Actions & Notifications

5.1 Overview

This section only describes Administrator level actions and notifications. Each department has its own actions and notifications which are described in the End User Guide.

When a threshold is crossed, NetVigil can generate a notification or action based on rules. Some of the possible notifications are:

Mail (requires setting up of an outbound mail relay in netvigil.xml)
Pager via E-mail
Sending SNMP traps
Opening trouble-tickets in Remedy or RT
Running an external script (to reboot or restart a process)

You can build complex "multi-step" action profiles such as send an E-mail when first detected down, then page after another test cycle and reboot if condition persists after 5 test cycles. You can also suppress alarms, auto-clear suppressed alarms during maintenance, etc. For detailed information on managing actions through the Web interface, see this chapter and Section 12.6.5, "Managing Actions" on page 12-22. Additionally, Chapter 18, "Plugin Actions" describes how you can build your own custom plugin actions to extend the notification framework.

5.2 Manage User-Class Actions

Each User-Class has its own interface for assigning default test thresholds and actions. Both actions and thresholds are assigned to a test type (e.g. all Disk tests) and are the default settings for all Departments belonging to a User-Class. As the name suggests, User-Class actions are for the purpose of notifying end-users. However, the creation and assignment of these actions are the responsibility of the administrator and are thus assigned via the admin interface. User-Class Actions were created specifically for end-users who will either have no privileges to create their own actions, or who prefer to accept the default notification settings in lieu of creating their own.

User-Class Actions are created independently of the User-Classes and can be assigned to multiple test types in any one of the User-Classes that exist. The mere creation of a User-Class Action will not have any impact on the end-users or systems. It is the assignment of that action to one or more test types that permits notifications.

To create a User-Class Action:
Click on the MANAGE tab on the main navigation bar.
Click on the User-Classes link on the secondary navigation bar and you will be taken to the Manage User-Classes page.
Click on the User-Class Actions link for the User-Class of interest and you will be taken to the Manage User-Class Action page.
Click on the Create User-Class Action link to be taken to the Create User-Class Action page.
Enter a unique name and description for the Action Profile
Note that the only notification type available is E-mail, and will be sent to the recipient in the end-user's Department profile.
Check the box for each instruction you want followed ("Notify when test is in state: OK, WARNING, CRITICAL or UNKNOWN").
If desired, use the drop down lists to delay initial notification and/or to identify a repeat interval, and the number of applicable test cycles for each
Repeat steps 5. - 8. as desired. Remember to avoid overlapping logic between the sub-actions, otherwise the recipient may receive duplicate notifications for a single test event.
Click on the Create UserClass Action Profile button to create the new action.

Note You must first create User-Class actions before you can assign them to a User-Class. To assign a User-Class Action to one or more test types, see Section 5.3, "Assigning Thresholds and Actions for User-Classes" on page 5-5.

Create User-Class Actions

To update a User-Class Action:
Go to the Manage User-Class Actions page.
Click the Update link for the action you want to update and you will be taken to the Update User Class Action page for that action.
Make the desired changes.
Click on the Update Action button.
To delete a User-Class Action:
Go to the Manage User-Class Actions page.
Click the Delete link for the action you want to delete and you will be taken to a confirmation screen.
Click on the Delete button to confirm the deletion.

5.3 Assigning Thresholds and Actions for User-Classes

When you select thresholds for a test, you define OK, WARNING, and CRITICAL states for that test. Warning thresholds are usually selected to provide early warning of potential problems or to identify trends that approach critical status. Critical thresholds are usually set at levels that warn of impending SLA violations or device failures. Administrators must create default and shadow thresholds for all tests available to each User-Class.

5.3.1 Assigning Default Thresholds and Actions

Default thresholds define WARNING and CRITICAL status for end-user tests. A default CRITICAL threshold usually matches SLA requirements, if any. A default WARNING threshold is usually set for a point at which a test result approaches but does not cross the critical threshold. The ping packet loss warning and critical default thresholds, for example, might be 5% and 10% respectively. Administrators may then offer the ability for end-users to modify the default thresholds.

Note In general, default settings are established when a User-Class is created and should remain at those settings.

To create or modify default thresholds and actions for User-Classes:
Click on the USER-CLASSES tab. You will be taken to the Manage User-Classes page.
Click on the Default Thresholds & Actions link for the User-Class of interest and you will be taken to the Update User-Class Default Thresholds page (see Figure 5.2 below).
For each test, enter or change the WARNING and CRITICAL default thresholds.
Select an action from the drop-down list. These actions are for default notification of the end-users (not the administrators) and always E-mail the Department owner as defined in the Department creation process.
Click on the Update Default Thresholds button at the bottom of the page.

