Spotlight on SQL Server 10.0.3 - Getting Started Guide

Alarms Dialog

Notes:

• Replication alarms in the Alarms Dialog are functional only in Spotlight on SQL Server Enterprise. Alarm actions require Spotlight on SQL Server Enterprise.
• Before you change the alarm configurations you may like to backup the current configurations. You can do this by backing up the \Agent\Conf directory in the Spotlight on SQL Server installation directory.

From the Alarms Dialog you can configure alarm settings for the current Spotlight connection or for all Spotlight connections.

To open the Alarms Dialog

1. Click Configure | Alarms.

   

2. Use the following controls to configure alarms:

   Control	Description
   Select connection to configure	To change the setting for an individual connection, select the connection name. To change the setting for all connections, select Default Settings. To change the setting for a Spotlight Diagnostic Server alarm, select Diagnostic Server.
   Alarm Name	A list of alarm names. Select the alarm to configure.
   Override the default settings for the alarm	Select this option to change the severities for the alarm, to set keys, and to define the actions taken when an alarm is raised. Clear the option to return the alarm settings to their default values.
   Disable this alarm	Select to disable the alarm. No alarms are raised.
   Alarm requires acknowledgement	Select to keep each raised instance of the alarm present in Spotlight Today and the Spotlight Home Page until the instance is acknowledged. When not selected the alarm is canceled when the severity returns to normal.

   Severities / Manage keys

   All alarms have a Default Severity. Some alarms allow you to add keys. Where keys are added you can apply different thresholds to each key. See "Configure Keyed Alarms" (page 1) for more information.

   Control	Description
   Severities	A list of keys that have been configured for this alarm. All alarms have a Default Severity.
   Add	Click to add keys. (Applicable to alarms that can be configured with keys.)
   Delete	Click to delete the selected key. (You cannot delete the Default Severity.)

   Alarms with Thresholds / The Severity Table

   If the alarm has thresholds, you can set thresholds using the colored bar or the severity table.
   

   Control	Description
   	To set thresholds via the colored bar: Move the mouse pointer over the threshold between two severities until it appears as a split-bar pointer. Click and drag the mouse to move the threshold to a new position. When you have completed the move, the change also appears in the table of severities.
   Severity table	To set thresholds via the severity table: » Click in the Start cell for each chosen severity. Enter the lower value for the threshold range. Ensure the start value is lower than that for the low value for higher severity thresholds. A failure to be consistent when doing this may cause problems when alarms are raised. Note: To use a threshold in the Severity table, select its check box. To disable the threshold, clear the check box.
   Add Severity	Click Add Severity to add a new entry in the Severity table. For the new severity: Select the checkbox to enable the severity. Enter a threshold in the Start field. This is the value that, when reached, will trigger the severity. Enter text in the Description cell. This text is displayed in the Details column of the Alarm Log when the alarm is raised. You can use copy and paste to duplicate the description text from other severities in the table. To include variables in the text see Alarms - Message Variables (page 1). Note: You can add an entry that has the same severity as an existing entry. By doing so, you can set more than one range of values for a specified severity.

   When thresholds are not applicable / Select the severity to be applied when the alarm is raised

   Control	Description
   	If the alarm does not have thresholds: Severity - Select the severity to be applied when the alarm is raised. Message - Type the text that will be displayed in the Details column of the Alarm Log when the alarm is raised. To include variables in the text see Alarms - Message Variables (page 1).

   Actions

   Control	Description
   Collect additional diagnostic information (not applicable to all alarms)	Select to collect data in the playback database to assist you in resolving the root cause of the alarm. See "Collect Additional Diagnostic Information" (page 1) for more information. Note: You may choose to turn the option off to conserve space in the playback database.
   Do not raise an alarm for certain values (not applicable to all alarms)	Click Values to specify the values that Spotlight should ignore when an alarm is raised. You can use wildcard characters when specifying values to ignore. See "Configure an Alarm to Ignore Certain Values" (page 1) for more information.

    

Related Topics

Configure Alarms (page 1)

Alarms Ribbon Group (page 1)