Alerts

Alerts allow you to alert your end users when a metric reaches a specified threshold.

Use alerts to alert your end users when a metric reaches a specified threshold. Use the user interface or API to manage your alert definitions. These definitions describe an alert condition, determine a schedule to evaluate the alert condition, and how notifications are handled when an alert condition is met. See Manage Alerts, Create an Alert Definition and Alerts API.

Prerequisites

• Configure the mail service for Self-Service Analytics.
• Configure dashboard alert link redirection.
• Ensure intended recipients have valid email addresses specified in their user account (user definitions).
• Grant the group privilege Administer Alerts or Create Alerts to users who you want to enable to create or administer alerts. Administrative users are granted these privileges’ by default. See Group Privilege Reference.
• Grant users who receive alerts read access to the data sources used in alert conditions. If a user does not have read permission for a data source will not receive any alert notifications. The corresponding alert messages also appear in the scheduler report and the job scheduler. See About Source Permissions.

Manage Alerts

Use the Alerts work area to manage all of the alerts associated with a dashboard. Create, edit, and delete alerts, or temporarily enable and disable alerts as needed.

To manage alerts, you must be logged in as a user belonging to a group with the privilege Administer Alerts or Create Alerts.

• Users with the privilege Administer Alerts and DATA ACCESS to the underlying data sources can manage all aspects of alerts associated with a dashboard.
• Users with the privilege Create Alerts can only manage the alerts they created for a dashboard.

Access the Alerts Work Area

1. Open or create a dashboard that contains one or more alerts. If you are creating an alert on a new dashboard, save the dashboard first to enable the Manage Alerts option.

2. Select Manage Alerts from the dashboard. The Alerts work area opens, listing existing alerts for this dashboard you can manage. Some columns in this work area can be resized or sorted as needed; select the column header break to resize, or select the column name to change the sort.

   

3. Create, edit, and delete alerts, or temporarily enable and disable alerts as needed.

   • Select Create Alert to create a new alert. See Create an Alert Definition.
   • Select the name of an alert to edit the alert. See Edit Alerts.
   • Select the delete () icon to delete the alert. See Delete Alerts.
   • Select the toggle for an alert to enable or disable the alert. See Disable and Enable Alerts.

Search Box

Use the search box to filter the alerts shown by Name. For example, if you type a C in the search box, only alerts that include the letter C in the selected field searched are shown in the working area.

Buttons

The buttons in this work area allow you to create new alerts.

Button	Description
Create Alert	Allows you to create a new alert. See Create an Alert Definition.

The Alerts List

Each column in the table is described below. The Name, Data Source, Last Modified, and Frequency columns are sortable.

Column	Description
Enabled	Indicates if an alert is enabled or disabled. See Disable and Enable Alerts.
Name	The name you assigned to an alert. This name does not need to be unique. Select to edit the alert. See Edit Alerts.
Data Source	The name of the data source used by the visual for an alert.
Last Modified	The time stamp indicating the last date and time the alert was modified. This can indicate the creation date if no modifications have been made since creation, the last time an edit was saved to an alert definition, or the last time an alert was enabled or disabled.
Frequency	How often an alert is run, as indicated in an alert definition’s schedule. See Create an Alert Definition .
Delete	Delete an alert. See Delete Alerts.

Create an Alert Definition

Use alerts to alert yourself and other users when a metric reaches a specified threshold. Use the user interface to create alert definitions. These definitions describe an alert condition, determine a schedule to evaluate the alert condition, and how notifications are handled when an alert condition is met.

To create an alert definition using the API, see Create an Alert Definition - Alerts API.

Visuals that support alerts:

• Arc Gauge
• Bars
• Bars: Multiple Metrics
• Donut
• KPI
• Line Trend: Multiple Metrics
• Pie

Create an Alert Definition from the Dashboard

To create an alert, you must be logged in as a user belonging to a group with the privilege Administer Alerts or Create Alerts.

1. Open or create a dashboard that contains one or more visuals that support alerts. If you are creating an alert on a new dashboard, save the dashboard first to enable the Manage Alerts option.

2. Select Manage Alerts from the dashboard. The Alerts work area opens, listing existing alerts for this dashboard, if any. Some columns in this work area can be resized or sorted as needed; select the column header break to resize, or select the column name to change the sort.

