# Workload Discovery on AWS Maintain an inventory of the AWS resources across your accounts and AWS Regions - **Version**: 2.3.17 - **Released**: 4/2026 - **Author**: AWS - **Est. deployment time**: 30 mins - **Estimated cost**: [See details](/solutions/latest/workload-discovery-on-aws/cost.html) ## Overview Workload Discovery on AWS (formerly called AWS Perspective) is a tool to visualize AWS Cloud workloads. Use this AWS Solution to build, customize, and share detailed architecture diagrams of your workloads based on live data from AWS. The solution maintains an inventory of the AWS resources across your accounts and AWS Regions, mapping relationships between them, and displaying them in a web user interface (UI). The solution also comes with a cost query builder that lets you locate AWS resources and services that may have incurred a cost. The estimated cost data is automatically calculated for the time period specified and displays on your architecture diagrams. You can generate a cost report for your architecture diagrams that contains an overview of the estimated cost and export them as CSV. The image to the right is a sample architecture diagram generated by the solution. ![Workload Discovery Application View](/images/solutions/workload-discovery-on-aws/images/workload-discovery-application-view.png) ## Benefits ### Easily search for information about resources The search feature lets you use basic information, such as resource name, tag name, or IP address to locate resources of interest. ### Explore resources across accounts and Regions Start building your architecture diagrams by selecting a resource in the web UI, which includes a directory that contains all the resources the solution has discovered. ### Save and export architecture diagrams Save your architecture diagram to revisit later or share it with other solutions users. To use the diagrams outside of the solution, you can export to PNG, JSON, CSV, [draw.io](http://draw.io/), or [myApplications](/awsconsolehelpdocs/latest/gsg/aws-myApplications.html). ## How it works You can automatically deploy this architecture using the implementation guide and the accompanying AWS CloudFormation template. [Open implementation guide](/solutions/latest/workload-discovery-on-aws/solution-overview.html) ![Architecture diagram](/images/solutions/workload-discovery-on-aws/images/workload-discovery-arch-diagram.png) 1. **Step 1**: HTTP Strict-Transport-Security (HSTS) adds security headers to each response from the Amazon CloudFront distribution. 1. **Step 2**: An Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) bucket hosts the web UI, which is distributed with Amazon CloudFront. Amazon Cognito authenticates user access to the web UI. 1. **Step 3**: AWS WAF protects the AppSync API from common exploits and bots that can affect availability, compromise security, or consume excessive resources. 1. **Step 4**: AWS AppSync endpoints allow the web UI component to request resource relationship data, query costs, import new AWS Regions, and update preferences. AWS AppSync also allows the discovery component to store persistent data in the solution’s databases. 1. **Step 5**: AWS AppSync uses JSON Web Tokens (JWTs) provisioned by Amazon Cognito to authenticate each request. 1. **Step 6**: The `Settings` AWS Lambda function persists imported Regions and other configurations to Amazon DynamoDB. 1. **Step 7**: The solution deploys AWS Amplify and an Amazon S3 bucket as the storage management component to store user preferences and saved architecture diagrams. 1. **Step 8**: The data component uses the `Gremlin Resolver` AWS Lambda function to query and return data from an Amazon Neptune database. 1. **Step 9**: The data component uses the `Search Resolver` Lambda function to query and persist resource data into an Amazon OpenSearch Service domain. 1. **Step 10**: The `Cost` Lambda function uses Amazon Athena to query AWS Cost and Usage Reports (AWS CUR) to provide estimated cost data to the web UI. 1. **Step 11**: Amazon Athena runs queries on AWS CUR. 1. **Step 12**: AWS CUR delivers the reports to the `CostAndUsageReportBucket` Amazon S3 bucket. 1. **Step 13**: The `Cost` Lambda function stores the Amazon Athena results in the `AthenaResultsBucket` Amazon S3 bucket. 1. **Step 14**: AWS CodeBuild builds the discovery component container image in the image deployment component. 