Connections are how CloudZero manages the various Cost Sources that bring Billing, Resource, and other types of data into the platform.

How the Datadog Connection Works

Connecting to a Datadog account will show Datadog cost data alongside other Cost Sources in the Explorer, as well as enable anomaly alerts on Datadog spend.

The CloudZero platform will ingest Datadog cost data by making requests to Datadog's Usage Metering API.

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About CloudZero's Access to your Datadog Accounts

All of CloudZero's permissions are Read-Only

We have no access to data except where explicitly authorized (for example, the data you explicitly share with CloudZero).

Summary of Permissions:

• Usage Read Authorization Scope: grants read only access, to view usage and cost data associated with your Datadog account.
• Billing Read Authorization Scope: grants read only access to view billing data associated with your Datadog account.
• Metrics Read Authorization Scope: grants read only access to view custom metrics associated with your Datadog account.
• Timeseries Query Authorization Scope: grants read only access to query Timeseries data associated with custom metrics.

Datadog Billing Models

Datadog bills based on several pricing strategies that vary between products. As a result, costs are represented in the CloudZero platform using different models that depend on the Datadog product and how it is billed.

In the period preceding March 2024, there may be instances where costs exhibit a negative value.

Pricing With Commitment

Monthly committments are fixed, and costs are shown evenly amortized over the entire month.

On-Demand Pricing

On-demand pricing can vary by Datadog product and usage.

Average Pricing Model

Products using the "average" pricing model are billed based on the average usage over the month. Costs shown are amortized over the month and include only what was incurred to date.

High-Water Mark Pricing Model

Products using the "high-water mark" pricing model are billed based on the maximum usage of a resource during any one hour of the month. For a newly established "high-water mark" for some month, costs will show an increase for the remainder of that month. Costs shown are amortized over the month and include only what was incurred to date.

Datadog Cost

To determine a Datadog product's daily cost, CloudZero leverages Datadog's Estimated Cost endpoint, which returns each product's estimated aggregate monthly cost for every day of the month.

Data from the Estimated Cost endpoint is only available for the current and previous month at the time when the request is made. For months outside of this window, CloudZero leverages Datadog's Historical Cost endpoint. Since this endpoint provides a single cost per product for the entire month, cost is amortized evenly over the month. This will most frequently apply to historical months collected during initial ingest when the Estimated Cost data is not available.

On occasion, data from the Estimated Cost endpoint diverges from Datadog's reported usage. While cost is broken down by committed / on_demand, this split is not reported by any of Datadog's usage endpoints (eg. 1, 2, 3). As a result, CloudZero uses the Estimated Cost data as a reference point to estimate usage.

Cost by Tags

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Note: Requires Usage Attribution

You must be on Datadog's Enterprise plan and have usage attribution enabled for your organization.

Datadog allows organizations with usage attribution enabled to choose up to 3 existing tags to break down usage. If this feature is enabled for your organization, CloudZero will automatically bring in these tags with your Datadog connection - no additional permissions or configuration is required. You will be able to see costs disaggregated by all possible combinations of tag values, allowing you to allocate costs to individual resources.

Connect a Datadog Account

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Note: Admin Role Required

You must be a CloudZero Admin to add new Connections to the platform.

You must have the ability to grant Usage Read, 'Billing Read', 'Metrics Read', and 'Timeseries Query' scopes in a non-trial Datadog organization.

Create a Datadog connection

1. Open the Cloud Integrations page.

   The Cloud Integrations page can be found by going to the "gear" on the top navigation bar and selecting "Cloud Integrations" or alternatively going to https://app.cloudzero.com/organization/connections

   

2. Select the Add Connection button.

3. On the following page, you'll be presented with a list of possible connection types. Select the Datadog tile to begin setting up a Datadog connection.

   

4. On the subsequent page, provide a name for the connection and select the site on which your Datadog account is based, i.e. the url used to log in to your account. When you're ready, select Get started.

5. The Add a New Datadog Connection page will be displayed. At this point, you should give your connection a name, which will identify your Datadog connection throughout the CloudZero platform. Select the Continue button.

6. You will then be redirected to Datadog. Please select the appropriate site from the dropdown and log in to your Datadog account.

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   IMPORTANT: Parent-Level Organization Access Required

   Usage data is only accessible for parent-level organizations. Be sure the site matches the location of your parent-level organization in Datadog.

7. You will be asked to authorize CloudZero access to a Datadog organization. Please select the parent-level organization, and then select the Authorize button.

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   IMPORTANT: Scopes Required

   In order for CloudZero to access Datadog's APIs, the user providing authorization must also have Usage Read and Billing Read permissions.

8. You will be redirected back to the Connection Details page in the CloudZero platform, where you should see your newly created Datadog connection.

Reauthorize a Datadog connection

In the event CloudZero is no longer able to access Datadog through the existing authorization, the option to reauthorize is available.

1. Open the Cloud Integrations page. This can be found by selecting the gear icon from the sidebar and selecting Cloud Integrations, or alternatively going to https://app.cloudzero.com/organization/connections

2. Select the Datadog connection you'd like to reauthorize from the Billing Connections table.

3. The Connection Details page for a Datadog connection will be displayed. Click the Reauthorize button near the top of the page, to the right of Datadog Connection Details.

   

4. You will then be redirected to Datadog. Please select the appropriate site from the dropdown and log in to your Datadog account.

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   IMPORTANT: Parent-Level Organization Access Required

   Usage data is only accessible for parent-level organizations. Be sure to select the site within which your parent-level organization exists.

5. You will be asked to authorize CloudZero access to a Datadog organization. Please select the parent-level organization, and then select the Authorize button.

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   IMPORTANT: Scopes Required

   In order for CloudZero to access Datadog's APIs, the user providing authorization must also have Usage Read and Billing Read permissions. This user does not need to be the user that originally configured the connection.

6. You will be redirected back to the Connection Details page, where you should see the Datadog connection you have just reauthorized.

Once your connection saves, it will appear in the Billing Connections table of the CloudZero Cloud Integrations page with a status of Pending Data and a Last Checked status of Pending First Ingest.

Once the connection has been verified, the Health column will update from Pending Data to Healthy.

If there are issues with your connection, you may see a status of Error instead of Healthy. If this happens, you can hover over the status button or navigate to the connection details page to find additional information.

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Please Note

Discovery (the act of switching from a Pending First Ingest to a Healthy status) can take up to an hour.

It can take up to 24 hours to synchronize new accounts and begin to see cost data in Explorer.

Datadog Connection Notes

Billing Period Ingest Windows

• Newly Created Connection: CloudZero will ingest the most recent 12 months worth of billing periods if available.
• Re-enabled Connection: CloudZero will ingest up to 12 months of billing periods starting from the current billing period going back to the most recent billing period ingested.
• Steady State: CloudZero will ingest the current billing period every day of the month and also the previous billing period until the 17th of the month.

Connecting Other Cost Sources

Additionally, you may want CloudZero to help with your other AWS, Snowflake, Azure or GCP costs, or the custom costs you can bring in using an AnyCost Adaptor.

Start by learning about CloudZero Connections, or choosing a Cost Source from the What's Next section below.