The Alarms Manager window allows you to configure the network alarms that provide status information for a particular problem or condition on a particular network component. Alarms are triggered when certain trap or event conditions (called a trigger event) occur on your network, and they are tracked until the problem or condition is removed.
Use this window to add a new alarm definition, which includes configuring the conditions (criteria) which will trigger the alarm, and defining the actions that will be automatically performed to notify a person or network component about the problem, when the alarm is triggered.
You can create an alarm definition that detects a problem or condition and raises an alarm, and you can also create an alarm definition that detects when the problem or condition is removed and clears the alarm. For example, a Link Down alarm is triggered when a device emits a linkDown trap. Then, when the device emits a linkUp trap, the Link Up alarm automatically clears the Link Down alarm.
Extreme Management Center ships with a set of default alarm definitions, which you can see listed in the Alarm Table at the top of the window. You can use these default alarms as is, or delete or modify them as desired.
For complete instructions on configuring alarms, see How to Configure Alarms.
You can access this window from the Tools > Alarm/Event > Alarms Manager menu option.
Click areas in the window for more information.
Alarm Details
Use this drop-down list to select a severity level for the alarm. The alarm can have its own specified severity regardless of the severity of the event or trap that triggered it.
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(question mark) Set from Source - the alarm will use the severity level of the trigger event, for example a warning event. -
(Red) Critical - A problem with significant implications. -
(Orange) Error - A problem with limited implications. -
(Yellow) Warning - A condition that might lead to a problem. -
(Blue) Info - Information only; not a problem. -
(Green) Clear - An alarm that clears another alarm (for example, LinkUp).
- Enable Alarm
- Select the Enable Alarm checkbox to activate the alarm. You can disable an alarm to deactivate it without deleting the definition. You can see whether an alarm is enabled looking at the Enabled checkbox in the table.
Criteria Subtab
Use this tab to specify the alarm event that will trigger the alarm.
- By Event/Trap Severity
- This option lets you select the trap/event severity that will trigger the alarm: Emergency, Alert, Critical, Error, Warning, Notice, or Info. You can also select whether the alarm will be triggered by traps or events, or both.
- By Selected Trap
- This option lets you open the Trap Selection window where you can select one or more trap that will trigger the alarm. You will be able to select from all the Trap IDs available for the devices modeled in the Management Center database.
- By Custom Criteria
- This option lets you open the Edit Custom Alarm Criteria window where you can define very specific criteria to trigger the alarm.
- By Device Status Change
- This option lets you specify a device status change to trigger the alarm. Contact Lost triggers the alarm when contact with a device is lost, Contact Established triggers the alarm when contact is restored, and Both will trigger the alarm when contact is lost and when contact is regained.
- By Threshold
- This option lets you define a threshold value that will be used to trigger the alarm. Click Edit Threshold and then refer to the Edit Threshold Window Help topic for information on defining threshold alarms. This option will be disabled if your Management Center license does not include Management Center features that support threshold alarms (such as device statistics collection), and you do not have an Application Analytics license.
- By Flow
- This option lets you open the Edit Flow Criteria window where you can define flow criteria that will be used to trigger the alarm. Flow alarms are used for reporting network traffic flow anomalies detected by the NetFlow flow collector.
- Device Groups
- If desired, you can restrict the alarm to devices and port elements in one or more device groups. The alarm will only be raised on the devices and interfaces in the selected device groups. This allows you to filter alarms to specific devices or important ports. Use the Select Groups button to select the desired groups. Use the Clear Group button to remove the selected groups.
Actions Subtab
Select the action that is performed when the alarm is triggered, and specify an alarm action limit, if desired. You can test an alarm action by clicking the Test Action button 
. (An alarm must be saved before it can be tested.)
- Select this checkbox if you want an email sent if the alarm is triggered. Use the drop-down menu to select one of your pre-defined email lists. If no lists have been defined, the menu will be empty and you can click the Edit Email Lists button to define a list. There are default formats for the subject and body of the email, which can be overridden by selecting the Override Content checkbox.
