AWS Lambda Functions with High Error Rates

This Recommendation identifies AWS Lambda functions that are experiencing high error rates, which can impact reliability, user experience, and costs.

Overview

AWS Trusted Advisor monitors your Lambda functions and identifies those with elevated error rates. Functions with high error rates can indicate code issues, configuration problems, or external service dependencies that may impact application reliability and increase operational costs.

What it identifies

Lambda functions with high error rates
Functions that may need error handling improvements
Code quality and reliability optimization opportunities
Configuration issues that may be causing failures
Cost optimization recommendations from AWS Trusted Advisor

Key features

Uses AWS Trusted Advisor's L4dfs2Q3C2 check for Lambda function error rate analysis
Leverages Trusted Advisor's error metrics and recommendations
Provides dynamic titles with specific actions
Covers all Lambda functions across all regions
Function-level recommendations for targeted optimization

Cost and reliability impact

Lambda functions with high error rates can result in:

Increased execution costs from failed invocations
Poor user experience from service failures
Potential cascading failures in dependent systems
Higher operational overhead for error handling
Missed opportunities for reliability optimization

Error rate optimization strategies

Error handling: Implement comprehensive error handling and logging
Code quality: Improve code robustness and error prevention
Configuration review: Check function configuration and permissions
External service reliability: Optimize calls to external services
Retry logic: Implement appropriate retry mechanisms
Monitoring and alerting: Set up proper monitoring for error detection

Common error causes

Permission issues: Insufficient IAM permissions for function execution
External service failures: Unreliable external API or service calls
Resource constraints: Insufficient memory or timeout configurations
Code bugs: Logic errors or unhandled exceptions
Configuration problems: Incorrect environment variables or settings
Network issues: Connectivity problems to external resources

Reliability improvement recommendations

Implement comprehensive error handling: Catch and handle all potential errors
Add proper logging: Use structured logging for better debugging
Review IAM permissions: Ensure functions have appropriate permissions
Optimize external calls: Implement timeouts and retry logic for external services
Monitor error patterns: Use CloudWatch to track error trends
Implement circuit breakers: Prevent cascading failures

Best practices

Implement proper error handling and logging in all functions
Use CloudWatch metrics to monitor error rates and trends
Set up alerts for error rate thresholds
Implement retry logic with exponential backoff
Review and test error scenarios regularly
Use dead letter queues for failed function invocations
Monitor external service dependencies and their reliability