Contents. Version 1.1.6, revised

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2 Contents Copyright SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this document may be reproduced by any means nor modified, decompiled, disassembled, published or distributed, in whole or in part, or translated to any electronic medium or other means without the written consent of SolarWinds. All right, title, and interest in and to the software and documentation are and shall remain the exclusive property of SolarWinds and its respective licensors. SOLARWINDS DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, CONDITIONS OR OTHER TERMS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, ON SOFTWARE AND DOCUMENTATION FURNISHED HEREUNDER INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE WARRANTIES OF DESIGN, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL SOLARWINDS, ITS SUPPLIERS, NOR ITS LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, WHETHER ARISING IN TORT, CONTRACT OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY EVEN IF SOLARWINDS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. The SolarWinds, the SolarWinds & Design, ipmonitor, LANsurveyor, Orion, and other SolarWinds marks, identified on the SolarWinds website, as updated from SolarWinds from time to time and incorporated herein, are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered or pending registration in other countries. All other SolarWinds trademarks may be common law marks or registered or pending registration in the United States or in other countries. All other trademarks or registered trademarks contained and/or mentioned herein are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Microsoft, Windows, and SQL Server are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Version 1.1.6, revised

3 (Undefined variable: Chapter 1: About SolarWinds Alert Central 7 How Alert Central Works 8 Chapter 2: Before You Begin 9 Requirements 9 Deployment Requirements 10 Installation Requirements 10 Setup Process Overview 11 Chapter 3: Deploying the Alert Central Virtual Machine 13 Deploying Alert Central Using vsphere 13 Deploying Alert Central Using Microsoft Hyper-V 15 Chapter 4: Managing the Alert Central Virtual Machine 19 Logging in to the Alert Central Virtual Machine 19 Setting the Time Zone 20 Configuring the Network Settings 20 Configuring Proxy Settings 22 Rebooting the Virtual Machine 22 Managing Alert Central 23 Changing the Administrator Password 24 Chapter 5: Setting Up the Alert Central Application 26 Logging in to the Alert Central Application 26 Resolving Alert Central User Logon Issues 28 Setting Up an Alert Central Integration Account 28 Configuring the Alert Central Account 28 Chapter 6: Adding Groups and Users 33 3

4 (Undefined variable: MyVariables.BookTitle) Permissions for Importing Active Directory Users and Groups 33 Adding Users and Groups from Active Directory 34 Creating and Editing Groups 37 Manually Creating Groups 38 Editing Groups 41 Deleting Groups 42 Importing User Accounts from Active Directory 42 Creating and Editing User Accounts 45 Manually Creating User Accounts 46 Editing User Accounts 48 Syncing User Accounts with Active Directory 49 Deleting User Accounts 51 Chapter 7: Adding and Configuring Orion and Alert Sources 52 Working with Orion Alert Sources 52 Entering Orion Alert Sources 53 Editing Orion Alert Sources 55 Configuring Route to Group 57 Testing Orion Alert Source Rules 60 Working with Alert Sources 61 Entering Alert Sources 62 Editing Alert Sources 64 Configuring Alert Source Matching Rules 66 Defining Capture Summary 70 Defining Capture Object 71 Defining Capture Severity 72 Configuring Route to Group 73 Testing Alert Source Rules 73 Configuration Example: How to Configure Alert Central to Integrate Nagios 74 Chapter 8: Working with Alerts 81 Alert Types 82 4

5 (Undefined variable: MyVariables.TOC) Viewing Alerts 82 Internet Connectivity 84 Viewing Alert Notes & History 85 Viewing the Original Orion or Alert 85 When an Alert Has No Source 86 Rerouting Alerts from the Original Source 86 Filtering and Grouping Alerts 87 Filtering Alerts by Time and Ownership 87 Grouping Alerts by Properties 89 Sorting Alerts by Properties 91 Manually Adding New Alerts 92 Sending an Alert to a Pager or SMS 93 Searching Alerts 94 Acknowledging Alerts 95 Reassigning Alerts 95 Adding Notes to Alerts 96 Chapter 9: Working with On Call Now and Calendars 98 Who s On Call Now? 98 Viewing Today s On Call Calendars 98 Viewing Users On Call Now 100 Viewing Group Escalation Policies 100 Chapter 10: Administering the Alert Central Application 102 Editing Server Settings 102 Configuring Global Password Settings 102 Setting Data Retention Policies 103 Configuring the Available Product Updates View 103 Updating Product Updates 104 Appendix A: Orion Alert Properties 105 Appendix B: Adding Alert Central to the Orion Menu Bar 116 Chapter C: Sample Alerts 118 5

6 (Undefined variable: MyVariables.BookTitle) CA Spectrum 118 CiscoWorks 119 Generic Template 120 Glossary 122 6

7 Chapter 1: About SolarWinds Alert Central SolarWinds Alert Central (Alert Central) provides a centralized, automated solution for on-call alert management. The Alert Central solution replaces the on call spreadsheets used to maintain call schedules. The product also allows you to manage and maintain on-call personnel s contact details and availability information. Alert Central gathers alerts from monitoring and management systems, including: Any system that generates alerts, including SolarWinds systems. The workflow receives , turns it into an alert, and notifies groups and users. Because Alert Central automates and centralizes contact details, call schedules, and escalations, it can help you: Ensure alerts reach the right people at the right time. Track alerts and know their statuses, rather than losing them.

8 Chapter 1: About SolarWinds Alert Central Stop urgent alerts going to personnel who are out of the office or no longer at the company Alleviate mislabeled alerts. Improve your return on investment on the Orion product suite or other management and monitoring tools affected by alert handling costs. Avoid hard-to-handle alert/notification scripts degrading system quality and resources. Prevent alerts from multiple sources on the same issue. Avoid overloading IT with incident calls before alerts reach targets. These capabilities, along with a customizable Web Console and alerting and reporting tools, make Alert Central the choice for on-call management. How Alert Central Works Alert submission (from other systems) and user interaction via Alert submission from a third party via Direct submission from SolarWinds Orion suite Group-centric management (conceptually based on user feedback) On call calendar management via one or more calendars per group (Primary, Secondary person on call for that group for that time period) Escalation policies (notify primary, secondary, then individual) Active Directory Authentication and User Integration (authentication and creation/manual maintenance of groups) User-specifiable contact preferences (multiple addresses in priority order) Ability to acknowledge, reassign, add note, resolve, close alerts via web interface and short (SMS-friendly) or long (smartphone, PC) UI provides: dashboard with visibility into the status and history of alerts for user and admin; overview of who is on call; views of on call calendars; configuration 8

9 Chapter 2: Before You Begin Alert Central is a two-part deployment and installation setup process. A complete Alert Central set up process comprises the following: Deploying the virtual machine and the SolarWinds Alert Central.ova file on the virtual machine. The Alert Central virtual machine collects and processes log and event information Installing the Alert Central application. The Alert Central application allows you to view alert and scheduling information from an Internet browser on your desktop or laptop. Before beginning the setup process, you will receive an from SolarWinds with links to these components. Requirements Before beginning Alert Central setup, make sure your hardware and software meet these minimum requirements.

10 Chapter 2: Before You Begin Deployment Requirements The following table provides the minimum deployment requirements for the SolarWinds Alert Central virtual machine: Software/Hardware Virtualization Platform Browser CPU Speed Memory Hard Drive Space Port for Orion Communication Requirements VMware ESX/ESXi 4.0+ Microsoft Hyper-V 2008 R2 or later Windows 8 Data Center with Hyper-V Firefox 15 or later, Google Chrome, IE 9 For best performance, SolarWinds recommends using Chrome. 2 cores with 512Mhz reservation 2 GB 120 GB 443 Notes: Alert Center Hyper-V requires Window Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 or later. If you plan to integrate Alert Central with Orion, ensure your Orion server is running SolarWinds Orion Core (which includes Orion NPM 10.4). Alert Central requires this version of Orion Core so it can automatically integrate Orion alerts. Installation Requirements The following table provides the minimum installation requirements for the SolarWinds Alert Central application software: Software/Hardware Requirements Any OS that can run the browsers noted in the Browser Operating System Requirements below Firefox 15 or later, Google Chrome, IE 9 Browser For best performance, SolarWinds recommends using Chrome. 10

11 Setup Process Overview CPU Speed Memory Hard Drive Space 1 GHz Pentium III or equivalent 1 GB Whatever is required to run the browsers noted above Setup Process Overview The Alert Central Setup process comprises the following general steps: 1. Deploying the Alert Central application on a vsphere virtual machine OR Hyper-V virtual machine. 2. Managing the virtual machine. a. Set the time zone on the virtual machine. b. Configure network settings on the virtual machine. c. Reboot virtual machine. d. Start up Alert Central from virtual machine. 3. Setting up the Alert Central application. a. Create an Alert Central integration account on a corporate server. Alert Central looks for alerts here. b. Configure the new account in Alert Central. c. Test the Alert Central configuration in Alert Central. 4. Adding groups and users in one or more of the following ways: a. Import existing Windows Active Directory. This is the quickest method for setting up groups and users. b. Import existing Windows Active Directory individual accounts and manually create groups. Use this method for when you need to pull in existing users from Active Directory, but to set them up new groups. c. Manually create users and groups. Use this method to create new users and groups. 11

