# Getting started with CloudWatch Logs
<a name="CWL_GettingStarted"></a>

To collect logs from your Amazon EC2 instances and on-premises servers into CloudWatch Logs, use the unified CloudWatch agent. It enables you to collect both logs and advanced metrics with one agent. It offers support across operating systems, including servers running Windows Server. This agent also provides better performance.

If you're using the unified CloudWatch agent to collect CloudWatch metrics, it enables the collection of additional system metrics, for in-guest visibility. It also supports collecting custom metrics using `StatsD` or `collectd`.

For more information, see [Installing the CloudWatch Agent](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/AmazonCloudWatch/latest/monitoring/install-CloudWatch-Agent-on-EC2-Instance.html) in the *Amazon CloudWatch User Guide*.

The older CloudWatch Logs agent, which supports only the collection of logs from servers running Linux, is deprecated and is no longer supported. For information about migrating from the older CloudWatch Logs agent to the unified agent, see [ Create the CloudWatch agent configuration file with the wizard](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/AmazonCloudWatch/latest/monitoring/create-cloudwatch-agent-configuration-file-wizard.html).

**Topics**
+ [Prerequisites](GettingSetup_cwl.md)
+ [Using the unified CloudWatch agent](UseCloudWatchUnifiedAgent.md)
+ [Using the previous CloudWatch agent](UsePreviousCloudWatchLogsAgent.md)
+ [Quick Start with Amazon CloudFormation](QuickStartCloudFormation.md)