---
title: "Direct query overview | Grafana Labs"
description: "Introduction to querying cloud data without storing it"
---

> For a curated documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt). For the complete documentation index, see [llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt).

## Direct query

**What you learned in Module 3:**

- Cloud logs include application, platform, audit, network, and service logs.
- Collection methods include Lambda/Functions, Firehose, Alloy, and Pub/Sub.
- Each provider has different implementation options.
- Method selection depends on volume, compliance, and operational needs.

* * *

**What you’ll do in this module:**

You’ll explore the direct query alternative:

- **How direct query works** — Real-time API queries without data storage
- **When to choose it** — Use cases and trade-offs vs. storage
- **CloudWatch data source** — AWS metrics and logs
- **Azure Monitor data source** — Azure metrics and logs
- **GCP data sources** — Cloud Monitoring and Cloud Logging

**Estimated time:** 10-15 minutes