Web Alert

You can clear alerts from the system. Clearing alerts removes the alerts from the Alert Display. To clear alerts, follow these steps:

The alert is cleared from the display. This clears acknowledged and unacknowledged alerts.

NOTE: Multiple alerts can be selected by selecting each alert. To de-select an alert, simply click it again.

Acknowledging an alert assigns an operator to work on the alert. To acknowledge alerts, follow these steps:

The operator’s user id is displayed in the Alert Display Operator column.

An operator who has acknowledged an alert can unacknowledge it. To unacknowledge alerts you have previously acknowledged, follow these steps:

The operator’s user id is removed from the Operator column in the alert display.

When you own (have acknowledged) alerts, you can reassign them to another operator. When you reassign an alert, the selected alerts are updated, showing the operator you specified as having acknowledged them.

To reassign alerts, follow these steps:

The new operator’s user id is displayed in the Operator column in the alert display.

NOTE: Only the owner of an alert can reassign it. Reassign commands by other users are ignored by Web Alert.

To view the alarm raw data:

The example below shows raw data for two alerts, AlarmName1 and AlarmName2.

NOTE: To use this feature, alert raw data must be enabled in the VSM system and the data must be NSF mounted back to the machine running the nxAgent.

To facilitate analysis and report writing, alerts can be exported and saved as comma separated values, MS Excel, XML or HTML files.

The Select All menu item selects all alerts. If you apply a filter prior to using Select All, only the alerts resulting from the application of the filter are selected.

The Unselect All menu item unselects all alerts.

The Invert Selections menu item inverts selected and unselected alerts. To invert selected alerts, select Select | Invert Selections.

Selected alerts are unselected and the previously unselected alerts are selected.

The Select Between menu item helps to save time by avoiding the need to select each individual alert in a continuous block of selected alerts. To select a block of alerts:

The Web Alert installation includes a Default column definition. The Default column definition can be edited, but cannot be deleted. You can create additional custom column definitions as needed.

To create a custom column definition:

1. In the Web Alert menu bar, select Display | Column Definitions. The Alert Display Column Definitions panel opens.

This panel contains a menu bar with the following menus:

2. Select Column Defs | Create. The New Column Definition dialog opens.

3. Enter the name of your new column definition. Checking the Public check box makes this column definition available to other users.

Note: A user can create public column displays only if he has VSM Authorization to do so. Without authorization, the user can only create private user-defined column definitions.

4. Click the OK button. The Alert Display Column Definitions panel is displayed.

NOTE: The Public check box is not configurable in this view. It can only be set in the New Column Definition dialog.

The Alert Display Column Definitions panel displays configurable settings for the column fields displayed in the Alert Display. For each column field, you can configure:

5. To define the column definition, click the ‘e’

edit button beside the field you wish to edit. This opens an Edit Column Definition Entry dialog.

6. In this dialog you enter the header text, enter the field width in pixels, and select the text justification from the Justify drop-down list.

7. Use the up and down arrow buttons

to arrange fields in the desired sequence. The top to bottom sequence in the Alert Display Column Definition panel determines the Alert Display column sequence from left to right.

8. Use the ‘x’

button to delete a field, or the plus

button to add a field.

Clicking the plus button opens the Add Column to Definition dialog box.

The Field: drop-down list contains fields available for addition.

9. Enter values for the Header, Width, and Justify Fields. The Add Before: field is used to position the field in the left to right column sequence in the Alert Display.

10. To select a column definition for the Alert Display, use the drop-down list in the View Configuration Panel.

The Display menu includes a Filters menu item. Filters enable the user to view only the alerts of interest in the Alert Display. A filter is configured to specify one or multiple alert fields, which, when applied to the Alert Display, includes or excludes all matching alerts.

Filters can be edited and created by the user. To create a filter:

1. In the Web Alert menu bar, select Display | Filters. The Alert Display Filters panel is displayed.

The menu bar contains the following menus and functions:

2. Select Filters | Create. The New Filter dialog opens.

3. Enter the name of your new filter.

4. Check the Public check box if it is for use by other users.

Note: A user can create public filters only if he has VSM Authorization to do so. Without authorization, the user can only create private user-defined filter definitions.

5. Click the OK button.

6. Add a field to the filter by clicking the plus button.

The Add Entry to Filter dialog opens.

7. Select a field to filter on from the Field: drop-down list.

8. In the Pattern: field enter the string or Java regular expression to match. All alerts with matching fields are included or excluded in the Alert Display. You can add as many fields as are available. (NOTE: Information on Java regular expressions can be found in the Appendix of this User's Guide.)