User-Class Default Thresholds Page

5.3.2 Assigning Shadow Thresholds and Actions

Shadow thresholds are designed solely for Administrator use. For instance, if operations staff want to know how long it takes to fill up a customer's disk, a WARNING threshold can be set at a level that will result in notification of Network Operations Center (NOC) staff when the disk approaches full. That information will also be available for trend analysis. Meanwhile, CRITICAL thresholds can be set at the level necessary to warn of impending device failure. Information based on shadow thresholds may also be very valuable to sales and marketing departments by identifying upsell opportunities.

To create or modify shadow thresholds and actions for a User-Class:
Click on the MANAGE tab on the main navigation bar.
Click on User-Classes link on the secondary navigation bar and you will be taken to the Manage User-Classes page.
Click on the Shadow Thresholds & Actions link for the User-Class of interest. You will be taken to the Update User-Class Shadow Thresholds page for (this page is very similar to the look and feel of Figure 5.2, but is for configuring Shadow Thresholds and Actions).
For each test, enter or change the WARNING and CRITICAL default thresholds.
Select an action from the drop-down list. Remember, these are Administrator Actions for notification of the administrator (not the end-users) and always notify the recipient defined in the Administrator Action creation process (see "To create an Administrator Action:" on page 5-8).
Click on the Update Shadow Thresholds button at the bottom of the page.

5.3.3 Assigning SLA Thresholds and Actions

SLA thresholds are designed for both Administrator use and the end-user. However, SLA thresholds are created and modified only by the Administrator, whereas the end-user has read-only access to an SLA Report for his/her Department. By providing this view into its SLA, Administrators give the end-user confidence that SLA violations are being tracked at the individual event level.

To create or modify SLA thresholds and action profiles for a User-Class:
Click on the ADMIN tab on the main navigation bar.
Click on User-Classes link on the secondary navigation bar and you will be taken to the Manage User-Classes page.
Click the SLA Thresholds & Actions link for the User-Class of interest. You will be taken to the Update User-Class SLA Thresholds page (this page is very similar to the look and feel of Figure 5.2, but is for configuring SLA Thresholds and Actions).
For each test type, enter or change the SLA threshold as defined in the SLA agreement with the Department holder. Note that there is only one threshold that defines the SLA, not two as is the case with User-Class and Shadow thresholds.
Select an action from the drop-down list. Remember, these are Administrator Actions for notification of the administrator (not the end-end-users) and always notify the recipient defined in the Administrator Action creation process (see "To create an Administrator Action:" on page 5-8).
Click on the Update SLA Thresholds button to enter the changes.

5.4 Manage Administrator Actions

Administrator Actions are similar in form to the User-Class Actions, but are specifically for notifying the administrator, IT department, NOC personnel, etc. Administrators do not automatically receive end-user notifications. Instead, administrators create their own Administrator Actions based on shadow thresholds. This difference is critical because Administrators often want different information than end-users. For example, an end-user might set a warning alarm for a device if a test result exceeds 50ms, but the NOC administrator might want to be informed only if that same test exceeds 100ms.

Like the User-Class actions described previously for the benefit of the end-user, Administrator Actions are also created independently of the User-Classes. Remember that Administrators can be assigned Privileges to all, one or no User-Classes. Therefore, it is necessary to assign Administrator Actions separately to each test type within each User-Class in order to address all possible test outcomes for all end-users in all User-Classes.

To create an Administrator Action:
Click on the MANAGE tab on the main navigation bar.
Click on Actions link on the secondary navigation bar and you will be taken to the Manage Administrator Actions page.
Click on the Create New Administrator Action Profile link and you will be taken to the Create Administrator Action page.
Enter a unique action name (required) and a description (recommended).
For each sub-action (maximum of 5), choose the type of notification in the Notify Using drop down list (i.e. E-mail) and the message recipient's address. This is usually yourself or someone else who is responsible for monitoring your system's performance.
Select the check boxes to identify which test states should trigger notifications.
If you checked the repeat or wait instructions, select the desired number of test cycles from the drop-down lists of choices.
Repeat steps 5. - 7. as needed. If you are notifying the same person via different actions, remember to avoid overlapping logic between the actions contained in the profile, otherwise the recipient may receive duplicate notifications for a single test event.
Click on the Create Action button to create the new action.

Managing Administrative Actions

To update an Administrator Action:
Click MANAGE | actions.
On the Manage Administrator Action Profiles page, click the Update link for the action you want to update and you will be taken to the Update Administrator Action page for that action.
Make the desired changes.
Click on the Update Action button.
To delete an Administrator Action:
Click MANAGE | actions.
On the Manage Administrator Action Profiles page, click the Delete link for the action you want to delete and you will be taken to a confirmation screen.
Click on the Delete button to confirm the deletion.