Configure Sensor Notifications

You can create notifications based on SysTrack sensors. These sensor notifications automatically notify designated recipients whenever problems arise.

A sensor is triggered when a monitored data metric surpasses the threshold values configured for the sensor. When a sensor is triggered on the number or percentage of devices specified in a notification, SysTrack sends an email alert. Use the Notifications page in Configure to set up and manage sensor notifications.

NOTE: Access to the Notifications page is controlled by Configure > Privilege Sets > Manage Privilege Sets > Configure > Configurations.

Configure Email Settings

Before you create sensor notifications, you must configure the settings for an SMTP server.

  1. To edit Configure, click the lock icon at the top of the page.

  2. Click the gear icon at the right of the screen.

  3. Click Configure Email Settings to edit SMTP settings.

    A pop-up with fields that must be filled out to configure an SMTP server

  4. Enter the SMTP Outgoing Server and the Port for the SMTP server.

  5. Enter a 'From' Email Address. Whenever someone receives an email alert from a sensor notification, the email is sent from this email address.

  6. If this SMTP server requires authentication, you must select Enable SMTP Authentication. Then, add a valid SMTP Username and SMTP Password.

  7. Click Save.

Create a Sensor Notification

  1. To edit Configure, click the lock icon at the top of the page.

  2. Click the button in the upper left, or the Create Sensor Notification button if there are no existing sensor notifications. The Create Notification page opens.

    The page used to create a new sensor notification, with fields such as Name, Description, and Sensors

  3. Enter a notification name.

  4. Enter a description.

  5. In the Sensor section, use the list of sensor categories on the left to select the sensor type, then choose a sensor from the list on the right. You can also use the Search field to find a sensor or category.

  6. Click the Add button to add the selected sensor to this notification.

  7. You can use the Group drop-down to select a group of systems for this notification. Only systems within the selected group will count toward the activation threshold. By default, all systems count toward the threshold.

  8. In Activation > Count, select whether the notification should activate based on the number or percentage of systems on which the selected sensor is triggered. Enter the desired number or percentage in Activate notification when....

  9. In Recipients, you can add the name and email address of someone who should be alerted when this notification activates.

    • This field supports type-ahead search based on name or email address. Start typing the information for a recipient and if the recipient is in the recipients list, they display in the results.

    • If the search yields no results, add a new recipient. Click + Add. Add additional names and email addresses as needed. You can also add and remove recipients using the Recipients tab on the main Notifications page.

      NOTE: Notifications can have zero recipients because they do not need a person to be actively notified through email.

  10. Click Save Notification to enable the notification.

  11. Click the lock icon when you are done.

View Sensor Notifications

Existing sensor notifications are shown in a table. By default, only enabled sensor notifications are shown. Use the View drop-down list to see Disabled notifications or All notifications. Notifications can be manually disabled to prevent them from activating and sending emails.

A page displaying details for all created sensor notifications

NOTE: The View Activated Notifications link in the upper right goes to the Notifications page in Prevent. Use this page to monitor and manage the status of your sensor notifications. This link does not show if you do not have access to Prevent.

TIP: Click the gear icon next to View Activated Notifications to reconfigure the email settings for the SMTP server. If the SMTP server requires authentication, make sure the SMTP Password stays up-to-date. If this password becomes outdated, email alerts will not be sent.

View Sensor Notification Details

You can click an existing sensor notification on the main Notifications page to view its details, including activation history. If Configure is unlocked, the selected notification can be enabled, disabled, duplicated, edited, or deleted.

View History and Activations

The History graph shows the number of systems on which the sensor for the selected notification has been triggered. Contrasting colors show when the notification has been activated.

Status changes of a sensor notification are shown by a vertical line with a symbol at the top: a red exclamation point indicates an Activated notification, a gray X indicates a Dismissed notification, and a green check mark indicates a Resolved notification. Hover over a symbol to display the date, time, and either the number of affected systems at activation or the name of the user who dismissed or resolved the activation.

Use the drop-down list to view data for the Last 30 Days (default) or the Last 7 Days. Use the menu in the upper right to view the chart full screen, print it, or download it in a variety of formats.

A page displaying data for a specific sensor notification

The Activations table lists the activations for the selected sensor notification, with Activation Date, Status, Decision By, Decision Date, Days Activated, and Systems Affected Upon Activation listed for each activation. Use the drop-down list to view activations based on their status. You can click the button in the upper right to export the table.

If you have access to Prevent, you can drill down into activation details by double-clicking an entry in the Activation Date column. The activation instance is shown in Prevent with more details about the affected systems and the history of the activation. See the Prevent User Guide for more information.

For each activation of the sensor notification, the Status is Activated, Dismissed, or Resolved. After a notification is Activated, a user can change the status to Resolved or Dismissed in Prevent. A Resolved status means the conditions that triggered the activation have been resolved. Users can mark an activation as Dismissed for various reasons - generally, this should indicate an irrelevant activation. If a user edits an Activated notification in Configure, it automatically gains the Dismissed status until it meets the activation threshold.

If a user has changed the status to Resolved or Dismissed (either via Prevent or by editing a notification in Configure), then their name appears in the Decision By column. The date and time of this action is listed in the Decision Date column.

The Days Activated column shows how long each activation lasted. The Systems Affected Upon Activation column shows the number of systems affected by the designated sensor when the notification activated.

Enable or Disable a Sensor Notification

To change the enabled status of a selected sensor notification:

  1. Click the lock icon at the top of the page.

  2. If the status of the notification is , you can enable it by clicking the toggle.

  3. If the status of the notification is , you can disable it by clicking the toggle. If the notification is currently Activated, it will be automatically Dismissed.

  4. Click the lock icon when you are done.

Duplicate a Sensor Notification

You can make a copy of the selected sensor notification, then edit and save it as a new notification. To duplicate a notification:

  1. Click the lock at the top of the page.

  2. Click the duplicate button . The Create Notification page opens with details copied from the selected notification.

  3. Edit the duplicate as needed, then click Save Notification.

    NOTE: Notification names must be unique.

  4. Click the lock icon when you are done.

Edit a Sensor Notification

To make changes to the selected sensor notification:

  1. Click the lock icon at the top of the page.

  2. Click the edit button . The Edit Notification page opens with the selected notification loaded.

  3. Edit the notification as needed, then click Save Notification. If the notification is currently Activated, it will be automatically Dismissed until it meets the activation threshold.

  4. Click the lock icon when you are done.

Delete a Sensor Notification

  1. Click the lock icon at the top of the page.

  2. Click the delete button . A Delete Notification dialog opens.

  3. Click Delete to finish deleting the notification, or Cancel to keep it.

  4. Click the lock icon when you are done.