Overview
InterMapper can send many different kinds
of notifications to alert the network manager of problems in the network.
An entire map can be configured to use a default notifier (or set of notifiers),
and then individual devices can have customized notifiers.
What is a Notifier?
Think of a notifier as a little "robot" that watches the state
of one or more devices, and performs a specified action when the device changes
to a certain state. The action
is called a notification.
You can attach notifiers to a device, and then specify which states (down,
up, warning, alarm, critical) should trigger the notifier. When a device changes to that
state, the notifier triggers, and InterMapper sends the notification.
For example, you can create a notifier that sends an e-mail message. You then attach that notifier to a device. You might also specify that
it should be triggered when the device goes down or comes back up. When the
device goes into either of those states, the e-mail would be sent.
Notifier Types
There are several types of notifiers; each uses a different method to send
a notification:
- E-mail
- sends an e-mail
- Alphanumeric
Pager - sends a page through a dial-up modem using the TAP protocol.
- Network
Paging - sends a page across the Internet using the Simple Network
Paging Protocol (SNPP).
- SMS Alert - sends a text message to a cell phone via SMS.
- Sound
- plays a sound associated with the state of the device.
- SNMP
Trap - sends an SNMP trap to the specified trap receiver
- Syslog
- sends a message to a syslog server
- WinPopup
(Windows only) - sends a message to the specified user. The message appears
in a separate window.
- Command
Line - executes a command on the InterMapper host machine.
- Group
- sends notifications to a group of existing notifiers.
What You Can Do With Notifiers
- The Notifier List (Available from the Server Configuration section of the Server Settings window) is a library of notifiers you have
created.
- You create a notifier from the Notifier List, the Default Notifiers dialog, or the Notifiers
window.
- You configure
the notifier, then test it to
make sure it's working properly.
- You attach a notifier
to a device using the Attach Notifier dialog.
- You remove a notifier
using the Notifier List.
- You define a set of default
notifiers using the Default Notifiers dialog. When you add a new
device to a map, the default notifier set is attached to the new device
automatically. (You can also create and attach notifiers to individual items.)
- You attach notifiers only to devices, not to networks.
Parts of a Notifier
|
Notifier Name
|
This is a human-readable description of the notifier. It's useful
to include the type and recipient in the name, e.g., "Network Techs
via email" or "Syslog to Main Logger" |
|
Notifier Type
|
There are many notifier types - e-mail, sounds, traps, etc. - as
listed above. Each notifier you create will cause some kind of notification
or alert, depending on its parameters. |
|
Notifier Parameters
|
The parameters of a notifier indicate the recipient or the action
to be performed. Parameters can specify an e-mail address, a sound file
to play, the address of a syslog or trap server, a pager account, or a
script or program to run. Each notifier type determines its parameters. |
|
Notifier Schedule
|
Each notifier has a schedule associated with it. The schedule specifies
the days of the week, and the hours of each day during which a notifier
should send notifications. If the event happens outside the schedule,
no notification will be sent. |
About the Notifier List
The Notifier list is a library of notifiers that you can attach to different
devices on your map. It is available from the Server Settings window. You
create, configure, edit, remove, and disable notifiers from the Notifier
list. Once you have created and configured the notifiers you want to use,
you can attach them to devices.
Occasionally, you may be about to attach a Notifier, and discover that you
need to create a new one before you can attach it. You can quickly open the
Notifier list from the Notifiers window, and create a new notifier.
How Notifications Get Sent
When an event occurs, for example, when a device changes to a new state (Up
to Down, Warning to Alarm, Alarm to OK) InterMapper triggers the attached
notifiers that apply to that new state. The notifier then sends a notification,
as defined in its parameters, to the specified target users as defined by
the notifier schedule.