12 Chapter 2: Before You Begin 5. Setting up and adding alert sources. a. Add alert sources from SolarWinds Orion products. b. Add alert sources from non-orion applications. Chapter 3 12

13 Chapter 3: Deploying the Alert Central Virtual Machine This section explains how to deploy the Alert Central virtual machine and install the web browser application. The downloaded executable contains either a VMWare vsphere or Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machine image. Use either one for your Alert Central virtual machine. Each.exe file contains the following items: Alert Central.zip file, which contains the Alert Central Application SolarWinds Alert Central Quick Start Guide Deploying Alert Central Using vsphere Deploy Alert Central on a virtual machine using VMware vsphere version 4 or higher. To install Alert Central on the vsphere client: 1. Start the VMware vsphere Client and log on. Note: Logging on with VMware administrator privileges is helpful, but not required. 2. Click File > Deploy OVF Template. 13

14 Chapter 3: Deploying the Alert Central Virtual Machine 3. Click Browse to select the Alert Central vsphere.ova file on your desktop, and then click Next. 4. Complete the setup wizard. 5. Select Thin provision or Thick provision disk format, and then click Next. 6. Click Close after the Alert Central vsphere.ova deployment completes successfully. 7. Select the SolarWinds Alert Central virtual machine and then click Play. 8. Click the Console tab. This screen is like a virtual monitor. 14

15 Deploying Alert Central Using Microsoft Hyper-V 9. To manage the appliance running the virtual machine, launch a web browser and navigate to the appliance URL shown in the Console tab. 10. To login to the Alert Central virtual machine for the first time, use the default login of admin. The default password is also admin. Deploying Alert Central Using Microsoft Hyper-V This section describes how to install Alert Central using Microsoft Hyper-V 2008 R2 and later. To install Alert Central using Hyper-V: 1. 1.Extract the contents of the Hyper-V.zip file to a permanent location. Note: After importing the virtual machine, you cannot change the extracted files location. 2. Launch the Hyper-V Manager. 3. Connect to the appropriate Hyper-V server. 4. Click Action > Import Virtual Machine 15

16 Chapter 3: Deploying the Alert Central Virtual Machine 5. Click Browse to select the extracted.zip file s folder. By default, the folder name is Alert-Central-HyperV-version. 6. Under Settings, select Copy the virtual machine and Duplicate all files from the Import Virtual Machine window. 7. Click Import. 8. Right-click the newly copied virtual machine and select Settings. 9. Select the appropriate network adapter from the Settings for Alert Central Add Hardware pane and then click Add. 16

17 Deploying Alert Central Using Microsoft Hyper-V 10. Specify the network settings the virtual machine should use and then click OK. 11. Right-click the virtual machine in the inventory, and then click Action > Connect. 17

18 Chapter 3: Deploying the Alert Central Virtual Machine 12. In the virtual console window, click Action > Start and wait for the virtual machine to start. 13. To start the Alert Central application, launch a web browser and navigate to the Alert Central application URL shown in the Console tab. 18

19 Chapter 4: Managing the Alert Central Virtual Machine The virtual machine is configured to use default settings, including time zone, IP configuration, and hostname. You must change these settings for the virtual machine to work in your network environment. Complete configuration takes approximately 10 minutes. After you have logged in to the Alert Central virtual machine, perform each procedure in the following order to ensure correct virtual machine configuration: Setting the Time Zone Configuring the Network Settings Rebooting the Virtual Machine Managing Alert Central Logging in to the Alert Central Virtual Machine To log in to the Alert Central virtual machine: 1. Launch a web browser and navigate to the appliance URL shown in the Console tab. 19

20 Chapter 4: Managing the Alert Central Virtual Machine 2. To login to the Alert Central virtual machine for the first time, use the default login, admin. The default password is also admin. The Alert Central virtual machine opens to the System tab, displaying basic system information. Setting the Time Zone To set the time zone for the virtual machine: 1. Click Time Zone on the System tab. 2. Select the correct time zone from the System Time Zone drop-down menu. 3. Click Save Settings. The message Time Zone setting saved and the new time zone setting display. Configuring the Network Settings To configure the network settings for the virtual machine: 1. Select the Network tab. The tab opens to the Network Status. You can set network address or proxy settings. See the following step for configuring network address settings or see Configuring Proxy Settings. 20

21 Configuring the Network Settings 2. To set network address settings, click Address. The Network Address Settings configuration page displays. 3. To set network address settings, select an IPv4 Address Type: DHCP If you select this option, make sure the DHCP server or manual network settings sets a DNS server that can do host name resolution for Orion and servers configured by host name instead of IP address. Static If you select this option, enter the following information: o Hostname Enter the desired hostname. Hostname labels may contain only the ASCII letters a through z (in a case-insensitive manner), the digits 0 through 9, and the hyphen (-). Hostnames cannot start with a digit or a hyphen, and must not end with a 21

22 Chapter 4: Managing the Alert Central Virtual Machine o o o hyphen. No other symbols, punctuation characters, or white spaces are permitted. IPv4 Default Gateway IPv6 Default Gateway Preferred DNS Server None 4. Select an IPv6 Address Type: Auto Static If you select this option, enter the following information: o o IPv6 Address Prefix 5. Click Save Settings. Configuring Proxy Settings To configure proxy settings: 1. Click Proxy on the Network Address tab. 2. Click Use a Proxy Server. 3. Enter the following information: HTTP Proxy Server Proxy Port Proxy Username (Optional) Proxy Password (Optional) 4. Click Save Settings. Rebooting the Virtual Machine Reboot the appliance to re-initialize all services with the new settings. 22

23 Managing Alert Central To reboot the appliance: 1. Navigate to the System tab. 2. Click Reboot. 3. In the reboot confirmation dialog, click Reboot. Managing Alert Central The SolarWinds Mgmt tab opens to the SolarWinds Alert Central Status. From this tab, you can: Edit SolarWinds Alert Central configuration Reset the Product Support Key Create backups and restore existing backups. Change your password. To avoid authentication errors when setting a new password on a VMware vsphere ESX and ESXi 4.x virtual 23

24 Chapter 4: Managing the Alert Central Virtual Machine machines, make sure you meet VMWare's specific password requirements. Refer to VMWare s knowledgebase article, ESX and ESXi 4.x and 5.x password requirements and restrictions for password requirements details and instructions on how to change your password. Refresh your view. View virtual machine and application status,, version, time zone, Network Time Protocol (NTP), and product support key status. You need your product support key to receive SolarWinds Alert Central product support. Restart the SolarWinds Alert Central application service. Restart the system s time synchronization NTP time synchronization daemon. Bundle logs to send to SolarWinds Alert Central product support. Changing the Administrator Password To change the administrator password: 1. Click Change Password on the SolarWinds Mgmt tab. 24

25 Changing the Administrator Password 2. Enter the current password, which is default password, admin. 3. Enter the new password and then enter the new password again to confirm. 4. Click Change. A confirmation screen displays. 25

26 Chapter 5: Setting Up the Alert Central Application The Alert Central application setup process uses a Getting Started Wizard, and comprises the following general steps: Logging in to the Alert Central Application Creating an Alert Central Integration Account Configuring the Alert Central Integration Account in Alert Central Logging in to the Alert Central Application To log in to the Alert Central application: 1. Click Application Home in the Alert Central virtual machine interface or launch a web browser and navigate to the Alert Central application URL shown in the Console tab. The Alert Central End-User License Agreement displays. 26

27 Chapter 5: Setting Up the Alert Central Application 2. Review the agreement and click I accept the terms in the License Agreement, and then click Accept. The SolarWinds Alert Central application login dialog displays. 3. To log in to the Alert Central application for the first time, use the default login of admin. A password is not required. The Alert Setting Getting Started Wizard displays. 27

28 Resolving Alert Central User Logon Issues 4. Click Next. Resolving Alert Central User Logon Issues If you forget your username or password, if your account becomes disabled, or if your password expires and you need to change it, contact your Alert Central System Administrator. The Alert Central System Administrator can log into Alert Central and enable your account, which may include updating your password. If you are an Alert Central System Administrator who needs password help, contact SolarWinds on thwack, at thwack.solarwinds.com. Setting Up an Alert Central Integration Account This account is the integration point with Alert Central. This is not just a FROM , it is the account where mail is sent TO Alert Central. Alert Central polls this account for from users and alert-generating systems. Alert Central checks this account for alerts. To ensure the best possible system performance and results, set up an account used only for Alert Central. Using an existing account wastes time and system resources polling and deleting non-alert Central s. Note: Alert Central needs its own empty account. Do not use a personal or existing account. Create the Alert Central integration account on your corporate mail server. You may need to work with your Exchange administrator to set up this new account. Alert Central cannot set up this account for you. Configuring the Alert Central Account After creating the new account on your corporate mail server, configure the account in Alert Central. You need to do this so Alert Central knows how to find and access the account so it can poll it for alerts. In setting up the Alert Central integration account, both the incoming and SMTP ports automatically set to the known default ports. Selecting secure settings (SSL/TSL) also automatically changes the ports. You can, however, override these default settings and enter custom ports when needed. 28

