Manage alert policies
Alert policies set the thresholds that raise an alert and the channels that carry it. Use ManageIT → Manage Alert Policies to view, create, edit, switch on or off, and delete them.
The alert policies list
The Alert Policies panel shows every policy in your account, with a count of the total.
Use the toolbar to find policies:
- Tile view and List view switch between cards and a table.
- The filter list shows All policies, Active only, Inactive only, Scope · App-Specific or Scope · Service.
- The sort list orders policies by Recently updated, Newest first, Oldest first, Name A → Z or Name Z → A.
- Search policies… filters the list as you type.
Each tile shows the policy's Status, Scope, active Monitors, Channels, assigned Apps (for app-specific policies) and when it was Updated.
List view shows Name, Description, Scope, Monitors, Channels, Status and Last Modified. At the bottom of the table, choose Rows per page (10, 25, 50 or 100) and use Previous and Next to move between pages.
Policy scope
Each policy has one scope:
- Default: the account's default policy. It applies to all applications that do not have an app-specific policy assigned.
- App-Specific: applies to the applications you select. The list shows how many apps it covers.
- Service-Type: applies to one service. The list shows it as Service.
The default policy
Your account has a policy called Default Policy. It comes with a monitor for each alert type and starts inactive. Configure a notification channel and activate it to start receiving alerts.
You can edit the default policy, but you can't delete it or change its scope.
Create an alert policy
- Go to ManageIT → Manage Alert Policies.
- Select Create Alert Policy.
- Under Alert Policy Details, enter an Alert Policy Name. It is required and can be up to 128 characters.
- Optionally, enter a Description of up to 500 characters. It appears in the list view.
- Choose a Polling Frequency: Every 5 Minutes, Every 10 Minutes, Every 15 Minutes, Every 30 Minutes or Every 1 Hour.
- Enter a Violation Frequency.
- Select Policy is active if you want the policy to run as soon as you save it.
- Under Policy Scope, choose a Policy Type:
- For App-Specific, select one or more tiles under Select Applications. Use Search… to find an app.
- For Service-Type, choose a service from Select Service.
- Under Alert Monitor Settings, choose a Monitor Condition:
- OR (alert on any threshold violation)
- AND (alert only when all active monitors violate)
- Select Add monitor to add a monitor row, then set:
- Alert Monitor Type, such as RPI, Application Lag or Transit Latency.
- Caution Op and Caution Threshold.
- Danger Op and Danger Threshold.
- Active, to include the monitor in the policy.
- Repeat the previous step for each monitor you need. Select Remove monitor to delete a row.
- Under Communication, choose a Communication Frequency: Once Only, Every 30 Minutes, Every 1 Hour or Every 4 Hours.
- Add at least one notification channel:
- Email Triggers: select the users to email.
- Phone Number: choose the country code and enter the number, digits only.
- Google Chat Webhook: enter your Google Chat webhook URL.
- Slack Webhook: enter your Slack webhook URL.
- Select Create Policy.
The RPI Score is the only monitor type where a lower value is worse, so its operators default to ≤. Other monitor types default to ≥. To learn about the RPI Score, see What is the RPI Score?.
A service-type policy supports only the RPI monitor type.
Test a notification channel
You can check a channel before you save the policy.
- On the create or edit page, fill in the channel under Communication.
- Select the test button next to it:
- Send Message sends a verification text to the phone number.
- Send Test posts a test message to the Google Chat or Slack webhook.
- Read the result that appears below the field.
Edit an alert policy
- Go to ManageIT → Manage Alert Policies.
- Select the policy name, or select Edit on its tile or row.
- Change the fields you need on the Edit Alert Policy page.
- Select Save Changes.
Select Cancel to leave without saving.
Activate or deactivate a policy
In list view, select the toggle in the policy's row. Enable policy switches it on and Disable policy switches it off.
A policy with no notification channel can't be activated. Its toggle is dimmed and shows Add a notification channel before activating this policy.
Delete an alert policy
- Go to ManageIT → Manage Alert Policies.
- Select Delete on the policy's tile or row.
- In Delete alert policy?, select Delete policy.
Deleting a policy stops it firing alerts. You can't undo it.
What happens next
A banner confirms each change: Alert policy created successfully., Alert policy updated successfully. or Alert policy deleted. Active policies raise alerts when monitored values cross their thresholds, and send them to the channels you set up. To review those alerts, see Alerts overview.
Troubleshooting
If the form doesn't save, read the message at the top of the form:
| Message | Fix |
|---|---|
| Alert policy name is required. | Enter an Alert Policy Name. |
| Select at least one application for an app-specific policy. | Select one or more tiles under Select Applications. |
| Select a service for a service-scoped policy. | Choose a service from Select Service. |
| Add at least one active monitor. | Add a monitor row and select Active. |
| Every active monitor needs a monitor type. | Choose an Alert Monitor Type for each active row. |
| Configure at least one notification channel. | Add an email recipient, phone number or webhook. |
| Phone number must be digits only (10 digits) and the country code is required. | Choose a country code and enter the number without spaces or symbols. |
| Webhook URLs must be valid https:// addresses. | Use a webhook URL that starts with https://. |
| The default alert policy cannot be deleted. | Deactivate the default policy instead. |