The Visual KPI Alert Server notifies a user via SMTP (email) when the actual value of a KPI has crossed any of its configured boundaries.
For example, if you have configured a KPI for temperature to have a status of High when it reaches 95 degrees, the Alert Server will send a notification to any contacts you have specified when the temperature reaches 95 degrees.
An alert is defined for each KPI by specifying the Notification Type and email address in the KPI configuration. If you do not want to use an alert notification for a KPI, leave the Notification Type empty or set to None; it’s OK to leave the email address for the KPI.
An alert for a single KPI can only be sent to a single email address via a single protocol. The email protocol can be an email address, an e-mail group, or an SMS via SMTP address, such as 4801231234@cingularme.com.
The Visual KPI Alert Server supports the following Notification Types:
- None (0): Alerting is not enabled for the KPI.
- SMTP (1): Email alerting is enabled for the KPI. You must specify an email address.
- SMS via SMTP (2): SMS text messaging delivered via SMTP (email) is enabled. You must specify an email address for an SMS-enabled device.
The Visual KPI Alert Server is installed when you install Visual KPI Server and Server Manager. The Visual KPI Alert Server runs as a Windows service against a Visual KPI website. When the Visual KPI Server is installed, the Visual KPI Alert Server is also installed; it runs as a service under the installed website.
If you are running Visual KPI under multiple websites, as you might do for security reasons, the Visual KPI Alert Server service is installed with each Visual KPI Server instance, using the naming convention: VisualKPI Alert Server ([Instance]), where [Instance] is the name of the installed website.
Once the Visual KPI Alert Server is installed, you need to:
- Configure the Alert Server to meet your specific implementation.
- Ensure the Alert Server service is configured properly and started.
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