Alerts Tab

How the Alerts Tab Works

All the active alerts for the selected object appear in the list. By default, the system groups the alerts by Definition. You can select multiple rows in the list using Shift+click, Control+click. Modify the filter if you want to see inactive alerts.

Manage the alerts in the list using the toolbar options. Click the alert name to see the alert details for the affected object. The alert details appear on the right, including the symptoms triggered with the alert. The system offers recommendations for addressing the alert and links to additional information. A Run Action button might appear in the details. Point to the button to learn what recommendation is performed if you click the button. To return to the list view, click the X at the top right of the alert details.

To see the object details, click the Summary Tab.

Where You Find the Alerts Tab

In the menu, click Environment > Object Browser, then select a group, custom data center, application, or inventory object. Click the Alerts tab.
In the menu, select Search and locate the object of interest. Click the object to display the object's Summary tab. Click the Alerts tabs.

Alerts Display Options

The alert options include toolbar and data grid options. Use the toolbar options to sort the alert list and to cancel, suspend, or manage ownership. Additional toolbar options enable you to review parent and child alerts related to the alert you are reviewing. Use the data grid to view the alerts and alert details.

Table 1. Actions Menu
Option	Description
Actions menu	Select an alert from the list to turn on the Actions menu, then select an option from the menu.
Menu Options:
Cancel Alert	Cancels the selected alerts. If you configure the alert list to display only active alerts, the canceled alert is removed from the list. You cancel alerts when you do not need to address them. Canceling the alert does not cancel the underlying condition that generated the alert. Canceling alerts is effective if the alert is generated by triggered fault and event symptoms because these symptoms are triggered again only when subsequent faults or events occur on the monitored objects. If the alert is generated based on metric or property symptoms, the alert is canceled only until the next collection and analysis cycle. If the violating values are still present, the alert is generated again.
Delete Canceled Alerts	Delete canceled (inactive) alerts by making a group selection or by individually selecting alerts. You cannot delete active alerts.
Suspend	Suspend an alert for a specified number of minutes. You suspend alerts when you are investigating an alert and do not want the alert to affect the health, risk, or efficiency of the object while you are working. If the problem persists after the elapsed time, the alert is reactivated and it will again affect the health, risk, or efficiency of the object. The user who suspends the alert becomes the assigned owner.
Assign to	Assign the alert to a user. You can search for a specific username and click Save to assign the alert to the selected user.
Take Ownership	As the current user, you make yourself the owner of the alert. You can only take ownership of an alert, you cannot assign ownership.
Release Ownership	Alert is released from all ownership.
Go to Alert Definition	Switches to the Alert Definitions page, with the definition for the previously selected alert displayed.
Deactivate	Offers two options for disabling the alert: Deactivate the alert in all policies: this deactivates the alert for all objects for all the policies. Deactivate Alert in Selected Policies: this deactivates the alert for objects having the selected policy. This method works only for objects with alerts.
Open an external application	Actions you can run on the selected object. For example, Open Virtual Machine in vSphere Client.

Table 2. Include Menu
Options	Description
Self	The selected object.
Parents <options>	Displays the alerts for the ancestors of the selected object. Parents in this instance include the parents, grandparents, and so on, of the object. For example, the parents of a host are a folder, storage pod, cluster, data center, and vCenter Server instance.
Children <options>	Displays the alerts for the descendants of the selected object. Children in this instance include the children and grandchildren of the object. For example, the descendants of a host are datastores, resources pools, and virtual machines.
Peer	Shows or hides alerts for objects with the same kind of the impacted object which also share the same parent.

Table 3. Group By Options
Option	Description
None	Alerts are not sorted into specific groupings.
Time	Group alerts by time triggered.
Criticality	Group alerts by criticality. Values are, from the least critical: Info/Warning/Immediate/Critical. See also Criticality in the "All Alerts Data Grid Options" table, below.
Definition	Group alerts by definition, that is, group like alerts together. Selected by default.
Object Type	Group alerts by the type of object that triggered the alert. For example, group alerts on hosts together.
Scope	Group alerts by scope. You can search for alerts within the selected scope.

Table 4. Quick Filters

Filtering options	The advanced search and filter lets you search for a symptom by: Alert ID Alert Owner Impact Alert Type Alert Subtype Status Criticality Triggered On Control State Object Type Created On Updated On Canceled On Action

Table 5. Alerts Data Grid
Option	Description
Criticality	Criticality is the level of importance of the alert in your environment. The alert criticality appears in a tooltip when you hover the mouse over the criticality icon. The level is based on the level assigned when the alert definition was created, or on the highest symptom criticality, if the assigned level was Symptom Based. The possible values include: Critical Immediate Warning Information
Alert	Name of the alert definition that generated the alert. Click the alert name to view the alert details tabs where you can begin troubleshooting the alert.
Created On	Date and time when the alert was generated.
Status	Current state of the alert. Possible values include Active or Canceled.
Alert Type	Describes the type of alert that triggered on the selected object, and helps you categorize the alerts so that you can assign certain types of alerts to specific system administrators. For example, Application, Virtualization/Hypervisor, Hardware, Storage, Network, Administrative, and Findings.
Alert Subtype	Describes additional information about the type of alert that triggered on the selected object, and helps you categorize the alerts to a more detailed level than Alert Type, so that you can assign certain types of alerts to specific system administrators. For example, Availability, Performance, Capacity, Compliance, and Configuration.
Importance	Displays the priority of the alert. The importance level of the alert is determined using a smart ranking algorithm.

Alert Details Tab


Section	Description
Recommendations	View recommendations for the alert. Click < or > to cycle through the recommendations. To resolve the alert, click the Run Action button if it appears.
Other Recommendations	Collapse the section to view additional recommendations. See the links in the Need More Information? section to view additional metrics, events, or other details that appear as a link.
Alert Basis
Active Only	This option is activated by default. When activated, all active symptoms/conditions that were met for the alert are displayed. When deactivated, all the symptoms/conditions of an alert are displayed.
Symptoms	View the symptoms that triggered the alert. Collapse each symptom to view additional information.
Conditions	View the conditions that triggered the alert. Collapse each condition to view additional information.
Notes	Enter your notes about the alert and click Submit to save.
Close	Click the X icon to close the alert details tab.

Related Alerts Tab

The Related Scope displayed on the right, shows the objects that are one level above and one level below the object on which the alert was triggered. This topology is fixed. You cannot change the scope in the Related Alerts tab.

On the right, you can see the following:

If the same alert was triggered on the object in the past 30 days. This helps you understand if this is a recurring problem or something new.
If the same alert was triggered on other peers in the same environment, in the past 30 days. This helps you do a quick peer analysis to understand if others are impacted with the same problem.
All the alerts triggered in the current topology. This helps you investigate if there are other alerts upstream or downstream in the environment which are impacting the health of the object.

Potential Evidence Tab

See the Potential Evidence tab for potential evidences around the problem, and to arrive at the root cause. This tab displays events, property changes, and anomalous metrics potentially relevant to the alert. The time range and the scope are fixed. To modify the scope or the time range and investigate further, click Launch Workbench. This runs the troubleshooting workbench.

The time range that is displayed in the potential evidence tab is two hours and thirty minutes before the alert was triggered. VMware Aria Operations looks for potential evidences in this time range.