Service Monitor - Managing Alert Notifications

This article contains information on creating and managing Service Monitor alerts, including thresholds, escalation levels, notification methods, and acknowledging alerts to control email and SMS alert delivery.

Overview

You can create Alerts in the Service Monitor. These send designated users notifications of problems with email queues or services they are responsible for. An Alert is sent if a service's queue goes above the specified threshold or if the service fails. Subscribers are also able to acknowledge queues and services in an alert status. If an alert is acknowledged, all further alert notifications are stopped.

Creating an Alert Notification

You can create an alert notification by using the following steps:

1. Log in to the Mimecast Administration Console.
2. Navigate to MORE SERVICES | Service Monitor (you can find this near the end of the left-hand menu).
3. Click on the Alerts tab.
4. Select either the Queues or AD Services tab.

5. Configure the Alert Notification as required. The available options depend on the selected sub-tab:

   Field / Option	Description	Available In
   		Queue	AD Services
   Enabled	Select the tick box by the queue title to control whether alerts for the service are enabled or disabled. This setting overrides any individual setting subscribers may have.	Y	Y
   Queues	Service Provider Initiated Request: Issuer	Y	Y
   Escalation Level	Specifies the number of sequential alerts that must be sent to subscribers before the escalation point is reached. Once reached, subscribers configured to receive escalation notifications receive notifications in addition to regular subscribers. The default escalation level value is "5," meaning that subscribers configured to receive escalation alerts receive the sixth (and following) notifications. As alerts are sent every 15 minutes, a queue or service must have been in alert status for 1½ hours before the escalation point is reached.	Y	Y
   Alert Level	Specifies the queue's/service's threshold level. Once the alert level value is reached, alerts start to be sent to subscribers. A minimum value of 50 should be specified. If a value less than 50 is specified, it is ignored, and a value of 50 is used instead.	Y	N
   Recommended Threshold	Displays the recommended value for the threshold. This is an auto-generated threshold based on the recent history of your account. It is based on your account's profile; it is intended as a starting point
   Acknowledge	Selecting this option stops further notifications from being sent until the next time the queue's or service's threshold is reached. See the Acknowledging an Alert section below for more details. Once the service's issue is resolved, the acknowledge option is automatically reset.	Y	Y

6. Click on Save Queues. The alert is configured.

Example Alert Notifications

Please note that there may be cases in which Email Alert notifications are not sent. For more information, see Service Monitor Emails Not Sending - Oct 2024.

Alerts/notifications can be sent out as emails, SMS messages, or both. However, the distribution schedule for the delivery of email and SMS alerts differs.

All specific service details regarding the IP address and email address are automatically populated based on your journal/directory connection configuration in the Mimecast Administration Console.

Email Notifications

Email alerts are sent to subscribers every 15 minutes when a queue or service reaches its threshold. For example:

SMS Notifications

If the queue/service is still in the same state, the service will send out an SMS. When the alert reaches the escalation point, all the subscribers to that alert type will get another SMS. If the alert type continues to remain in the same state, subscribers will receive an SMS in the same pattern each day the alert type remains in a breach/failure state.

Troubleshooting Notification Issues

If you are not receiving expected email notifications from the Service Monitor, consider the following possible reasons:

1. Notification settings may be configured with delay intervals.
2. Your alert settings might require multiple sync failures before sending notifications.
3. Check your notification profile settings to ensure you are set up to receive alerts.

See Also...

• Service Monitor - Managing Subscription Settings