Manage Alarm Actions

Three basic types of macros can be used for Send Short Message Email and Send Data to FTP Server alarm action settings: Location, Identification, and Alarm. Location macros One location macro is available for use when defining alarm action settings for SNMP and Modbus devices monitored by the Data Center Expert server.   Macro Definition Example ${LOCATION} The location for a Data Center Expert SNMP or Modbus device.   Test Lab   Identification macros   Identification macros are available for use when defining alarm action settings for SNMP and Modbus devices monitored by the Data Center Expert server.   Macro Definition Example ${SERIAL} The serial number of the device WA0450123456 ${IP} The dotted-decimal IP address of the device 192.168.2.23 ${HOSTNAME} The hostname of the device device.apc.com ${MODEL} The model of the device Symmetra 80K ${SERVERIP} The dotted-decimal IP address of the Data Center Expert server 92.168.2.10 ${SERVERHOSTNAME} The hostname of the Data Center Expert server dce.apc.com ${SERVERMODEL} The model of the Data Center Expert server Data Center Expert ${TIMESTAMP} The current UTC time (seconds since 1/1/1970) 998885130 ${DATE} The current date (year-month-day) 2024-01-31 ${YEAR} The current year 2024 ${MONTH} The current month (2-digit number, January=01). 01 ${DAY} The current day of the month (2-digit number). 31 ${TIME} The current time (24-hour, hour-minute-second 23-30-01 ${HOUR} The current hour of the day (2- digit, 24-hour time) 23 ${MIN} The current minute of the hour 30 ${SEC} The current second of the minute 01   Alarm macros   Alarm macros are available for use when defining alarm action settings on the Data Center Expert server.   Macro Definition Example ${ALERTTYPE} The type of alert HIGHERR ${SENSORTYPE} The type of sensor generating the alert TEMP ${SENSORVAL} The value reported by the sensor generating the alert 60 ${SENSORVAL_NOLABEL} The value reported by the sensor generating the alarm, excluding special characters 81.2 rather than 81.2 ° F ${ALERTTIME} The date and time the alert notification was generated Jan 12, 2024 13:01:45 ${ALERTSEV} The severity value reported by the sensor that is generating the alert (such as ERR, WARN, INFO). If the alert state has returned to normal, the severity value will be followed by "-RTN" (for example WARN-RTN). ERR, WARN-RTN ${ALERTSEVNAME} The ${ALERTSEV} value, displayed in the language appropriate for the Data Center Expert server locale. ERROR, WARN (returned to normal) ${SENSORNAME} The name of the sensor associated with the alert Bldg. 3 Door ${NOTIFPOLICY} The name of the notification policy that was used to generate the alarm Default, Policy #1 ${ALERTTITLE} The alarm title Replacement Battery Needed ${ALERTDESC} The description, and recommended action, if any, for the alarm At least one faulty battery exists. Recommended Action: Replace all faulty batteries. You can use the APC UPS Replacement Battery Selector to order new batteries. ${ISACTIVE?yes?no} Specifies custom active vs.return to normal text. The strings “yes” and “no” can be replaced with user-specified “active” and “cleared” strings. For example, if you specify “active” and “cleared” for the “yes” and “no” values and the macro is translated, if the alert is still active the word "active" would appear and when it has returned to normal, the word "cleared" would appear. “active” and “cleared” ${USERURL} The user-specified URL that can be defined within the threshold configuration. http://www.mysite.com ${USERDESC} The user-specified description value that can be defined within the threshold configuration “Too high” ${START_TIME} The time the alarm condition was initially detected. 13:01:45 ${RESOLVE_TIME} The time the alarm condition returned to normal 13:07:13 ${SENSORLUID} The locally unique ID of the sensor generating the alarm TEMP1 ${SENSORGUID} The globally unique ID of the sensor generating the alarm B000113_TEMP1 ${EVENTID} The unique 16-character identifier shared by all messages generated as a result of a single alarm notification event. For example, if an appliance generates an alarm notification when the internal temperature sensor threshold is exceeded, and then generates a "return to normal" message when the temperature drops below the high threshold, both of these messages will have the same Event ID number. However, if the temperature rises again and a second threshold exceeded alarm is generated, the second alarm will have a new Event ID. 3E4512C0FE03440F ${DEVICELABEL} The label or value of the device that either contains the sensor that reported the alarm or to which the sensor is connected My Device ${ALERTPOD} The label or value of the pod that either contains the sensor that reported the alarm or to which the sensor is connected My Pod ${ALERTPODSERIAL} The serial number of the pod that either contains the sensor that reported the alarm or to which the sensor is connected NB007100730114 ${ALERTPORT} The serial number of the pod that either contains the sensor that reported the alarm or to which the sensor is connected NB007100730114 ${ALERTPORT} The label value for the external sensor port to which the external sensor that reported the alarm is connected Ext1 ${CURRENT_ALERT_NUM} The number of times the alarm action has been repeated, from 0 up to the Repeats value for the alarm action 0, 1, 2 ${RESOLVEUSERID} The user ID that is responsible for manually resolving an alarm (when this option applies) joeuser ${RESOLVECOMMENT} The text entered into the user-specified description field whenever an alarm needs to be manually returned to normal (an option that can be selected whenever a threshold is configured) “Turned on the A/C”; “Fixed the leak”  

