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25.4. Viewing Alert Data

Once an alert notification is triggered, JBoss ON records it in an alert history for the resource. The history includes the time the alert was sent and the condition which triggered it. Crucially, JBoss ON also shows whether an alert has been acknowledged and, if so, what user addressed it.
While monitoring and alerting work together to make administrators immediately aware of a problem with a resource, the alert history gives a much broader view into resource performance and IT staff responses. Knowing, historically, what kind of alerts have been triggered and when can help with root cause analysis, incident response, and maintenance policies.

25.4.1. Viewing the Alert Definitions Report

While the alert definitions for a specific resource are always available by viewing that resource entry, it is also possible to view all of the alert definitions configured in JBoss ON in the Alert Definitions Report.
  1. Select the Reports tab in the top navigation bar.
  2. In the Subsystems menu box on the left, select Alert Definitions.
  3. The definitions report shows a list of all configured definitions, for all resources in the inventory.
    The results table provide the most basic information for the definitions:
    • The resource (Name).
    • The parent or ancestry. Since resources are arranged hierarchically, sorting by the parent is very useful for finding all alert definitions for all services and applications that relate to a high-level resource like a server.
    • The description of the alert.
    • Whether it is active (enabled).
Note
A user may have the write to create and edit an alert definition, but that does not mean that the user has the right to delete an item from the alert history.
Deleting elements in the history requires the manage inventory permission.
Note
Reports can be exported to CSV, which can be used for office systems or further data manipulation.
To export a report, simply click the Export button. The report will automatically be downloaded as alertDefinitions.csv.

25.4.2. Viewing Alerts

The alert history can be reviewed for a resource, a group of resources, a parent, or the whole JBoss ON server.

25.4.2.1. Viewing Alert Details for a Specific Resource

Note
A user may have the right to create and edit an alert definition, but that does not mean that the user has the right to delete an item from the alert history.
Deleting elements in the history requires the manage inventory permission.
  1. Click the Inventory tab in the top menu.
  2. Select the resource type in the Resources menu table on the left, and then browse or search for the resource.
  3. Click the resource in the list.
  4. Click the Alerts tab, and make sure that the History subtab is selected.
  5. In the list, click the timestamp or alert definition name for the fired alert.
  6. The alert page has tabs for each detail for the alert, including which alert definition was triggered, the conditions that triggered, and any operations that were launched as a result.

25.4.2.2. Viewing the Fired Alerts Report

  1. Select the Reports tab in the top navigation bar.
  2. In the Subsystems menu box on the left, select Recent Alerts.
All of the alerts for all resources in JBoss ON are listed in the results table. Several elements are useful for analysis:
  • The resource (Name)
  • The parent (ancestor)
  • The name of the definition which triggered the alert
  • The condition which triggered the alert
  • The value of the resource at the time the alert was sent
  • The date, which is very useful for correlating the alert notification to an external event
Note
A user may have the write to create and edit an alert definition, but that does not mean that the user has the right to delete an item from the alert history.
Deleting elements in the history requires the manage inventory permission.
Note
Reports can be exported to CSV, which can be used for office systems or further data manipulation.
To export a report, simply click the Export button. The report will automatically be downloaded as recentAlerts.csv.

25.4.2.3. Viewing Alerts in the Dashboard

All of the recently-fired alerts, by default, are listed on the Dashboard page of JBoss ON in the recent alerts portlet.

Figure 25.10. Recent Alerts Portlet

Recent Alerts Portlet
The alerts displayed in the portlet can be filtered for different conditions:
  • A time range for when the alert was fired
  • By substring within the Name of the alert
  • The alert priority (which is initially configured in the alert definition)
These conditions are evaluated in order and are applied as a logical conjunction (AND), meaning that alerts are filtered first based on time, name, then priority and all filter conditions must me met.
To set the conditions for the alerts portlet in the Dashboard page:
  1. In the top menu, click Dashboard.
  2. In the Recent Alerts portlet, click the gear icon to open the portlet configuration page.
  3. Change the display criteria as desired.
Note
Filter settings are persisted to the dashboard and will remain in place across sessions. If alerts do not appear in the Recent Alerts portlet as expected, remember to check the filter settings.

25.4.3. Acknowledging an Alert

Acknowledging an alert is a way of identifying that the condition which triggered the alert has been addressed in some way. When an alert is acknowledged, the name of the user who acknowledged the alert is recorded. Recording the acknowledger's name allows the action to be audited later if necessary.
There are several different ways to acknowledge an alert:
  • Through the Recent Alerts Report
  • Through a group
  • Through the resource entry
Using the Recent Alerts Report is useful because you can acknowledge multiple alerts at the same time and for multiple resource types, which could be simpler if a known outage triggered many alerts. Acknowledging an alert is not a requirement to close the alert, but it can be useful as part of auditing an incident response or making sure that issues have been addressed.
  1. Select the Reports tab in the top navigation bar.
  2. In the Subsystems menu box on the left, select Recent Alerts.
  3. Select the alert to acknowledge.
  4. Click the Acknowledge button, and, when prompted, confirm the action.
Note
It is also possible to acknowledge a single alert through the alert details page.
When the alert is acknowledged, the Status shows the name of the user who acknowledged (and presumably resolved) the alert.

Figure 25.11. Alert Acknowledgment

Alert Acknowledgment