29 Chapter 5: Setting Up the Alert Central Application Once you have set up and tested the integration account in Alert Central, you receive a validation . To configure the Alert Central integration account: 1. Log in to the Alert Central Console. The Getting Started Wizard displays. Click Next. Note: If the Alert Central Getting Started Wizard does not display, click Settings in the upper right corner of the Alert Central Console screen. Then click the Getting Started Wizard link under Getting Started with Alert Central. The Getting Started Wizard displays. Click Next. 2. If you are having issues connecting to SolarWinds, the Unable to Connect to SolarWinds screen displays. a. If you have resolved the connection problem, select I ve fixed the connectivity issues, and then click the Test Connectivity button. b. If you are still having issues, select I need to configure a proxy server and fill out the required fields, and then click Next. c. Select Skip this for now only if you do not want to receive updates. 3. If your connection was successful, the Setup screen displays. 29

30 Configuring the Alert Central Account 4. Enter the Address of the account you created. 5. Select an Incoming Server. POP mail server IMAP mail server Microsoft EWS o Exchange 2007 SP1 o Exchange 2010 o o 6. Enter your Username. 7. Enter your Password. Exchange 2010 SP1 Exchange 2010 SP2 8. Enter the name of the Outgoing Server: SMTP Server. 9. To override the default port settings and customize incoming and/or outgoing SMTP ports, click + next to Advanced Options. 10. Enter Incoming mail port number. 11. If you need a secure connection, check Use a Secure connection (SSL/TLS). The incoming port changes to the default secure connection port. 30

31 Chapter 5: Setting Up the Alert Central Application You can edit the port, if needed. a. Enter the Outgoing SMTP Port number. b. Check to Use a secure connection (SSL/TLS). The outgoing port changes to the default secure connection port. You can edit the port, if needed. c. Check to Use different credentials for SNMP: d. Enter User name. e. Enter Password. 12. Click Next on the bottom right of the page. Alert Central verifies the settings. 13. When Alert Central finishes verification, you receive a confirmation message. Click Next. When you receive verification that your settings are correct, each setting tested shows a green circle with a check mark in it. 14. Click Next to continue setting up Alert Central and add users and groups. Note: If you receive an error message, the message resembles the following. 31

32 Configuring the Alert Central Account 15. Click Back to reconfigure your mail settings in Alert Central. After you finish reconfiguration, click Next. When Alert Central confirms you have successfully set up your mail server, you have finished this process. 32

33 Chapter 6: Adding Groups and Users The first time you add users and groups to Alert Central, you are most likely to use the Alert Central Getting Started Wizard. The wizard offers three options for creating Alert Central groups and users: Use existing Windows Active Directory groups (quickest method) Imports all Windows Active Directory groups and the users in those groups, using the Alert Central Getting Started Wizard. This is an especially effective option for initially setting up your Alert Central users and groups, because the process is fast and easy. The Alert Central Getting Started Wizard walks you through this process. See Adding Groups and Users in the Alert Central Quick Start Guide for details. Use existing Windows Active Directory individual accounts and manually create groups Imports only the Windows Active Directory accounts you select; you must manually create groups for these accounts. This is a quick way to import only the Windows Active Directory user accounts you need. For details on adding individual Active Directory accounts and manually creating groups in the Alert Central Getting Started Wizard, see Adding Groups and Users in the Alert Central Quick Start Guide. Manually create users and groups Create your own users and groups without using Windows Active Directory accounts. This option allows you to create completely new and/or custom users and groups. See Manually Creating User Accounts and Manually Creating Groups in this document for more information. You can also add Active Directory groups and users through the Alert Central Settings pages. You can create new groups and users through the Groups and Users tabs. Permissions for Importing Active Directory Users and Groups Having an Active Directory administrator account guarantees you access to import users and groups into Alert Central, but it is not required. You do, however, 33

34 Chapter 6: Adding Groups and Users need an Active Directory account with enough permissions to view the users and groups you'll want to import to Alert Central. You must be logged on to Alert Central as an administrator to import users and groups into Alert Central. Note: The Active Directory Server does not save your credentials when you log off. You must reenter your credentials whenever you log in. Adding Users and Groups from Active Directory Adding groups and users from Active Directory automates the group and user account creation process. This is the quickest way to get groups and users set up in Alert Central. Import groups and users through the Alert Central Getting Started Wizard or through Alert Central s Settings pages as follows: Use the Alert Central Getting Started Wizard to add groups and users when you first set up Alert Central. The Getting Started Wizard walks you through the entire Alert Central set up process. For information on adding Active Directory users and groups using the Alert Central Getting Started Wizard, see Adding Groups and Users in the Alert Central Quick Start Guide. Use the Alert Central Settings pages to add groups and users from server sources already set up in Alert Central. Use the Alert Central Settings pages when you don t need a wizard to walk you through the import process. The following instructions explain how to import Active Directory users and groups through the Alert Central Settings pages. To import groups (and users) from Active Directory using the Alert Central Settings pages: 1. Click Settings in the upper right corner of the page. The Settings link is available on any page of Alert Central. 34

35 Adding Users and Groups from Active Directory The Alert Central Settings page displays. 2. Click Import Users and Groups from Active Directory from the Alert Central Settings page. 35

36 Chapter 6: Adding Groups and Users 3. The Import Users and Groups from Active Directory page displays. 3. Enter the Domain name. 4. Enter your Active Directory Administrator Username. 5. Enter your Active Directory Password. 6. Enter the Active Directory Server IP address. 7. Enter the Port number. The port number should be the default To Use Secure LDAP, click the check box. The port number changes to a secure port. 9. Click Save. The Import Users and Groups from Active Directory page displays. 36

37 Creating and Editing Groups 10. Select either Import Windows Active Directory Users or Import Windows Active Directory Groups 11. Enter a user/group name to search for. Use * to perform a wildcard search. For example, searching for Admin* returns all Active Directory groups whose names start with Admin. 12. Click Search to begin searching for users/groups. Found items display in the Select Groups to Add list in the left column under your search. 13. Select the users/groups you want to add to Alert Central. The selected items display in the right column under your search. 14. Select Ask users to validate their own addresses to have each user validate their address, or select I will validate imported addresses to manually validate the imported addresses. 15. Click Import to add the selected users/groups to Alert Central. Creating and Editing Groups You can import groups from Active Directory through the Alert Central Import Users and Groups page available through the Settings link. Manually create, edit, and delete groups in Alert Central from the Groups page. To access this page, 37

38 Chapter 6: Adding Groups and Users select the Groups tab. You can select this tab from any page in the Alert Central application. Manually Creating Groups 1. Select the Groups tab. The Groups page displays. 2. Click +Add New Group, to the upper left above the groups list. The Add New Group page displays. 38

39 Manually Creating Groups 3. Enter a Group Name in the mandatory Group Name field. Choose a name that describes the group that other users would recognize. For example, if you re adding a Windows Server Support group located at the headquarters location, you could use Windows Support Server Group HQ for the Group Name. 4. Select a color to represent a group in a list or calendar. Adding a color to the group can make it easier to recognize at a glance. 5. Click Add User to Group under the Members field to add users to the new group. The Add a User dialog displays. a. If the users you want to add to this group are listed in the dialog, select each user you want to add to this group and then click OK. b. If the users you want to add to this group are not listed in the dialog, click Cancel to close the dialog and leave this field blank. You can add these new users later, under the Users tab. See Manually Creating Groups. 39

40 Chapter 6: Adding Groups and Users 6. Apply the default calendar to or create a new calendar for the new group. Alert Central automatically includes the default calendar in the calendars assigned to the new group. a. Skip this field to apply the default calendar as is. b. Click Default Calendar to edit the default calendar. c. Click Add a New Calendar to add a new calendar to the new group. The Add Calendar dialog displays. o o o Enter new calendar name. Enter new calendar description. Click OK. Note: The default calendar cannot be removed from a group. You must have at least one calendar applied to a group. 7. Skip the Escalation Policy fields to add no Escalation Policy step or use the Escalation Policy fields to define how long Alert Central waits to escalate an unacknowledged alert. o o a. Click Add Escalation Step and then select a step to add to the Escalation Policy for this new group. b. Click X to exit from the pull-down menu and add a different escalation step. c. Define when Alert Central moves to the next escalation step if no one acknowledges the alert. d. Define what should occur if no one acknowledges the alert. If applicable, select and define one of the following: Resolve and close the alert; then notify a user or group by either entering or selecting that user or group s name. Resolve and assign the alert to an entered or selected user. 8. Click Save to save your changes and return to the Groups page. 40

41 Editing Groups Editing Groups To review and edit a group: 1. Select the Groups tab. The Groups page displays. 2. Select a Group to edit and then click Edit or select and double-click a group. An Edit Group page displays. 3. Update fields as needed. 41