1. **Step 15**: Amazon Elastic Container Registry (Amazon ECR) contains a Docker imageprovided by the image deployment component. 1. **Step 16**: Amazon Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS) manages the AWS Fargate task and provides the configuration required to run the task. AWS Fargate runs a container task every 15 minutes to refresh inventory and resource data. 1. **Step 17**: AWS Config and AWS SDK calls help the discovery component maintain an inventory of resource data from imported Regions, then store its results in the data component. 1. **Step 18**: The AWS Fargate task persists the results of the AWS Config and AWS SDK calls into an Amazon Neptune database and an Amazon OpenSearch Service domain with API calls to the AppSync API. ## Deploy with confidence - **We'll walk you through it**: Get started fast. Read the implementation guide for deployment steps, architecture details, cost information, and customization options.Open guideOpen post-deployment configuration guide [Open guide](/solutions/latest/workload-discovery-on-aws/welcome.html) [Open post-deployment configuration guide](https://aws-solutions.github.io/workload-discovery-on-aws/workload-discovery-on-aws/2.0/index.html) - **Let's make it happen**: Ready to deploy? Open the CloudFormation template in the AWS Console to begin setting up the infrastructure you need. You'll be prompted to access your AWS account if you haven't yet logged in.Launch in the AWS Console [Launch in the AWS Console](https://console.aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/home?region=us-east-1#/stacks/create/template?stackName=workload-discovery&templateURL=https://s3.amazonaws.com/solutions-reference/workload-discovery-on-aws/latest/workload-discovery-on-aws.template&refid=sl_card&redirectId=SolutionWeb) ## Deployment tools Follow these links for direct access to the artifacts for this AWS Solution. - **CloudFormation template**: View or modify the CloudFormation template to customize your deployment. [Download template](https://s3.amazonaws.com/solutions-reference/workload-discovery-on-aws/latest/workload-discovery-on-aws.template) - **Source code**: The source code for this AWS Solution is available in GitHub. [Go to GitHub](https://github.com/aws-solutions/workload-discovery-on-aws) - **Implementation guide**: Follow the implementation guide for step-by-step actions to deploy this AWS Solution. [Download guide](/pdfs/solutions/latest/workload-discovery-on-aws/workload-discovery-on-aws.pdf) ## AWS Training & Certification Training resources to help you solve on AWS. - **Introduction to AWS Config**: This course provides an introduction to AWS Config and the process of recording and normalizing configuration changes within your AWS account. We also cover use cases and configuration, and we give a brief demonstration of the service. [Enroll now](https://skillbuilder.aws/search?searchText=Introduction+to+AWS+Config&page=1) - **Amazon Neptune Service Primer**: This course introduces you to Amazon Neptune and its core features and capabilities. The course describes how this service integrates with other AWS services, introduces important terminology and technology concepts, and includes a demonstration of the service. [Enroll now](https://skillbuilder.aws/search?searchText=Amazon+Neptune+Service+Primer&page=1) - **Introduction to AWS CloudFormation**: This course provides a basic overview of how AWS CloudFormation can be used to automate resource provision. It also covers use cases where CloudFormation repeatedly and predictably creates groups of resources. The course includes a demonstration in designing a CloudFormation template for resource provisioning is also covered. [Enroll now](https://skillbuilder.aws/search?searchText=Introduction+to+AWS+CloudFormation&page=1) ## Related content - **Amazon MGM Studios leverages an AWS Solution**: Amazon MGM Studios gains significant rime savings and increases efficiency by using Workload Discovery on AWS to automatically trace resources across their AWS environment. [Watch the video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgIwoXYUSMA) - **Solving with AWS Solutions: Amazon MGM Studios**: Learn how Amazon MGM Studios uses Workload Discovery on AWS to visualize their AWS environment. [Watch the video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kSJaG_ZAss) --- ## AWS Support - [Get support for this AWS Solution](/solutions/latest/workload-discovery-on-aws/contact-aws-support.html)