Generate Alerts on Performance Data

You will want alerts to be generated when some attributes violate certain defined levels on selected targets, for given lengths of time. For instance, you may wish to know when free disk space drops below 25% on one or more servers. These attributes are known as thresholds.

Thresholds are Policy Component objects that monitor a single attribute on one or more selected targets. When the attribute exceeds a specified arm level for a given period of time, an alert is generated. When the attribute falls below the specified rearm level for a given period of time, the alert is automatically resolved and the Threshold is rearmed (made available to activate again).

Performance and status variables can be monitored by thresholds. Some of these variables are collected directly from targets, while others are computed from collected attributes. Some examples include:

CPU Utilization
Disk Percent Free
SilverStreak Status

Once your thresholds are defined you'll want to ensure that they generate alerts when certain values are crossed You do this using Notification Rules. When you add or edit Notification Rules you can choose which fault sources you want to generate alerts, including thresholds.

For the purposes of this FAQ we will assume that you have an operational Notification Rule , and now you want it to generate alerts for operational thresholds.

Editing a Notification Rule to Add Threshold Alerts

From the Monitoring category page click on the Browse Notification Rules link to display the Notification Rules report.

Click on the Notification Rule that you wish to edit, and then click on the Edit button to display the Edit Notification Rule form.

You will use the Fault Sources, Assets, Users, Severities and Schedules tabs.

In the Faults Sources tab, expand the Selected Policies selector, then click on the All Thresholds checkbox.

Click on the Assets tab, then select the devices from which you want to receive threshold alerts by choosing from:

Select All
Select Group
Select Targets

Click on the Severities tab, then select the alert severity level(s) that you want to apply to threshold alert notifications. You can choose from:

Critical
Major
Minor
Informational

Click on the Users tab.
Select the users to be notified upon threshold alert generation by choosing from:

Select All
Select Targets

Click on the Schedules tab, then choose from:

24x7 - Schedules the Notification Rule to be perpetually enabled. This is the default option.
Customize - Enables you to create a custom schedule.

Click on the Save button.

Performance thresholds will now generate alerts, and notify the appropriate user(s).