42 Chapter 6: Adding Groups and Users Note: This page has the same fields as the Add New Group page. See step 3 in Manually Creating Groups for details on the fields on this page and their requirements. 4. Click Update to save your changes. Deleting Groups 1. Select the Groups tab. The Groups page displays. 2. Select a group to delete. Make sure you ve selected the check box for that group. 3. Click Delete, which is the center selection above the list of groups. The Deleting group dialog displays. 4. Click OK. Importing User Accounts from Active Directory To import users from Active Directory: 1. Click Settings in the upper right corner of the page. The Settings link is available on any page of Alert Central. 42

43 Importing User Accounts from Active Directory The Alert Central Settings page displays. 2. Click Import Users and Groups from Active Directory from the General Settings on the Alert Central Settings page. 43

44 Chapter 6: Adding Groups and Users The Import Users and Groups from Active Directory page displays. 3. Enter the Domain name. 4. Enter your Active Directory Administrator Username. 5. Enter your Active Directory Password. 6. Enter the Active Directory Server IP address. 7. Enter the Port number. The port number should be the default To Use Secure LDAP, click the check box. The port number changes to a secure port. 9. Click Save. The Import Users and Groups from Active Directory page displays. 10. Select Import Windows Active Directory Users. 44

45 Creating and Editing User Accounts 11. Enter a user name to search for. Use * to perform a wildcard search. For example, searching for David* returns all Active Directory users whose names start with David. 12. Click Search to begin searching for users. Found users display in the Select Users to Add list in the left column under your search. 13. Select the users you want to add to Alert Central. The selected users display in the right column under your search. 14. Click Import to add the selected users to Alert Central. Creating and Editing User Accounts You can import users from Active Directory through the Alert Central Import Users and Groups page available through the Settings link. Manually create, edit, and delete user accounts in Alert Central from the Users page. To access this page, select the Users tab. This tab is available from almost any page in the Alert Central application. 45

46 Chapter 6: Adding Groups and Users Manually Creating User Accounts To create a new user account in Alert Central: 1. Select the Users tab. The Users page displays. 2. Click +Add New User in the upper left, above the users list. The Add New User page displays. 46

47 Manually Creating User Accounts 3. Add information in the following fields: a. User Name: Enter the user s name in this mandatory field. This name is usually the same as the user s system name, such as jnewman or jane.newman. b. Password: Enter a password for the user in this mandatory field. c. Confirm Password: Reenter the password you entered above. This is also a mandatory field. d. User Type: Define the user s permissions as one of the following: o o Administrator: Can edit all users, groups, calendars, and alert rules. User: Can view alerts and calendars, add notes, and acknowledge alerts. e. Full Name: Enter the user s real name in this mandatory field. f. Primary Address: Enter the user s primary address in this mandatory field. This is usually their work address. g. Alert Notification Policy: Define when and how Alert Central alerts this user: 47

48 Chapter 6: Adding Groups and Users o o o o o o Enter the number of minutes. Enter the user s telephone number or address. Add, move, or delete notification methods: Click Add additional notification method to add more methods of contact. Use the up or down arrows to change the notification methods order. Click X to delete a notification method. h. Contact Information: This section contains fields to be displayed in a calendar, but not in notifications: o o o o o o o Add a Photo: Add a photo of the user for at-a-glance identification. Mobile Phone: Enter the user s mobile telephone number. Pager: Enter the user s pager number. Office Phone: Enter the user s office telephone number. Cell Phone: Enter the user s cell telephone number. Location: Enter the location where this application is being used. Time Zone: Select the user s time zone from the pull-down menu for this mandatory field. 4. Click Save to save your changes and return to the Review and Edit User Information or Users page. Editing User Accounts 1. Select a user to edit and then click Edit or select and double-click a user. An edit page displays. 48

49 Syncing User Accounts with Active Directory 2. Update fields as needed. Note: This page has the same fields as the Edit Add New User page. See step 3 in Manually Creating User Accounts for details on the fields on this page and their requirements. 3. Click Update to save your changes. Syncing User Accounts with Active Directory You can also update a user account by synchronizing it with Active Directory. Synchronizing, or syncing, allows you to user accounts in Alert Central to reflect changes made to those accounts in Active Directory. To sync an Alert Central user account with Active Directory: 1. Select a user to edit and then click Edit or select and double click a user. An edit page displays. 49

50 Chapter 6: Adding Groups and Users 2. Click Sync with Active Directory. The Active Directory Server Settings dialog displays. The dialog shows the Domain, Server, and Port fields for this user account on the Active Directory server. 50

51 Deleting User Accounts 3. Enter the Active Directory server s Administrator Username. 4. Enter the Active Directory administrator Password. 5. Click Sync to import and apply the latest data for this user account from the Active Directory server. Deleting User Accounts 1. Navigate to the Review and Edit User Information page from the Alert Central Getting Started Wizard. The Review and Edit User Information page displays. Or Select the Users tab. The Users page displays. 2. Select a user to delete. Make sure you ve selected the check box for that user. 3. Click Delete, which is the center selection above the list of users. The Delete user dialog displays. 4. Click Yes. 51

52 Chapter 7: Adding and Configuring Orion and Alert Sources An alert source is a system or device that generates alerts. The source sends directly to Alert Central or to the Alert Central integration account. This source can be an Orion system (direct) or another -generating system. You can configure Alert Central to receive and process alerts from Orion and any alert source that can send . Orion interfaces directly with Alert Central, after Alert Central has been properly configured The alert source sends to the Alert Central integration account. Alert Central then polls the integration account. The figure below explains how Alert Central processes alerts. Working with Orion Alert Sources The first time you add a new Orion alert source, you use the Alert Central Setup Wizard. The Alert Central Startup Wizard walks you through everything you need to do to set up Alert Central, including setting up alert sources. To create additional Orion alert sources, however, you can work directly in Alert Central s Alert Sources settings. Adding a new Orion alert source requires the following basic steps: Entering Orion server links into Alert Central and/or Editing Orion alert sources 52

53 Chapter 7: Adding and Configuring Orion and Alert Sources Configuring route to group Testing Orion alert source rules Entering Orion Alert Sources You can configure Alert Central to automatically retrieve and process alerts from Orion, or any other software source that can send . To enter an Orion alert source: 1. Click Settings in the upper right corner of the page. The Settings link is available on any page of Alert Central. The Alert Central Settings page displays. 53

54 Entering Orion Alert Sources 2. Click Add New Orion Source under Alert Sources. The Add New Orion Source Page displays. 3. Enter the new Orion Source Name. 4. Enter the Orion Server IP Address or Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN). 5. Enter the Orion administrator username. 6. Enter the Orion administrator user password. Note: Alert Central does not save the Orion administrator username or password after you log out or time out of a session. To edit Orion sources created in previous sessions, enter the Orion administrator username and password into Alert Central. 7. Click Test. 54

55 Chapter 7: Adding and Configuring Orion and Alert Sources 8. Click Done after the settings test shows an established connection. Note: If you receive an error when running the Orion Server Settings test, make sure you are running the Alert Central virtual appliance on the 443 port. Orion listens on the port. See Configuring Route to Group for the next set of steps in this process. Editing Orion Alert Sources To edit an existing Orion alert source: 1. Click Settings in the upper right corner of the page. The Settings link is available on any page of Alert Central. 55

56 Editing Orion Alert Sources 2. Click Configure Orion Alert Source. The Configure Alert Sources page displays. 3. Select the alert source to edit and click Edit. The Edit > Orion Source Name> page displays, with the alert source name entered in the Source Name field. 4. Edit the name in the Source Name field, as needed. Click Next. The Configure Alert Sources Edit <Orion Source Name> displays. 56

57 Chapter 7: Adding and Configuring Orion and Alert Sources Note: Alert Central does not save the Orion administrator username or password. When you edit your source, you ll need to reenter the username and password into Alert Central. If you want to start over, delete or recreate the Orion source. If you have any rules set up for the source, you can export or import those. See Configuring Route to Group for the next set of steps in this process. Configuring Route to Group On the Route to Group page, choose a default group so Alert Central knows how to assign the s alerts from the new source. You can also set up rules to route the alert to different groups. When Alert Central detects an alert from the new source, it needs to know whether to forward the alert to a group or to delete it. When the alert matches the rules, Alert Central recognizes the alert and forwards it to the defined group (or groups) or deletes the alert from the system. This process is the same for alerts from Orion and non-orion alert sources. 57

58 Configuring Route to Group To define and configure Route to Group rules for an Orion alert or new alert source: 1. Click Settings in the upper right corner of the page. 2. Click Add New Orion Source under Alert Sources. The Add New Orion Source Page displays. 3. Click Add new matching rule in the Route to Group pane. An If no rules match field with a pull-down menu displays. 58