Select this checkbox if you want to create a syslog message if the alarm is triggered. Enter the IP address or hostname that identifies the syslog server where the message will be sent. There is a default format for the syslog message sent to the server, which can be overridden by selecting the Override Content checkbox.
Trap Server
Select this checkbox if you want to send an SNMP trap if the alarm is triggered. Enter the IP address for a trap receiver where the trap will be sent. Valid trap receivers are systems running an SNMP Trap Service. From the Credential drop-down list select the appropriate SNMP credential that will be used when sending the trap to the trap receiver. Credentials are defined in the Profiles/Credentials tab in the Authorization/Device Access window (Tools > Authorization/Device Access). There is a default format for the trap message, which can be overridden by selecting the Override Content checkbox.
Select this checkbox if you want to send a message to the isaac service if the alarm is triggered. The default alarm message is sent, or you can customize the message using the Override Content window. When you enable the isaac service action, it is seen as a notification in the Notifications panel in isaac. Then, when the alarm is triggered, a message is sent to isaac, and isaac forwards out the notification to alert isaac users. There is a default format for the isaac message, which can be overridden by selecting the Override Content checkbox.
Select this checkbox to specify a custom program or script that will be run on the Management Center Server if the alarm is triggered. In the Program field, enter the name of the program or use the Select button to open a file browser window and choose a program. In the Working Directory field, enter the path to the directory from which the program will be executed or use the Select button to open a file browser window and choose a directory. Any path references within your program that are not absolute paths, will be relative to the working directory. There is a default set of arguments passed to the program, which can be overridden by selecting the Override Content checkbox.
Select this checkbox if you want to override the default content contained in the action message or action program arguments. The default content is defined in the Console Alarms option (Tools > Options > Console > Alarms). Use the Edit Content button to open the Edit Action Overrides window where you can change the defaults for this specific notification only.
This option allows you to rate-limit the alarm actions by specifying a maximum number of times an action can be taken, and (optionally) a period of time after which actions can resume.
When this option is enabled, the Max Count determines the number of times an action will be performed for this alarm. Once the limit is reached, the alarm will still be recorded, but no further actions are performed. If you have configured multiple action types, the limit is for the number of times the set of configured actions is performed, not for each individual action. If Enable Action Limit is not checked, there is no limit placed on the number of times the action will be performed.
If you specify a reset interval, then once that interval expires, the count is reset and actions will be executed until the Max Count is reached again. If the reset interval is set to "None", then once the alarm limit is reached, the alarm will not reset unless manually reset. You can reset the action counters for all current alarms related to this alarm definition using the Reset All button. For example, if there is a Flow Limit Alarm on three devices, it will reset the limits on those three alarms.
Other Options Subtab
Select the desired option for how alarms will be cleared. All alarms can always be cleared manually.
No Current Alarm (Action Only)
When this option is selected, the Alarms Manager will only perform the configured actions, but will not raise an alarm that becomes associated with the alarm source. The alarm status of the alarm source will not change, and no alarm will be added to the system.
This option allows you to select the alarm(s) that will be used to clear the alarm you are defining. You must first create the alarm definitions for the clearing alarms, which must have the alarm severity set to "Clear". The clearing alarms should be triggered when the problem or condition is removed. Then, use the Select Alarms button to open a window where you can select one or more clearing alarms that will clear the alarm you are defining.
- Delete Alarm Button
- Removes the alarm you have selected in the table. When an alarm is deleted, its current alarms are also deleted. You must click Apply or OK for the delete to take effect.
- Rename Alarm Button
- Opens a window where you can change the name of the alarm you have selected in the table. You must click Apply or OK for your change to take effect.
- Set Mail Config Button
- Opens the SMTP E-Mail Server Options window where you can define your outgoing e-mail server and the sender's address for your e-mail notifications.
Allows you to disable all alarms. For example, you might want to temporarily disable alarms while you are performing network maintenance. When you disable alarms, the alarm events that trigger or clear alarms will be ignored, and no alarm actions will be performed.
Restores any default alarm definitions that have been deleted. Any existing default alarms will not be overwritten.
After you add, edit, or delete an alarm definition, you must click Apply or OK for your changes to take effect.
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