   

3. Select Create Alert to create a new alert. The Select Visual for Alert work area opens.

   

4. Select a supported visual to create a new alert for that visual. The Create Alert work area opens.

5. Enter a Name and optional Description for this alert in the Alert Details work area.

6. Accept the default Conditions, or select the edit icon to edit and Apply to apply your changes.

7. Accept the default Schedule, or select the edit icon to edit and Apply to apply your changes.

8. Accept the default Notification details, or select the edit icon to edit and Apply to apply your changes.

9. Select Save to save your alert. The Alerts work area opens, including your alert in the list.

Create an Alert Definition from the Visual Menu

To create an alert, you must be logged in as a user belonging to a group with the privilege Administer Alerts or Create Alerts.

If you create an alert definition using the Visual Menu, this alert is associated with the dashboard that contains the visual. If you use a visual in another dashboard, the alert does not carry over to the new dashboard.

1. Open or create a dashboard that contains one or more visuals that support alerts. If you are creating an alert on a new dashboard, save the dashboard first to enable the Manage Alerts option.

2. Select Create Alert from the visual sidebar menu to create a new alert. The Create Alert work area opens. See Alert Definition Fields and Options for information about adjusting these fields to suit your organization’s needs.

   

3. Enter a Name and optional Description for this alert in the Alert Details work area.

4. Accept the default Conditions, or select the edit icon to edit and Apply to apply your changes.

5. Accept the default Schedule, or select the edit icon to edit and Apply to apply your changes.

6. Accept the default Notification details, or select the edit icon to edit and Apply to apply your changes.

7. Select Save to save your alert.

Edit Alerts

Edit alerts directly on the dashboard. To edit alerts, you must be logged in as a user belonging to a group with the privilege Administer Alerts or Create Alerts.

• Users with the privilege Administer Alerts and DATA ACCESS to the underlying data sources can manage all aspects of alerts associated with a dashboard.
• Users with the privilege Create Alerts can only manage the alerts they created for a dashboard.

Edit an Alert

1. Open a dashboard that contains one or more visuals that support alerts.

2. Select Manage Alerts from the dashboard. The Alerts work area opens, listing existing alerts for this dashboard. Some columns in this work area can be resized or sorted as needed; select the column header break to resize, or select the column name to change the sort.

   

3. Select the name of an alert to edit it. The Edit Alert work area opens.

4. You can edit any of the sections of the alert definition as needed. After you select Apply to apply your changes to the definition, you must save your edits for the alert.

   • Alert Details : Edit the Name and Description fields directly here.
   • Conditions: Select the edit icon to open the Edit Condition work area. Edit the conditions for this alert, then select Apply to apply your changes.
   • Schedule: Select the edit icon to open the Edit Schedule work area. Edit the schedule for this alert, then select Apply to apply your changes.
   • Notification: Select the edit icon to open the Edit Notification work area. Edit the notification information for this alert, then select Apply to apply your changes.

5. Select Save to save your alert. The Alerts work area opens, including your updated alert in the list.

Delete Alerts

If you no longer need an alert for a dashboard, use the Alerts work area to delete the alert permanently. Alternatively, disable an alert temporarily if you’re not sure if you will need an alert again later.

When you delete a dashboard permanently, all alerts associated with the dashboard are deleted as well.

To delete alerts, you must be logged in as a user belonging to a group with the privilege Administer Alerts or Create Alerts.

• Users with the privilege Administer Alerts and DATA ACCESS to the underlying data sources can manage all aspects of alerts associated with a dashboard.
• Users with the privilege Create Alerts can only manage the alerts they created for a dashboard.

Delete an Alert

1. Open a dashboard that contains one or more visuals that support alerts.

2. Select Manage Alerts from the dashboard. The Alerts work area opens, listing existing alerts for this dashboard. Some columns in this work area can be resized or sorted as needed; select the column header break to resize, or select the column name to change the sort.

   

3. Select the delete icon () of an alert to delete it. A confirmation message opens.

4. Select Delete to confirm deletion of this alert.

Disable and Enable Alerts

You can easily enable or disable an alert temporarily using the Alerts work area.

To disable alerts, you must be logged in as a user belonging to a group with the privilege Administer Alerts or Create Alerts.

• Users with the privilege Administer Alerts and DATA ACCESS to the underlying data sources can manage all aspects of alerts associated with a dashboard.
• Users with the privilege Create Alerts can only manage the alerts they created for a dashboard.

Disable an Alert

1. Open a dashboard that contains one or more visuals that support alerts.

2. Select Manage Alerts from the dashboard. The Alerts work area opens, listing existing alerts for this dashboard. Some columns in this work area can be resized or sorted as needed; select the column header break to resize, or select the column name to change the sort.

