Application template "description" as a variable in alert trigger

Add my +1 to the vote count for custom properties on applications and components in APM.

can you please add the ability to put the application template description as a variable in the alert trigger?  We need to be able to tell the service desk what the application is, and what is means when it is DOWN.

We've been talking about this internally so great minds must think alike.  However, we were thinking you also want the ability to place "what this means" text on each specific component and have that info available in alert variables. 

So, you could do something like the following:

    Application: ${ApplicationTemplateDescription} is down

    Component:  ${MonitorDescription} on Application is down  

Would that meet your needs?

Ideally we would be able to assign custom properties against applications and application components, but I suspect that is asking for a little too much (or is it?)

Not asking too much.   We'll start tracking this request.   Other folks watching, please pile if you care ;-)

i like your thinking...  however, you might need to consider the variable "components with problems" which lists the components within an application that are DOWN.  if we were to use the component "MonitorDescription" as described here, would it be possible to change the variable "componentsWithproblems" to is outputs with carriage return line-feeds, and lets you choose whether to have the component "MonitorDescription" to the right of each component with a problem?

what do you think?  am i making sense?  Maybe to help, this is what part of my alert text looks like now:

Application name:  ${Name}

Last time healthy: ${LastTimeUp}

Time alerted:      ${DateTime} (GMT)

Application components showing problems${CrLf}

${APM_ApplicationAlertsData.ComponentsWithProblems}${CrLf}

But if we use the nice new additions you talk about here, I would like to see it look like this:

Application name:         ${Name}

Application Description:  ${ApplicationTemplateDescription}

Last time healthy:        ${LastTimeUp}

Time alerted:             ${DateTime} (GMT)

Application components showing problems${CrLf}

${APM_ApplicationAlertsData.ComponentsWithProblems} ${MonitorDescription} ${CrLf}

${APM_ApplicationAlertsData.ComponentsWithProblems} ${MonitorDescription} ${CrLf}

${APM_ApplicationAlertsData.ComponentsWithProblems} ${MonitorDescription} ${CrLf}

${APM_ApplicationAlertsData.ComponentsWithProblems} ${MonitorDescription} ${CrLf}

Etc….

Etc…

cheers

dan

Hello-

Have these variables been implemented? 

Thanks,

Mike

This would be awsume.

This is actually something we're working on.  We're adding two new fields to component monitors that can be referenced with their own alert variables.  We're adding a component description field, as well as an additional field for any other information specific to that component you want to include in the alert message.

-Craig

+1

This line will give you the functionality since it is not a built in feature

${SQL:Select description from apm_Applicationtemplate inner join apm_application on apm_Applicationtemplate.id = apm_Application.templateid where apm_Application.id = '${ID}' }

In APM 4.2 the ${UserDescription} and ${UserNotes} macros are available from the APM: Component property of the Advanced Alert Manager. Any information entered into the template for a component monitor in the Description or Notes fields are passed with these variables.

Sadly, I am using a regular "Application" alert instead of an "Application Component" alert to notify me when an application goes down. I am doing this so that I could see what components are having trouble without being bombarded with emails every time an application has trouble.

So slightly off topic of the thread, but am I monitoring my servers optimally or would I be better off using Application Component alerts?