59 Chapter 7: Adding and Configuring Orion and Alert Sources 4. If you want to ensure an alert not matching any rule automatically routes to a group or is deleted, select a routing option from the If no rules match pulldown menu. 5. Click Add new matching rule to add a matching rule. A rule with a matching text placeholder ( ) displays in the Route to Group pane. The About Group Routing pane becomes the Configure Rule pane. 6. Make sure the new rule is highlighted and select one of the following options from the Configure Rule pane: if the Captured Summary if the Captured Object if the Captured Severity if the text in Orion Field o Enter the text in the Orion field. 7. Select one of the following from the Configure Rule pane s pull-down menu: contains is equal to starts with ends with matches the regex does not start with does not end with does not contain is not equal to does not match the regex 8. Enter the word or phrase you want the rule to include or exclude. 9. Select Ignore case and/or Ignore whitespace (treat multiple spaces as one space) to further filter results. 10. Click Next to save your work and test your rules configuration. Or click Finish to save and exit to the Configure Alert Sources page. From 59

60 Testing Orion Alert Source Rules this page, you can select another alert source to edit. 11. Complete steps 3 through 10 to add more rules for this alert source. Note: To change the order in which Alert Central applies the rules you define, highlight the rule you want to move and click Up or Down at the top of the Configure Rule pane. Note: To delete a rule, highlight the rule and click Remove at the top of the Configure Rule pane. Testing Orion Alert Source Rules Test newly created rules to ensure they are functional. You can access the test function \ any time during alert source set up and configuration, by clicking the Test arrow under the main page title. To test alert source rules: 1. Enter a description of the alert and its source in the Summary field. 60

61 Chapter 7: Adding and Configuring Orion and Alert Sources 2. Enter the source s IP address, Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN), or cause in the Object field. 3. Enter the severity level for the alert in the Severity field. 4. Edit or define Orion Alert properties, as needed. 5. Click Test. If you have correctly configured the rules, you receive positive results in the Test Results pane. Click Finish. If you have not correctly configured the rules, you receive an error message noting where errors have occurred in the Test Results pane. Click Back to fix configuration errors. Working with Alert Sources The first time you add a new alert source, you use the Alert Central Setup Wizard. The Alert Central Startup Wizard walks you through everything you need to do to set up Alert Central, including setting up alert sources. To create additional alert sources, however, you can work directly in Alert Central s Alert Sources settings. Adding a new alert source requires the following steps: Entering alert source name into Alert Central and/or Editing alert sources in Alert Central 61

62 Entering Alert Sources Configuring alert source matching rules Defining which the alert information to summarize Defining which information to capture about alert source object Defining which information to capture about alert severity Configuring route to group Testing alert source setup Entering Alert Sources To enter a new alert source in Alert Central: 1. Click Settings in the upper right corner of the page. The Settings link is available on any page of Alert Central. The Alert Central Settings page displays. 62

63 Chapter 7: Adding and Configuring Orion and Alert Sources 2. Click Add New Sources under Alert Sources. The Add New Source Overview window displays. 3. Enter the name of the new source the way it displays in the source itself. If you are editing an existing source, enter the name of the source the way it displays in Alert Central. 4. Click Next. The Add New Source Matching Rules page displays. This page is where you define how Alert Central recognizes the s source. 63

64 Editing Alert Sources See Configuring Alert Source Matching Rules for the next set of steps in this process. Editing Alert Sources To edit an existing alert source: 1. Click Settings in the upper right corner of the page. The Settings link is available on any page of Alert Central. 2. Click Configure Alert Source. The Configure Alert Sources page displays 64

65 Chapter 7: Adding and Configuring Orion and Alert Sources 3. Select the alert source to edit and click Edit. The Edit <Source Name> page displays, with the alert source name entered in the Source Name field. 3. Edit the name in the Source Name field, if needed. Click Next. The Configure Alert Sources Edit <Source Name> displays. 65

66 Configuring Alert Source Matching Rules See Configuring Alert Source Matching Rules for the next set of steps in this process. Configuring Alert Source Matching Rules When an alert is picked up by Alert Central, these rules determine if the belongs to this alert source. When Alert Central receives an alert , it uses a series of tests to determine the source of the associated alert. The Alert Central tries out each rule in the listed order. Once a rule matches, Alert Central assigns the alert the rule s associated source. Alert Central uses the rules you define on this page to recognize s from the s alert source you re adding. To configure matching rules for the alert source 1. To begin defining rules, click + Add new matching rule. From rule with a matching text placeholder ( ). The About Matching Rules pane becomes the Configure Rule pane. 66

67 Chapter 7: Adding and Configuring Orion and Alert Sources 2. Make sure the new rule is highlighted and select from among the following rule group options matches in the Configure Rule pane: if the From if the To if the Subject if the Body 3. Select one of the following from the Configure Rule pane s pull-down menu: contains is equal to starts with ends with matches the regex does not start with does not end with does not contain is not equal to does not match the regex 67

68 Configuring Alert Source Matching Rules 4. Enter the word or phrase you want the rule to include or exclude. 5. Select Ignore case and/or Ignore whitespace (treat multiple spaces as one space) to further filter results. 6. Click + Add new AND/OR block in the Matching Rules pane to make a selected rule into a complex rule and define a child rule. 7. Select when this rule matches: if ANY of the child rules match if ALL of the child rules match 8. Click Next. The Capture Summary window displays. When Alert Central receives an alert from this source, it uses the rule you define on this page to capture a short message summarizing the alert. 68

69 Chapter 7: Adding and Configuring Orion and Alert Sources 9. Select one of the following areas from which Alert Central can capture Alert Summary information: Subject: line From: address To: address Body: message 10. Select one of the following options: 11. Click Next. And just use all the text we find there Only capture a specific section of that text 12. Select one of the following areas from which Alert Central can capture Problem Object information: Subject: line From: address 69

70 Defining Capture Summary To: address Body: message 13. Select one of the following options: And just use all the text we find there Only capture a specific section of that text 14. Click Next. 15. Select one of the following areas from which Alert Central can capture Problem Severity information: Subject: line From: address To: address Body: message 16. Select one of the following options: And just use all the text we find there Only capture a specific section of that text 17. Click Next to save your input and move on to configuring alert routing. Note: To change the order in which Alert Central applies the rules you define, highlight the rule you want to move and click Up or Down at the top of the Configure Rule pane. To delete a rule, highlight the rule and click Remove at the top of the Configure Rule pane. Defining Capture Summary On the Capture Summary page, define how Alert Central describes the alert. This information is especially helpful when you review alerts in the Alerts dashboard, because you can see a short description of each alert at a glance. 70

71 Chapter 7: Adding and Configuring Orion and Alert Sources To define the capture summary: 1. Select one of the following areas from which to capture Alert Summary information: Subject: line From: address To: address Body: message 2. Select one of the following options: And just use all the text we find there Only capture a specific section of that text 3. Click Next. Defining Capture Object On the Capture Object page, define where in the alert Alert Central looks to find severity information. You also define how much of that alert text Alert Central uses all or a defined portion. When Alert Central receives an alert from the source, it uses this rule to capture the cause of the problem or the name of the affected system or service. The name of the system or service can be an IP address or an FDQN, like thwack.solarwinds.com. To define capture object information: 1. Select one of the following areas from which Alert Central can capture Problem Object information: Subject: line From: address To: address Body: message 71

72 Defining Capture Severity 2. Select one of the following options: 5. Click Next. And just use all the text we find there Only capture a specific section of that text o o Defining Capture Severity Start capturing when we find a phrase or a defined group of words. Stop capturing at the end of the line, text, or as soon as the phrase is found. When Alert Central receives an alert from this source, it uses this rule to capture the alert s severity. On the Capture Severity page, you define which part of the alert Alert Central searches to find severity information. To define capture severity information: 1. Select one of the following areas from which Alert Central can capture Problem Severity information: Subject: line From: address To: address Body: message 2. Select one of the following options: And just use all the text we find there Only capture a specific section of that text 3. Click Next to save your input and move on to configuring alert routing. Note: To change the order in which Alert Central applies rules, highlight the rule you want to move and click Up or Down at the top of the Configure Rule pane. 72

73 Chapter 7: Adding and Configuring Orion and Alert Sources To delete a rule, highlight the rule and click Remove at the top of the Configure Rule pane. Configuring Route to Group Configuring alert routing from non-orion sources is the same process as it is for configuring routing for alerts from Orion sources. For details on configuring how to route alerts to groups from new, non-orion sources, see Configuring Route to Group. Testing Alert Source Rules Test newly created rules to ensure they are functional. To test alert source rules, fill out the test form and click Test. Alert Central processes the test as if it were a real alert and offers test results. To test the alert source rules you ve created: 1. Enter data from a sample alert into the From, To, Subject, and Body into the Test fields. 73