    Testing an alarm action You can test alarm actions to ensure that your DCE server can generate alarm notifications. All alarm actions are tested using the same basic procedure. Select Manage Alarm Actions in the Alarm Configuration menu. Select the action you want to test, click Test, and then click OK. Note You will need to verify the test was successful. For example, for a Send SNMPv1 Trap, verify the trap was received at the trap receiver; for a Send E-mail, verify the e-mail was received.  

    Define the settings for a Send Short Message E-mail alert action on a NetBotz Appliance. A name field, severity selections, and the "Alert Action Scheduling" display that all alert action types share, are also available. Note Make sure the SMTP settings for the monitored NetBotz Appliances are defined properly. E-mail tab Element Description Add Click to add an e-mail address to the address list. Remove Click to remove a selected e-mail address from the address list. Include Threshold-specific Addresses Select to send e-mails to e-mail addresses defined for NetBotz Appliance alert thresholds. Subject Enter a subject for the message; macros can be used. Message Enter a message; macros can be used. Threshold-specific addresses example A “generic_send_SMS_email” alert action is created with no e-mail addresses included. Include Threshold-specific Addresses is selected for this "generic_send_SMS_email" action. The “generic_send_SMS_email” alert action is added to an alert profile called “alert_profile1.” The “alert_profile1” profile is specified for two thresholds, “temp_too_high” and “humidity_too_high.” The “temp_too_high” threshold has Threshold-Specific Addresses for User1 and User2, and the “humidity_too_high” threshold has Threshold-Specific Addresses for User3 and User4. When “temp_too_high” triggers, only User1 and User2 will receive short-message e-mails. When “humidity_too_high” triggers, only User3 and User4 will receive short-message e-mails. Advanced tab Provides elements that further define what an e-mail can include, as well as an Alert Action Scheduling button that allows you to select when an alert action is enabled (all time periods are enabled, by default). Element Description Do Not Send Return-to-Normal Messages Select if you do not want to receive an e-mail when the threshold violation returns to normal. Minimize Header Usage Select to minimize the size of the e-mail headers. Send both HTML and Plain Text Message Select to include HTML formatted messages in addition to plain text messages. Message Size Limit (bytes) Identify the maximum number of bytes used for a message.