9. Define the Match Type using the drop-down list. The options are:

10. To save your filter, click the Apply button, which disappears and the filter is saved.

To apply a filter to the Alert Display, select it in the Include Filter or Exclude Filter control and click the Apply Settings button.

In the example below, MyNewFilter is selected as an Include Filter. When created, the filter was configured to match on Operator netex and Severity Critical.

Alert Actions allow the user to send alert property values to web-based applications.

After an alert action is defined, it becomes available in the Web Alert Actions menu.

Note: Access to Alert Actions is only available to users with VSM authorizations to create column definitions and alert filters.

To create an Alert Action:

1. In the Web Alert menu bar, select Display | Alert Actions. The Alert Actions panel opens.

The Alert Actions menu bar contains the following menu functions:

2. Select Actions | Create. The New Action dialog opens.

3. Enter a name for the action and click the OK button.

The action configuration panel is displayed.

4. In the URL: field, enter the address of the destination.

5. Add the alert parameters you wish to send by clicking the plus button. The Add Parameter to Action dialog opens.

6. In the Param. Name: field enter a name for the parameter. The name can be any string. It does not have to match the field name. The Param. Name: must match whatever the destination URL expects.

7. Select an alert field to supply a value for the parameter.

8. Click the Apply button to save. The new action is now available for use from the Web Alert Actions menu.

To exercise an Alert Action:

Note: To test your action, you can use the URL from a script supplied with Web Alert - http://localhost:8080/netexpert/example.groovy replacing localhost with the name or ip address of your host machine.

When using the supplied script URL for testing, a new LSFT Groovlet Example tab is opened in your browser. This tab displays the ip address of the host, lists the VSM systems registered with Web Alert, and the alert property values you passed in the action.

Web Alert Paging can be defined to page by email someone when specific alerts occur in the system. The user can define whom to page, when to page, and for which alerts a page is to be sent. The page sends a user-defined e-mail message which can include alert properties.

When the user creating the Alert Paging definition belongs to a VSM Operator Group, any member of the same group sees the same list of Alert Paging definitions. The Operator Group and any filter associated with it acts as a filter for alerts. Alerts that match the Operator Group filter are then processed by the Web Alert Paging definitions. Alerts matching a paging definition generate emails to the personnel on the alert definition subscribers list.

When an Alert is cleared, all subscribers who were emailed during the processing of a paging definition are sent the email again with *Clear* pre-pended to the subject of the email.

There are four basic steps to creating a paging definition:

A list of page recipient personnel is also available for adding and editing personnel. This list is built in Web Alert, and is entirely separate from VSM.

To create an Alert Paging Definition:

Define the Alert Properties that Trigger the Page

1. In the Trigger Criteria panel, add an alert field by clicking the + button next to the Field header. The Add Trigger Entry to Definition dialog opens.

Click a radio button to trigger on an alert field pattern or to use a Web Alert filter.

2. Select the alert field from the Field: drop-down list.

3. In the Pattern: text entry field, enter the match string or Java regular expression. (NOTE: Information on Java regular expressions can be found in the Appendix of this User's Guide.)

4. If you are using a Web Alert filter, simply select it from the drop-down list.

5. Click the OK button.

You can add as many fields and filters as desired.

6. In the Trigger Criteria panel, select Any or All from the Match Type drop-down list.

a. Selecting Any triggers a page if one or more specified alert field patterns match the alert.

b. Selecting All triggers a page only when all of the specified field patterns match the alert.

(This behavior is the same as the Filters function.)

7. Paging handles alert updates as a new alert. If you do not want to page when the alert is updated, check the Ignore Alert Updates check box.

Define the Page Message

In the Message Content text entry field, compose the message to be delivered in the page. You can use the Field: drop-down list to insert alert properties (AMO, Severity, etc.) to display alert property values in the message dynamically. The syntax is ${Field}.

Define the Severity Delays

A Severity Delay can be defined for each alert severity, since a page definition may define more than one alert, and alerts may change severity over time. The time delay is specified in minutes.

No page is sent if the alert severity is not set to Active. After the delay period has expired, the page is sent to specified recipients if the alert that triggered this paging event still exists.

1. In the Severity Delays panel, you can Activate or De-activate the page for a specific alert severity level using the Active check box. No page is sent if the Active check box is not checked.

2. In the text entry field, enter the number of minutes you wish the page to be delayed. If after the delay period has expired the alert still exists, the page is sent. Leaving this field empty for an Active severity level means there is no delay, and the page is sent immediately.

Create the Subscribers List

The Subscribers list is made up of those personnel to be paged when the paging definition is triggered. The order of this list determines the order in which personnel are paged.

Each entry is accompanied by a Resolution Time , which gives paged personnel a window of time to resolve the alert condition. A cleared alert results in the end of paging any more personnel.