74 Configuration Example: How to Configure Alert Central to Integrate Nagios 2. Click Test. The test checks the following rules for this alert source: Matching Rules Capture Summary Capture Object Capture severity Route to Groups If you have correctly configured the rules, you receive positive results in the Test Results pane. The results explain how the met the rules configured for this source. Click Finish. If you have not correctly configured the rules, you receive an error message noting where errors have occurred in the Test Results pane. Click Back to fix configuration errors. Configuration Example: How to Configure Alert Central to Integrate Nagios This configuration example describes how to enter a Nagios system into Alert Central and configure Alert Central to recognize, process, and automatically assign alerts from that Nagios system. When Alert Central receives an , it needs to know how to identify the s source. When a rule matches the defined data, Alert Central assigns the rule s associated source to the . Alert Central also uses a series of user-configured rules to summarize the Nagios and determine its source address and severity level. Alert Central maps the rules you configure in Alert Central to the data in the . If text in the matches the text defined in the Alert Central rules, Alert Central knows that any mapping to those rules comes from the Nagios system. The final step is configuring who Alert Central assigns the Nagios alert to. The Nagios shows what Alert Central can map to and process to integrate a Nagios source. 74

75 Chapter 7: Adding and Configuring Orion and Alert Sources In the instructions that follow, we configure Alert Central to assign all alerts that match the newly created rules to the Web Operations group. To configure Alert Central to recognize, process, and assign Nagios s: 1. Click Settings in the upper right corner of the page. The Settings link is available on any page of Alert Central. 2. Click Add New Alert Source, under the Alert Sources section. 3. Enter the source name. 75

76 Configuration Example: How to Configure Alert Central to Integrate Nagios 4. Click Next. 5. Click + Add new matching rule in the Matching Rules pane. 6. Click if the From:, select contains, and enter nagios@winterfire.net in the Configure Rule pane. 76

77 Chapter 7: Adding and Configuring Orion and Alert Sources Note: Ensure Ignore case and Ignore whitespace (treat multiple spaces as one space) in the Configure Rule pane are selected for all rules. 7. Click Next. 8. Select Body: message and then select Only capture a specific section of that text. 9. Select the exact phrase, enter address:, and select Include the matching text in the value we capture in the Start pane. All these settings tell Alert Central where in the to start capturing the source s object information, and which information to capture. Note: Ensure Ignore case and Ignore whitespace (treat multiple spaces as one space) are selected in the Start pane. 10. Select Stop at the end of the current line in the Stop pane. This setting tells Alert Central where to stop capturing information. 77

78 Configuration Example: How to Configure Alert Central to Integrate Nagios 11. Click Next. 12. Select Subject: line. Alert Central can now capture severity-level information from the s subject line. Alert Central uses this information to create an alert with that same severity level. 13. Select And just use all the text we find there. 78

79 Chapter 7: Adding and Configuring Orion and Alert Sources 14. Click Next. 15. Select assign the alert to Help Desk in the by default field. 79

80 Configuration Example: How to Configure Alert Central to Integrate Nagios 16. Click Next. 17. Enter the Nagios into the Test pane and click Test. Alert Central tests the configured settings. Your results should look like the following. Your configuration works! The Route to Groups result shows that the test was unable to match a routing rule. Because you configured all Nagios alerts to route to the Help Desk group without adding any routing rules, this configuration is correct. 18. Click Done to complete Nagios integration and Alert Central alert source configuration. Alert Central is now configured to automatically process and assign Nagios alerts. 80

81 Chapter 8: Working with Alerts The Alert Central dashboard is the where you view, filter, search, acknowledge and assign, manually add and close, and update status on alerts. The Alert Central application opens to the Alerts dashboard. The dashboard displays the alerts in Alert Central, as well as the following alert properties: Summary Short description of the alert Time of Alert The time the alert occurred Source System originating the alert Severity Level of attention the alert requires Object The IP address, FDQN, or cause of the alert source Alert Status Status of the alert in Alert Central Assigned To If applicable, the Alert Central individual user responsible for addressing the alert Group If applicable, the Alert Central group responsible for this alert Quick Actions Actions that can be performed on the alert from the alert dashboard Following is an example of the Alerts dashboard. 81

82 Chapter 8: Working with Alerts Alert Types The Alerts dashboard displays four different types of alerts: Acknowledged Uses the icon. Alert Central has accepted this alert. Closed Uses the active in Alert Central. icon. The alert s issue is fixed and the alert is no longer Notified Uses the about this alert. icon. The individual or group has received an Triggered Uses the icon. Brand new alert that does not match any existing sources. Alert Central provides you different ways to view and manage alerts. Viewing Alerts You can view alerts directly from the Alert Central Alerts dashboard. 82

83 Viewing Alerts To view an alert, double-click the alert s icon or summary. The alert opens, showing the alert name, the actions you can take, and the time Alert Central accepted the alert. The alert also shows the same detailed information displayed in the Alert Central dashboard on the Alerts page. Acknowledged like this one can be closed or assigned to a user or group. Buttons for these functions reside across the top of the alerts list. Click the links on the right side of the alert to view all alerts in Alert Central having the same properties as the alert you re now looking at. 83

84 Chapter 8: Working with Alerts Internet Connectivity Alert Central requires a constant connection to the internet in order to receive updates and product information. To configure proxy settings: 1. Click Proxy on the Network Address tab. 2. Click Use a Proxy Server. 3. Enter the following information: HTTP Proxy Server address Proxy Port 4. If desired, select My proxy server requires a username and password. Proxy Username (Optional) Proxy Password (Optional) 5. Click Save. 84

85 Viewing Alert Notes & History Viewing Alert Notes & History Review an alert s notes and history on the alert Notes & History tab. Notes and history can describe anything about the alert, including its status, assignment, escalation, arrival into Alert Central any information that might help in tracking and resolution. To view notes and details about this alert: 1. Navigate to the bottom of the page to the Notes & History tab. Make sure this tab is selected. 2. Scroll through the Notes & History tab to review data added to the alert. Viewing the Original Orion or Alert The Original Alert tab shows you properties from the original Orion (or other) alert. This information provides data on the system originating the alert, as well as original routing data. This information may be helpful in resolving the issue. 85

86 Chapter 8: Working with Alerts To view the original alert: 1. Select the Original Alert tab. 2. Scroll through the alert to view it. This view provides information on when the alert arrived into the system, as well the alert s original properties, including: IP Address alert Type Node detailsurl Object Subtype netobject Status Description objectid Vendor objectname alertdefinitionid objecttype triggertimestamp See Appendix A. Orion Alert Properties for a complete list of Orion alert properties. From the Original Alert tab, you can also access source routing settings, so you can reconfigure how other alerts from this source route. When an Alert Has No Source When and alert does not match an alert source, it displays with the icon and the message Unable to determine the source of this alert. Any (nonuser-response) not matched with an alert source will be in this state. Instead of showing the regular alert fields, this type of alert shows a prompt for configuring alert sources to match the alert or to just close the alert. Rerouting Alerts from the Original Source If future alerts from a current Alert Central source require routing to a different group, you need to reroute alerts from the source. To reroute alerts from the original alert source: 1. To reroute other alerts from this source, click Use these XXXX properties to test and improve how future alerts like this one are assigned. The Manage 86

87 Filtering and Grouping Alerts Sources page for the alert displays. From this page, you can test, and if necessary, reconfigure how alerts from this source route. 2. Click Test. The test results display in the Test Results pane. 3. When you receive your results, click Done. If you receive results showing improper routing, Alert Central takes you directly to Alert Central Settings, where you can reroute alerts from this source. See Configuring Route to Group for details on how to reconfigure this source s alert routing. Filtering and Grouping Alerts From the Alert Central Alerts dashboard, you can view alerts filtered by time and ownership and grouped by properties. Filtering Alerts by Time and Ownership To filter alerts shown by hour, day, week, and/or month: 1. Define your alerts view from the pull-down menu under the Alerts heading, selecting from the following options: 87

88 Chapter 8: Working with Alerts Hour Defaults to displaying the last hour. To customize your view, select the times of the alerts you want to see, such as the alerts occurring between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. This feature allows you to select times in 15-minute increments. Day Defaults to displaying the last day. To customize your view, select the range of days from which to display alerts. Week Defaults to displaying the last week. To customize your view, select the range of weeks from which to display alerts. Month Defaults to displaying the last month. To customize your view, select the range of months from which to display alerts. The Group By and Alerts Detail panes both display only those groupings of alerts and alerts that you ve defined filters for. Note: Each option defaults to the most current hour, day, week, or month. To show only alerts assigned to you: 1. Click the All Alerts pull-down menu. 2. Select My Alerts. The Group By pane and the Alerts dashboard both display only those alerts assigned to you. 88

89 Grouping Alerts by Properties Note: The pull-down menu defaults to All Alerts. Grouping Alerts by Properties To group alerts by property: 1. Select one of the following alert properties from the Group By pane s pulldown menu: Alert Status displays a status icon, which includes: o o o o Acknowledged Closed Notified Triggered Also shows how many of each alert type exists in Alert Central. See Alert Types for information on which icons indicate which types of alerts. To view only alerts of a single status, select the individual status. Severity In the case of an Orion alert, shows one of the following levels: o Critical Issue requires immediate attention to restart 89