   

3. Slide the Enabled toggle to the left for an alert to grey the toggle out, disabling the alert.

4. Self-Service Analytics automatically updates the alert definition, and updates the Last Modified field with the current date and time.

   No alerts are run or sent while the alert is disabled.

Enable an Alert

1. Open a dashboard that contains one or more visuals that support alerts.

2. Select Manage Alerts from the dashboard. The Alerts work area opens, listing existing alerts for this dashboard.

   

3. Slide the Enabled toggle to the right for an alert to enable the alert.

4. Self-Service Analytics automatically updates the alert definition, and updates the Last Modified field with the current date and time.

   Alerts will now run and be sent when threshold conditions are met.

Tracking Scheduled Alert Status

Use the Console of Refreshing Jobs to view scheduled alert jobs. Optionally, use the /api/jobs endpoint to list all jobs, including alert related jobs. For example:

http://<host:port>/composer/api/jobs?limit=1000&sort=-lastExecutionEndTime

API documentation is provided in your environment at this link: https://<Self-Service Analytics-URL>/composer/swagger-ui.html.

Configure Dashboard Alert Links

When you create an alert definition and set up email notification for alerts, Self-Service Analytics sends recipients your customized alerts message, which includes a link to the dashboard associated with the alert.

In all environments, {Dashboard.id} is resolved at run time for an alert’s email notification.

Stand Alone Environment

Include the static fully qualified domain name for your Self-Service Analytics environment:

alert.dashboard.link.template=${composer.schema}${zoomdata.base-url}/visualization/#{'$'}{Dashboard.id}

Where {composer.schema}=#{${server.ssl.enabled}?'https':'http'}:// and zoomdata.base-url=${server.address:localhost}:${server.port:8080}${server.servlet.context-path}.

Alert Definition Fields and Options

Self-Service Analytics populates default field information and defines options related to the alert. This information is summarized in the Create Alert and Edit Alert work areas. Select the edit icon to edit the information for each section.

Alert Details

Field	Description
Name	Enter a name for the alert, shown in the Alerts work area. Must be unique.
Description	Optionally, enter a short description of this alert. 255 character maximum.

Condition

Field	Description
Time Range	Select a time range for this alert from preset time ranges.
Description	Optionally, enter a short description of this alert. 255 character maximum.
Metric	The metric, used in your visual, you are creating this alert condition about.
Group	The attribute, used in your visual, you are creating this alert condition about.
Operator	Select an available operator for this alert. Not all operators may be available.
Value	Define the value of the metric that triggers this alert to be triggered.

Schedule

Field	Description
Frequency	Select a frequency for the scheduled dashboard report using the arrows in the Frequency selection box. Frequencies of Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and Run Once are supported. Depending on the frequency you select, additional fields appear.
Run Time	This field only appears if the Daily, Weekly, or Monthly frequencies are selected. Specify the hour and minute of the day at which the alert should be generated and sent. Type the hour of the day on the left side of the colon and the minute of the day on the right side of the colon. Use the arrows in the box to the far right to select AM or PM.
From	This field only appears if the Daily, Weekly, or Monthly frequencies are selected. Select the starting date for the alert. Click in the box to bring up a calendar in which you can select the date.
To	This field only appears if the Daily, Weekly, or Monthly frequencies are selected. Select the ending date for the alert. Click in the box to bring up a calendar in which you can select the date.
Run on	This field only appears if the Weekly or Monthly frequencies are selected. When Weekly is selected, use the arrows in this selection box to select the day of the week on which the alert should run (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc.). When Monthly is selected, use the arrows in this selection box to select the date in the month on which the alert should run (valid values range from 1 through 31).
Date	This field only appears if you select the Run Once frequency. Select the date for the alert. Click in the box to bring up a calendar in which you can select the date.

Email Notification

Field	Description
To	The To text box contains your user name. Add more recipients here by typing their name or email address in this box. As you type in characters, Self-Service Analytics searches for and returns users that match your entry. Users must be defined in your environment to be added. See Manage Users. You can also set up user attributes and use the Recipient Rules API to specify who your users can see in the recipients list, and select from those users who to send the report to. You must have at least one name in this field. An error message is returned if this field is blank.
Subject	Specify a subject for the email that will be sent containing the alert. By default, a subject of Notification from <alert-name> is used.
Message	Optionally provide a message for the email. By default, a message of A data threshold was crossed for <alert-name> is used.