If no Resolution Time is specified for a personnel entry, paging ends if there are no more personnel entries, or the page is immediately sent to the next personnel listed.

To create the Subscribers List:

Note that the Subscribers list must take into account personnel availability in order to ensure that pages are actually sent. Pages are not sent to personnel if the page occurs when they are unavailable. In case of unavailability, the next personnel entry in the list is evaluated immediately.

One way to ensure that someone is paged is to list personnel in an order based on availability. For example, if Joe is on call only during weekdays, and Mary is on call only during week ends, you should list Joe first and Mary second.

To check personnel availability, hover your cursor over a name to display the person's availability.

You can quickly create an email to any personnel buy clicking on his or her name in the Subscribers list.

Personnel

Personnel must be defined for anyone who is to receive pages. Each personnel entry must include first name, last name, and e-mail address. E-mail address is required because the paging system implements only e-mail paging at this time.

Management of personnel is done in a floating window on the same screen as the page definitions. It floats above the other elements on the window, so it is always available while defining a page definitions subscriber list.

The personnel window shows a list of all personnel with a simple filtering functionality to narrow the list. Each entry allows personnel to be enabled or disabled. For example, if Joe goes on vacation for a week you can set him as Disabled (represented by the red ‘X’) and any page definitions that reference Joe skip over him. To edit personnel’s availability, just click on the Edit link under the Enabled/Disabled icon next to the name.

To open this window, click on Manage Personnel in the Subscribers list panel, or use the menu selection Paging | Manage Personnel.

Filters can be assigned to operator groups and individual operators to restrict their view of the Alert Display. When a filter is assigned to an operator or operator group, only those alerts that meet the filter's criteria are visible in the Alert Display of that operator or members of the operator group.

See Section 4.3.2, “Filters” for information on creating Web Alert filters.

Note: Only those users with VSM authorizations to create column definitions and alert filters have access to this function.

Selecting Display | Operator Filters displays the Operator Filters panel.

The menu bar contains the following menus:

Note: After making changes to operators in VSM, it is necessary to reinitialize Authorizations in VSM prior to reloading operators.

The main functional area consists of a table with three columns. It displays VSM operators and operator groups along with the filters that have been assigned to them.

The first column contains a directory tree with folders for operators and operator groups. Each folder contains operators that have been assigned to that operator group in VSM.

Each folder can be opened and closed by clicking the + and - signs to the left of the folder, or the entire tree can be opened and closed by clicking Expand All or Collapse All just above the table.

The first folder is named *NO GROUP*. It contains VSM operators not assigned to an operator group in the system. An additional folder exists for each VSM operator group.

Use Reload Operators to display the new operator groups and operators you create in VSM.

To assign a filter to an operator group:

The filter is applied to all members of the group. It becomes effective for each member as each operator signs in to Web Alert. If already signed in when the filter is assigned, the operator must sign off and back in before the filter is applied.

You can also apply a filter to the *NO GROUP* folder, or to any operator in the *NO GROUP* list.

In the example below, operators bob and fred belong to OPGROUP1, in the VSM systems idetest1 and vsm60 (listed in parentheses next to each operator's name). OPGROUP1 has MyNewFilter assigned to it. Both operators' view of the alert display is limited by the filter. Each operator can still create filters for his private Web Alert display only.

In order to assign a filter to an operator group whose members are monitoring multiple VSM systems, the group must exist in all VSM systems being monitored by the operator(s). In the above example, OPGROUP1 exists in both the idetest1 and vsm60 systems.

You can also assign a filter to individual operators. To do this, simply click on the operator's name, then select the filter to be applied from the drop-down list in the Filter column. The filter name is displayed in the Filter column.

In the above example, operator Dan has been assigned a Severity - Warning filter. His alert display shows only alerts with a Warning severity level. Dan does not belong to an operator group.

In the next example, operator mike is registered in two systems, vsm60 and idetest1. OPGROUP2 is an operator group that exists in both systems. A Severity - Critical filter has been assigned to mike.

In this example, operator ron belongs to OPGROUP2 in the vsm60 system, but has not been assigned to the group in the VSM system idetest1, as indicated in the *NO GROUP* folder.

Because this operator monitors more than one system but belongs to one group in only one system, he is considered to be Fragmented. This condition is indicated by the Yes in the Fragmented column. An operator is also considered Fragmented if assigned to two different groups.

You cannot assign a filter to an operator in a Fragmented condition.

If you try to assign a filter to a Fragmented operator, the message N/A for fragmented operators! is displayed.

As an aid to viewing which operators are fragmented, there are two View: radio buttons above the table. Selecting All displays all operators, while selecting Fragmented displays only fragmented operators.