90 Chapter 8: Working with Alerts o o o o system operation. Information Informational message; does not require action. Notice Informational message; requires action. Serious Situation requires action to avoid system failure. Warning Problem requires attention to ensure continued system operation. For any other type of alert, Severity displays whatever you have mapped to this field. Source Provides the name of the system that originated the alert. Object In the case of an Orion Alert, displays the IP address of the system that created the alert. For any other type of alert, Object displays whatever you have mapped to this field. Summary Briefly describes the contents of the alert. Assigned To If applicable, shows the Alert Central user responsible for handling the alert s issue. Group If applicable, provides the name of the group responsible for handling the alert s issue. A list of options available for the selected feature displays. 90

91 Sorting Alerts by Properties 2. Select the desired option. In the example screen above, the option All is selected, so Alert Central shows all alerts. If, for example, you selected Triggered, Alert Central would show only those alerts that have entered the system and not yet been acknowledged. Note: To better view the complete alerts filtering results, click the double arrow button at the top of the Group By pane to close it. Sorting Alerts by Properties Another way to display alerts is by sorting them so they display in a specific order in the Alerts dashboard. To sort alerts, click the property name at the top of the desired property. To sort alerts by Summary, for example, click the Summary property name at the top of first column on the Alerts dashboard. The Alerts dashboard displays the alerts in the alphabetical order of their summaries. 91

92 Chapter 8: Working with Alerts Manually Adding New Alerts To manually add a new alert: 1. Click Manually Add New Alert at the upper right of the Alerts dashboard. The Manually Add New Alert page displays. 92

93 Sending an Alert to a Pager or SMS 2. If needed, correct the Time and Date fields. These fields appear when adding the new alert and defaults to the current time and date. Update the Time and Date fields if you want to add the new alert at a later time and/or date. 3. Select an alert source from the Source pull-down menu. 4. Select a severity level from the Severity pull-down menu. 5. Select a group from the Group pull-down menu. 6. Select a user from the Assigned pull-down menu. 7. Enter the alert source s IP address or name in the Object field. 8. Enter any additional helpful in the Note field. 9. Describe the purpose of this alert in the Summary field. 10. Click OK. You return to the Alerts dashboard. Sending an Alert to a Pager or SMS Sending an alert to a pager or a cell phone is very much like sending a text message. 93

94 Chapter 8: Working with Alerts To forward an alert to a pager or SMS: 1. Open the alert and assign it to the appropriate individual. 2. Click the assignee name. When the user account page displays, click Edit this account. 3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Add additional notification method. A blank notification method displays. 4. Enter the assignee s page or cell phone number in the format <number>@<serviceprovidername.com>, and select Short SMS from the drop-down menu. 5. Click update. Searching Alerts The Search feature allows you to search for an alert or alert property using alphanumeric and special characters. Use the search field in the upper right corner of the Alerts dashboard to search the Alert dashboard. Search results display in the Alerts dashboard, highlighted in yellow. 94

95 Acknowledging Alerts Acknowledging Alerts To acknowledge an alert: 1. Select the Triggered alert you want to acknowledge from the Alerts dashboard. 2. Click Acknowledge. The Triggered alert becomes an Acknowledged alert. The alert icon changes to reflect the alert s status change. An alert must be acknowledged before it can be assigned or reassigned. Reassigning Alerts An alert must be acknowledged before it can be assigned or reassigned. 95

96 Chapter 8: Working with Alerts To reassign an alert: 1. Select the alert you want to reassign from the Alerts dashboard. 2. Click Assign and select a group. 3. Select either a group escalation policy or a user. The selected group escalation policy assigns the alert to the user or users defined in that policy. Selecting a user assigns the alert to that user. If you select a group escalation policy that does not assign the alert to a user, the alert is not assigned. You must acknowledge the alert so you can assign it to someone. Adding Notes to Alerts To add a note to an alert: 1. Select the alert to which you want to add notes from the Alerts dashboard. 2. Click Add Note from the top of the Alert dashboard. The Add Note dialog displays. 96

97 Adding Notes to Alerts 3. Add your note and click Add Note. Note: You can also add notes when inside the alert. Click Add Alert from inside the alert to access the Add Note dialog. 97

98 Chapter 9: Working with On Call Now and Calendars Use On Call Now and Calendar features to view who is on call (now, as well as for the day, week, and month) assign users and groups to be on call, and view and configure escalation policies, and user and group profiles. Who s On Call Now? To see who s on call now, click the On Call Now tab. The On Call Now page displays who is on call now, as well as links to contact and configure these users in the Alert Central system. Viewing Today s On Call Calendars To view today s on call calendar from the On Call Now page, click View Today s Calendar. 98

99 Chapter 9: Working with On Call Now and Calendars The Calendar page displays who is on call today. From this page, you can View a day, week, or month s calendar Click Day, Week, or Month across the top of the calendar Add a new on-call assignment Click Add New On-Call Assignment. View this month s calendar or another month s calendar Click backward or forward button on the calendar displayed in the upper left corner. 99

100 Viewing Users On Call Now View another group s calendar Highlight and then pull down an option: o o o o Display only this group s calendar Add a new on-call assignment View or edit escalation policy View group color View an on-call now user Viewing Users On Call Now Select and double click the user s schedule to see more about that user and edit his or her contact information, escalation policy, on-call assignment, group information, and time zone. You can also delete the user from here. Viewing Group Escalation Policies To access a group s escalation policy, you can click View Escalation Policy from either the View User On Call page or the Who s On Call Now page. 100

101 Chapter 9: Working with On Call Now and Calendars The Group Page displays. Select the user s group and create or edit the escalation policy as described in Manually Creating Groups. Chapter

102 Chapter 10: Administering the Alert Central Application Administer Alert Central through the Settings link. General Settings tasks include setting up and maintaining the following: Server Settings (SMTP, POP, IMAP, EWS) Global Password Settings Data Retention Policies Editing Server Settings If you change your alerts account or need to add new accounts, you ll need to update the Alert Central server settings. For details on editing and adding new account server settings to Alert Central, see Adding New Alert Sources. Configuring Global Password Settings Alert Central s default password setting has no expiration date. You can, however, globally configure passwords to expire after a defined number of days. To configure global password settings: 1. Navigate to Settings > Global Password Settings. The Global Password Settings page displays. 102

103 Chapter 10: Administering the Alert Central Application 1. Select Password automatically expires after days. 2. Define the number of days passwords should last. 3. Click Save to apply and save your edits. Setting Data Retention Policies Alert Central automatically deletes the oldest system alerts when the database reaches 40 GB. You can change this default setting to delete old entries based on a defined age. You can also configure the deletion of old alerts when the database reaches a size you define. Both of these settings can be active at the same time. To edit data retention settings: 1. Navigate to Settings > Data Retention Policies. The Data Retention Settings page displays. 2. Select Clean up old entries based on age to automatically delete the oldest alerts. Define how many days to keep alerts. 3. Select Clean up old alerts when the database exceeds a certain size to remove old alerts. Deletion automatically occurs when the database becomes larger than the specified size. Define the size the database must be when deletion occurs. 4. Click Save to apply and save your edits. Configuring the Available Product Updates View Alert Central automatically checks for the availability of any updates to your currently installed Alert Central software. By default, the web console regularly checks for product updates automatically, as indicated by the dates and times reported as Last Check and Next Check, but you can click Check Now at any time to see an up to the minute update. If updates are available, a note is posted in the web console notification bar and updates are listed in this view, where you can then select and download them as needed. 103

104 Updating Product Updates To configure product updates: 1. Log in to the web console as an administrator, and then click Settings in the top right corner of the web console. 2. Click Settings > Product Updates in the General Settings grouping. 3. If you want to disable the automatic check for product updates, clear Enable product update notifications, and then click Save. Updating Product Updates To update your installation: 1. Click Check Now to refresh the updates list. 2. If an update is available, then click the More Info link. 3. To install the latest update, follow the instructions on the link page. 104

105 Appendix A: Orion Alert Properties Orion alerts identify interface events occurring outside their defined limits. The alerts contain properties describing the event, such as the IP address of the interface, the node name, and the server name. For more information on Orion alert properties and, see the SolarWinds Orion Network Performance Monitor Administrator Guide and the SolarWinds technical reference, Understanding Orion Advanced Alerts. Following is a list of default Orion properties for alerts: Core Node IP Address = ${IP_Address} Object Sub Type = ${ObjectSubType} Status Description = ${StatusDescription} Node Name = ${SysName} Vendor = ${Vendor} Volume Full Name = ${FullName} Status = ${Status} Volume Percent Used = ${VolumePercentUsed} Volume Size = ${VolumeSize} Volume Type = ${VolumeType} Group Group Status Name = ${GroupStatusName} Group Status Description = ${GroupStatusDescription} Group Name = ${GroupName} 105

106 Appendix A: Orion Alert Properties Group Member Group Name = ${GroupName} Group Member Full Name = ${GroupMemberFullName} Group Member Status Description = ${GroupMemberStatusDescription} Polling Engines Amount of Elements = ${Elements} Eval Days Left = ${EvalDaysLeft} Evaluation = ${Evaluation} IP Address = ${IP} Server Name = ${ServerName} Server Type = ${ServerType} Windows Version = ${WindowsVersion} Auditing Events Account name = ${AccountID} Audit Event Message = ${AuditEventMessage} Time Logged (Utc) = ${TimeLoggedUtc} NPM Custom Node Table Poller Full Label = ${FullLabel} Custom Node Poller Assignment Name = ${AssignmentName} Custom Interface Poller Assignment Name = ${AssignmentName} 106

