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Managing Alerts

Alerts help you stay informed about important events in your applications and infrastructure. Get notified when issues occur so you can respond quickly.

What are Alerts?​

Alerts are automated notifications that trigger when specific conditions are met in your system. For example:

  • Your application CPU usage exceeds 80%
  • An API endpoint stops responding
  • Database connection fails
  • Memory usage reaches a critical level

Instead of constantly monitoring your dashboard, alerts bring problems to your attention automatically.

Why Use Alerts?​

Benefits of Using Alerts:

  • 🔔 Get notified immediately when problems occur
  • ⚡ Faster response time to issues
  • 📊 Reduce manual monitoring overhead
  • 🎯 Focus on what matters most
  • 👥 Keep your team synchronized

Getting Started with Alerts​

Accessing the Alerts Page​

  1. Log into your Nife dashboard
  2. Click Alerts in the main navigation menu
  3. You'll see two tabs: Alert Rules and Alert Config

Understanding the Dashboard​

When you open Alerts, you'll see key information at the top:

Active Alerts Badge Shows how many alerts are currently firing. The badge turns red if there are critical alerts.

Alert Statistics

  • Total Rules: How many alert rules you've set up
  • Enabled Rules: How many rules are currently active
  • Critical Alerts: Number of critical severity alerts
  • Warning Alerts: Number of warning severity alerts

Quick Start: Create Your First Alert​

Step 1: Start a New Rule​

Click the New Rule button on the Alerts page.

Step 2: Define the Trigger​

Choose what should trigger the alert:

  • CPU usage > 80%
  • Memory usage > 90%
  • API response time > 5 seconds
  • Error rate > 5%
  • Service unavailable

Step 3: Set Severity​

Choose how serious this is:

  • Critical: Immediate action needed
  • Warning: Soon, but not emergency
  • Info: Nice to know

Step 4: Name It​

Give it a clear name:

  • ✅ "High CPU Usage on Production API"
  • ❌ "Rule 1"

Step 5: Save and Enable​

Click Save, then toggle Enabled to turn it on.

Congratulations! Your first alert is now monitoring your system.

Two Types of Alerts​

Standard Alerts Page​

Located at: Alerts in main menu

For:

  • Creating and managing alert rules
  • Configuring notification channels
  • Setting up your alert system

Features:

  • Alert Rules Tab - Create and manage rules
  • Alert Config Tab - Set up notifications

SRE Alerts Page​

Located at: SRE → Alerts

For:

  • Real-time alert monitoring
  • Responding to active alerts
  • Team collaboration

Features:

  • View firing, acknowledged, and resolved alerts
  • Acknowledge alerts you're investigating
  • Resolve alerts once fixed
  • Filter by status and severity

Alert Status Lifecycle​

Alerts move through different statuses as they're handled:

Firing 🔔 (Red)
↓ You click Acknowledge
Acknowledged ⏱️ (Yellow)
↓ You click Resolve
Resolved ✓ (Green)

Firing Status​

  • Alert condition is currently true
  • Requires attention
  • Click "Acknowledge" to claim it

Acknowledged Status​

  • Someone is investigating
  • Shows who acknowledged it
  • Ready to be resolved

Resolved Status​

  • Issue is fixed
  • Kept for historical records
  • No further action needed

Severity Levels​

Choose the right severity for each alert:

SeverityWhen to UseExample
Critical 🔴Immediate action neededApplication is down
Warning 🟠Soon, but not emergencyHigh error rate detected
Info 🟡FYI, nice to knowNew deployment completed

Next Steps​

Now that you understand the basics:

  1. Create Your First Alert Rule - Step-by-step guide
  2. Configure Notifications - Set up how you're notified
  3. Respond to Alerts - Handle active alerts

Common Alert Scenarios​

Monitor Your Website:

  • Create alert for "Website Down" (Critical)
  • Create alert for "High Response Time" (Warning)

Monitor Your Database:

  • Create alert for "High CPU Usage" (Critical)
  • Create alert for "Low Disk Space" (Critical)

Monitor Your API:

  • Create alert for "High Error Rate" (Warning)
  • Create alert for "Slow Response Time" (Warning)

Getting Help​

Built-in Help​

Click the ? icon on the Alerts page for quick help

Contact Support​