation when using HTTPS — only reachability. Health checks integrate with CloudWatch for advanced monitoring and alarms, and they can be attached to Route 53 DNS records so that an unhealthy endpoint is automatically dropped from DNS responses.

Create a health check

  • From Route 53 console, click Health checks > create.
  • Name it after the instance and Region (e.g. healthcheck-Ireland).
  • Pick endpoint type — IP or domain name. Enter the IP of the Ireland instance, port 80, path /.
  • Advanced: standard interval (30s) or fast (10s), failure threshold 3, optional string-matching, optional latency graph.

You can also invert the check (treat success as failure and vice versa), disable the check, or pick which Regions of the world will run the probes. Pricing shows in the summary: about $0.50 per month for a check against an AWS endpoint, $0.75 for a non-AWS endpoint, plus extras for HTTPS, string matching, fast interval and latency measurement. Once created, the check page exposes the live status, a list of the checkers, the latency graph (if enabled) and the option to associate a CloudWatch alarm. That is everything you need to wire reliable health-aware DNS routing.

Summary

AWS Route 53 health checks are mechanisms to verify the availability and health status of resources (IP addresses, machines, endpoints) at regular intervals. A resource is marked unhealthy after three consecutive failed checks and healthy after three successful checks. Health checks can be integrated with CloudWatch for advanced monitoring and enable automatic failover in Route 53 DNS, with configurable check intervals (default 30 seconds, can be set to 10 seconds) and support for multiple protocols including HTTP, HTTPS, and TCP.

Key points

  • Health checks run at regular intervals (default 30 seconds, adjustable to 10 seconds) with 15 background checks executed concurrently to determine resource state
  • A resource transitions to unhealthy status after three consecutive failed checks, and returns to healthy status after three successful checks
  • Route 53 health checks support HTTP, HTTPS, and TCP protocols and can be integrated with CloudWatch for advanced monitoring and automated DNS failover
  • Health check configuration allows specifying endpoint IP, port, path, check interval (standard or fast), and optional string matching in responses
  • Advanced options include HTTPS certificate verification, latency graphing, inverted health checks (alert on success instead of failure), and regional distribution across multiple AWS zones
  • Pricing starts at $0.50/month for basic health checks and increases to $1.75/month with advanced features like HTTPS verification, fast intervals, and latency measurements

FAQ

What constitutes a healthy or unhealthy resource in Route 53 health checks?

A resource is marked as unhealthy after three consecutive failed checks and is considered healthy again after three consecutive successful checks. Health checks perform regular status verifications at configurable intervals to determine this state.

What protocols and features are supported by Route 53 health checks?

Route 53 health checks support HTTP, HTTPS, and TCP protocols. HTTPS checks do not verify certificates by default. Additional features include string matching in responses, latency monitoring via CloudWatch integration, and inverted health checks that alert on success instead of failure.

How often do Route 53 health checks run and what is the pricing model?

Health checks run at a default interval of 30 seconds (adjustable to 10 seconds for faster detection) with 15 background checks executing concurrently. Basic health checks cost $0.50/month, while advanced checks with HTTPS verification, fast intervals, and latency measurement cost $1.75/month.