107 Appendix A: Orion Alert Properties EnergyWise Entity EnergyWise Entity Caption = ${EnergyWiseCaption} EnergyWise Entity Current Level = ${EnergyWiseCurrentLevelString} Fibre Channel Unit Fibre Channel Unit Name = ${Name} Fibre Channel Unit WWN = ${ConnUnitID} Fibre Channel Sensor Fibre Channel Sensor Name = ${Name} Fibre Channel Sensor Characteristic Description = ${Characteristic_ Description} Fibre Channel Port Fibre Channel Port Index = ${PortIndex} Fibre Channel Port WWN = ${WWN} Fibre Channel Revision Fibre Channel Revision Description = ${RevisionDescription} VSAN VSAN Name = ${Name} UCS Manager UCS Manager Name = ${Name} UCS Fabric UCS Fabric Name = ${Name} 107

108 Appendix A: Orion Alert Properties UCS Chassis UCS Chassis Name = ${Name} UCS Blade UCS Blade Name = ${Name} UCS Fan UCS Fan Name = ${Name} UCS Psu UCS Psu Name = ${Name} Wireless Wireless Access Point Name = ${AP_Name} Mac Address = ${AP_MAC} Type = ${AP_Type} Wireless Controller Name = ${Controller_Name} IP Address = ${Controller_IPAddress} Interfaces Interface Name = ${InterfaceName} Type Description = ${InterfaceTypeDescription} 108

109 Appendix A: Orion Alert Properties Status = ${Status} F5 F5 Devices Caption = ${Caption} Product Name = ${ProductName} IVIM Virtual Machine Host Node Name = ${HostNodeName} Display Name = ${DisplayName} Operating System = ${OperatingSystem} Virtual Machine State = ${GuestState} Platform = ${PlatformName} SAM APM: Application Application Name = ${Name} Application Status = ${Availability} APM: Component Component Name = ${ComponentName} Component Type Name = ${DisplayType} Component Status = ${ComponentStatus} Statistic Data = ${StatisticData} Component Message = ${ComponentMessage} 109

110 Appendix A: Orion Alert Properties HardwareHealth Hardware Hardware Status Description = ${HardwareStatusDescription} Hardware Manufacturer = ${Manufacturer} Hardware Model = ${Model} Hardware Service Tag = ${ServiceTag} Hardware Type Hardware Type Name = ${TypeName} Hardware Type Status Description = ${HardwareTypeStatusDescription} Hardware Sensor Hardware Sensor Display Name = ${SensorDisplayName} Hardware Sensor Value = ${SensorValue} Hardware Sensor Unit = ${SensorUnit} Hardware Sensor Status Description = ${SensorOrionStatusDescription} Hardware Sensor Original Status = ${SensorOriginalStatus} SEUM Transaction Name = ${Name} Description = ${Description} Status = ${StatusDescription} Duration = ${Duration} Error Message = ${ErrorMessage} Steps With Status = ${StepsWithStatusFormatted} 110

111 Appendix A: Orion Alert Properties Step Step Name = ${Name} Transaction Name = ${TransactionName} Status = ${StatusDescription} Duration = ${Duration} Error Message = ${ErrorMessage} Location Name = ${Name} Hostname = ${Hostname} IP = ${IP} Load Percentage For Last 30 min = ${AvgLoadPercentageLast30min} Status = ${ConnectionStatus} Status Message = ${ConnectionStatusMessage} Step Request Step Name = ${StepFullName} Url = ${Url} MimeType = ${MimeType} Status Code = ${StatusCode} Duration in Seconds = ${TotalDurationS} SEUM: Transaction Name = ${Name} Description = ${Description} Status = ${StatusDescription} Duration = ${Duration} Error Message = ${ErrorMessage} 111

112 Appendix A: Orion Alert Properties Steps With Status = ${StepsWithStatusFormatted} SEUM: Step Step Name = ${Name} Transaction Name = ${TransactionName} Status = ${StatusDescription} Duration = ${Duration} Error Message = ${ErrorMessage} SEUM: Location Name = ${Name} Hostname = ${Hostname} IP = ${IP} Load Percentage For Last 30 min = ${AvgLoadPercentageLast30min} Status = ${ConnectionStatus} Status Message = ${ConnectionStatusMessage} VNQM VoIP Infrastructure Node Name = ${NodeName} Node Status = ${Status} VoIP CallManager Node Name = ${NodeName} Node Status = ${Status} Total Phones = ${TotalPhones} Total Gateways = ${TotalGateways} Registered Phones = ${RegisteredPhones} 112

113 Appendix A: Orion Alert Properties Registered Gateways = ${RegisteredGateways} CallManager = ${Caption} VoIP Phone Phone Name = ${PhoneDeviceName} Phone Status = ${Status} Phone Region = ${PhoneRegion} Phone Status = ${Status} IP Address = ${IPAddress} Location = ${Location} Extension = ${Extension} VoIP Region Region Name = ${RegionName} Failed Call Percentage = ${FailedCallPercentage} Average Jitter = ${AvgJitter} Average PacketLoss = ${AvgPacketLoss} Average MOS = ${AvgMOS} Average Latency = ${AvgLatency} IP SLA QoS Source Node Name = ${displaysource} Target Node Name = ${DisplayTarget} Operation Type Name = ${OperationTypeName} Operation Status = ${OperationStatusName} Source Node Status = ${SourceNodeStatus} Target Node Status = ${TargetNodeStatus} Jitter = ${Jitter} Latency = ${Latency} 113

114 Appendix A: Orion Alert Properties MOS = ${MOS} Packet Loss = ${PacketLoss} Round Trip Time = ${RoundTripTime} TCP Connect Round Trip Time = ${TcpConnectRtt} HTTP Round Trip Time = ${HttpRtt} DNS Round Trip Time = ${DnsRtt} VoIP Gateway Gateway Name = ${GatewayDeviceName} IP Address = ${IPAddress} Gateway Status = ${Status} Gateway Region = ${GatewayRegion} VoIP Call Details Calling Party Number = ${CallingPartyNumber} Destination Device Name = ${DestDeviceName} Destination Jitter = ${DestJitter} Destination Latency = ${DestLatency} Destination Packet Loss = ${DestPacketLoss} Destination MOS = ${DestMOS} Destination Cause value = ${DestCause_value} Final Called Party Number = ${FinalCalledPartyNumber} Origination Device Name = ${OrigDeviceName} Origination Called Party Number = ${OriginalCalledPartyNumber} Origination Jitter = ${OrigJitter} Origination Latency = ${OrigLatency} Origination MOS = ${OrigMOS} Origination Packet Loss = ${OrigPacketLoss} Origination Cause value = ${OrigCause_value} 114

115 Appendix A: Orion Alert Properties IPAM IPAM Networks Display Name = ${FriendlyName} Group Type = ${GroupType} Network Address = ${Address} CIDR = ${CIDR} UDT Watch List Watch List Item Name = ${WatchName} Watch List Item Value = ${WatchItem} Watch List Item Note = ${Note} UDT: Hostname Host Name = ${Hostname} UDT: MACAddress Mac Address = ${MACAddress} UDT: Endpoint IP IP Address = ${IPAddress} NTA NTA: CBQoS Class Map Node Caption = ${NodeCaption} Stats Name = ${StatsName} Policy Name = ${PolicyName} Class Name = ${ClassName} Bitrate = ${Bitrate} 115

116 Appendix B: Adding Alert Central to the Orion Menu Bar You can configure the Orion menu bar to display a link to Alert Central. This capability enables you to use Alert Central inside of Orion, meaning you don t have to navigate between applications. You can edit existing menu bars to display desired Alert Central menu items, or start from scratch to build a brand new menu bar. Use the following procedure provides the steps to customize web console menu bars. To add an Alert Central link to the Orion menu bar: 1. Click Settings in the upper right corner of the Orion window. The Orion Website Administration page displays. 2. Click External Websites in the Customize area. The External Websites page displays. 116

117 Appendix B: Adding Alert Central to the Orion Menu Bar 3. Click Add. 4. Enter the following information: Menu Title: Enter the name of the link you want in the Orion menu bar. Page Title: Optional: If you decide to enter a page title, use a title different from the menu bar link. URL: Enter the Alert Central server s IP address in the following format: Menu Bar: Select the Orion menu bar from which to access the Alert Central link. 4. Click OK. In a few seconds, the External Website page displays a dialog indicating the Alert Central link has been added. 5. Click Preview or the Alert Central link on the menu bar to see your results and log in to Alert Central. Note: If the Alert Central Login dialog does not appear and you receive an error, navigate back to Settings > Customize > External Websites and delete your previous configuration. Create a new bar configuration for Alert Central, following the steps above. 117