  "Send HTTP POST" display Define the settings for a Send HTTP POST alarm action on the DCE server. A name field, severity selections, and the "Alarm Action Scheduling" display that all alarm action types share, are also available. Primary and Backup tabs You must define at least the Primary tab elements. Note  The only difference between the two tabs is that the Backup tab includes backup settings. Element Description Target URL Identify the web address, port and parameters of the system to which HTTP POST data will be posted. Target User ID Identify the user identification needed to post HTTP data to the server at the specified Target URL. Target Password Identify the password needed to post HTTP data to the server at the specified Target URL. Verify Password Retype the password. Advanced tab Provides elements that further define what an HTTP POST can include, as well as an Alarm Action Scheduling button that allows you to select when an alarm action is enabled (all time periods are enabled, by default). Setting Description SSL Verify Options Select No verification, Verify certificate, or Verify certificate and hostname for HTTP POSTs.  

    "Send E-mail" display Use this display to define the settings for a Send E-mail alert action on a NetBotz Appliance. A name field, severity selections, and the "Alert Action Scheduling" display that all alert action types share, are also available. Note Make sure the SMTP settings for the monitored NetBotz Appliances are defined properly. E-mail tab Element Description Add Click to add an e-mail address to the address list. Remove Click to remove a selected e-mail address from the address list. Include Threshold-specific Addresses Select to send e-mails to e-mail addresses defined at the NetBotz Appliance alert thresholds. Threshold-specific addresses example A “generic_send_email” alert action is created with no e-mail addresses included. Include Threshold-specific Addresses is selected for this "generic_send_email" action. The “generic_send_email” alert action is added to an alert profile called “alert_profile1.” The “alert_profile1” profile is specified for two thresholds, “temp_too_high” and “humidity_too_high.” The “temp_too_high” threshold has Threshold-Specific Addresses for User1 and User2, and the “humidity_too_high” threshold has Threshold-Specific Addresses for User3 and User4. When “temp_too_high” triggers, only User1 and User2 will receive e-mails. When “humidity_too_high” triggers, only User3 and User4 will receive e-mails. Advanced tab Provides elements that further define what an e-mail can include, as well as an Alert Action Scheduling button that allows you to select when an alert action is enabled (all time periods are enabled, by default). Element Description Maximum Camera Pictures Select the maximum number of pictures that can be included in e-mails. Include a Graph with the Alert Select to include graphs in e-mails. Include Related Maps with the Alert Select to include related maps in e-mails. Include a Sound Clip with the Alert Select to include related sound clips in e-mails, for NetBotz Appliances only. Note   Disabled for NetBotz Appliances that have no audio support. Do Not Send Return-to-Normal Messages Select if you do not want to receive an e-mail when the threshold violation returns to normal. Minimize Header Usage Select to minimize the size of the e-mail headers. Picture Export Format Select the format used for pictures sent with e-mails. Note   The export options will depend on how the NetBotz Appliance is configured.  

Define the settings for a Send Data to FTP Server alarm action on the server. A name field, severity selections, and the "Alarm Action Scheduling" display that all alarm action types share, are also available. Primary and Backup tabs You must define at least the Primary tab elements. Note The only difference between the two tabs is that the Backup tab includes backup settings. Setting Description FTP Server Hostname Identify the hostname or IP address of the FTP server that will receive the data. User ID Identify the user identification needed to log on to the FTP server. Password Identify the password needed to log on to the FTP server. Verify Password Retype the password. Target Directory Identify the relative directory path to be used to store the data at the FTP server. This should always be a path relative to the default directory associated with the user ID used to log on to the FTP server. If the directories on the path do not exist they will be created automatically. Note This Target Directory field accepts macros. Base Filename Identify the base filename to be used for storing the data at the FTP server. Alarm data will be stored in a file with this name, followed by the *.nbalert.xml file extension. Note This Base Filename field accepts macros.

    Modifying an alarm action You can use the same basic procedure to modify any type of alarm action. All alarm actions are modified using the same basic procedure. Select Manage Alarm Actions in the Alarm Configuration menu. Select the alarm action you want to modify, and click Edit to access the configuration display for that action. Define the settings you want the action to use, and click Finish to exit the wizard. Note For information about the settings for the action you are creating, see the help section for that action and its settings display.  

  Create, modify, delete, and test the alarm actions that can be included in the notification policies the server uses to generate alarm notifications. Alarm notifications can alert you, or other members of your organization, when the following events occur: A threshold violation at a sensor the Data Center Expert server monitors. An alarm at a monitored SNMP or Modbus device. You can create multiple versions of an alarm action, each with unique settings, for example, assigning different severities that apply to the alarm action. Once alarm actions have been created, you must add at least one action, and one alarm or threshold, to at least one notification policy to generate alarm notifications. Note  Device alarms for every device the Data Center Expert server monitors are added to the Default notification policy at discovery. You must manually add alarm actions to this policy before the Data Center Expert server can use it to generate alarm notifications. Two displays, "Add Alarm Action" and "Edit Alarm Action" in the Notification Policies view, also provide access to the Manage Alarm Actions display.

    Deleting an alarm action You can use the same basic procedure to delete any type of alarm action. All alarm actions are deleted using the same basic procedure. Select Manage Alarm Actions in the Alarm Configuration menu. Select the alarm action you want to remove, and click Delete . Click Finish to exit the wizard. Note  Deleting an alarm action in the Manage Alarm Actions display removes the action from the Data Center Expert server.  

    Creating an alarm action You must create at least one alarm action, and add it to a notification policy, before your server can generate alarm notifications. All alarm actions are created using the same basic procedure. Select Manage Alarm Actions in the Alarm Configuration menu. Click Create to access the Alarm Action wizard. In the "Choose Alarm Action Type" display, select the type of alarm action you want to create, and click Next. In the "Configure Alarm Action" display for the selected action, define the settings you want the action to use, and click Finish to exit the wizard. Note  For information about the settings for the action you are creating, see the help section for that action and its settings display.  

Every alarm action type allows you to select up to five severities. The alarm action will only trigger when used in a notification policy that is tied to an alarm threshold with a matching severity. In the following example, User1 will only receive an sms message if a critical severity threshold is violated. An alarm action named "send_user1_sms” is created, and defined to send User1 an SMS e-mail for critical events only. The “send_user1_sms” action is added to a notification policy called “sms messaging.” The "sms messaging" notification policy includes various thresholds and device alarms. The alarms are of varying severity - some are set for critical, and some are set for warning. If an alarm occurs, User1 will only receive an SMS message for those thresholds and device alarms defined as critical. You must select at least one severity. Severity Description Information Typically used to set up an alarm action to respond to events considered to be unimportant, but important enough to require alert notifications when they occur. Warning Typically used by SNMP devices to indicate a condition exists that may require attention to make sure it does not deteriorate into a critical state. For example, a UPS that is running on battery power during a power failure will shut down its load equipment if its battery power is depleted before power returns to normal. Error Typically used to indicate a sensor threshold violation requires immediate attention. For example, a high temperature violation that could lead to equipment damage. Critical Typically used by SNMP devices to indicate an operational failure requires immediate attention. For example, a battery that needs to be replaced can result in the loss of data at the UPS load equipment if a power failure occurs. Failure Typically used to indicate an operational failure requires immediate attention. For example, communication with a camera pod was lost which could lead to an undetected security violation.

  Define the specific periods of time, for each day of the week, during which an associated activity will be disabled (by default, scheduling is enabled 24 hours a day, seven days a week). Note This display is used to schedule when an alarm action will be enabled and disabled, using the action's settings display. The table provides cells for 15-minute increments, and columns for every day of the week. You can do all of the following to schedule when an alarm action is enabled: Click a column title to enable or disable all of that day's cells. Drag your mouse from one cell to another cell in a column, to enable or disable a set of cells. Drag your mouse from a cell in one column to a cell in another column, to enable or disable an identical set of cells for each of the selected days. Click a single cell.