Manage Alerts

This article discusses how to manage Alerts in the Kentik portal.

Managing alerts in Kentik involves four main tasks:

• Acknowledging Alerts: Acking alerts both manually and automatically.

• Clearing Alerts: Manually clearing active alerts from various locations in the portal.

• Commenting on Alerts: Adding, editing, and removing notes on specific alerts.

• Silencing Alert Notifications: Muting notifications for an alert for a default or custom duration.

Alert Management Access

Alert management is done in the portal’s Alerting or DDoS Protect modules. The following table shows where to start the various tasks, while the topics afterward explain where to find those locations:

Access the Alerts List

Open the Alerting Page from the portal’s main menu to manage alerts directly from the Alerts list.

Access the Action Menu

Open the Action menu for alerts in these portal locations:

• Alerting page: Alerts List.

• DDoS Defense page: Attacks Active Within the Last 24 Hours table (see Attack Table).

To access an alert’s Action menu:

1. Open either the DDoS Defense page or the Alerting page from the main nav menu.

2. Click the vertical dots icon for the alert to open its Action menu.

Access the Summary Drawer

Access the Alert Summary Drawer on the following pages:

• Alerting page

• DDoS Defense page

To access an alert’s Summary drawer:

1. Open either the DDoS Defense page or the Alerting page from the main nav menu.

2. Click anywhere on an alert’s row (except the Alert ID or device links) to open the Summary drawer.

Access the Details Page

To access an alert’s Alert Details Page:

1. Open either the DDoS Defense page or the Alerting page from the main nav menu.

2. Click the alert’s ID (Alert ID column) to open the alert’s Details page.

   Note: If the Alert ID column isn’t shown, do one of the following:

   • Use the Customize Columns Popup to show the column, or;

   • Click the vertical dots icon for the alert and select View Alert Details.

Acknowledge an Alert

Acknowledge (ack) an alert from the portal locations shown in Alert Management Access.

Ack Alert on Alerts List

To acknowledge alerts on the Alerts list:

1. Open the Alerting page from the main nav menu.

2. Check the boxes next to the alerts you want to ack. The Alert Controls will appear above the Alerts list.

3. Click Acknowledge Alert.

Note: This method does not use the Acknowledge Alert Dialog, so there’s no opportunity to comment, auto-ack, or confirm acknowledgment of the alert.

Ack Alert via Action Menu

To acknowledge an alert from its Action menu (see Alert-Specific Actions):

1. Open the alert’s Action menu (see Access the Action Menu) and select Ack Alert.

2. Click Confirm in the Acknowledge Alert Dialog.

Ack Alert in Summary Drawer

To acknowledge an alert in its Alert Summary Drawer:

1. Open the alert’s Summary drawer (see Access the Summary Drawer).

2. Click Ack Alert in the Take Action pane (see Alert-Specific Actions).

3. Click Confirm in the Acknowledge Alert Dialog.

Ack Alert on Details Page

To acknowledge an alert on its Alert Details Page:

1. Go to the alert’s Details page (see Access the Details Page).

2. Click Ack Alert in the Alert Details Page Sidebar.

3. Click Confirm in the Acknowledge Alert Dialog.

Note: If the History table is present in the Threshold Data Pane or NMS Data Pane of an alert’s detail page, you can ack alerts with the Ack Alert button at the right of each row.

Auto-Acknowledge an Alert

When you acknowledge an alert using the Acknowledge Alert Dialog, you can auto-acknowledge (auto-ack) future instances of the same alert for a specified duration:

1. Open the dialog from the Ack Alert button in one of the following locations:

   1. Action menu: See Access the Action Menu.

   2. Summary drawer: See Access the Summary Drawer.

   3. Details page sidebar: See Access the Details Page.

2. Click the Acknowledge additional occurrences (auto-ack) checkbox.

3. Specify the duration of the auto-ack (see Ack Alert Dialog UI).

4. Click Confirm.

Remove an Alert Ack

Remove your acknowledgement (ack) of an alert from the locations shown in Alert Management Access.

Notes:

• You can only remove an ack for an alert that you acknowledged.

• Removing an auto-ack is only possible from the Auto-acknowledgements page.

Remove Ack via Action Menu

To remove an ack using the alert’s Action menu (see Alert-Specific Actions):

1. Open the alert’s Action menu (see Access the Action Menu).

2. Click Remove Ack.

Remove Ack in Summary Drawer

To remove an ack in the alert’s Alert Summary Drawer:

1. Open the alert’s Summary drawer (see Access the Summary Drawer).

2. Click Remove Ack in the drawer’s Take Action pane.

Remove Ack on Details Page

To remove an ack on an alert’s Alert Details Page:

1. Go to the alert’s Details page (see Access the Details Page).

2. Click Remove Ack in the page’s Alert Details Page Sidebar,

Clear an Alert

Clear an active alert from the locations shown in Alert Management Access.

Clear Alert via Alerts List

To clear alerts on the Alerts List:

1. Open the Alerting page from the portal’s main nav menu.

2. Check the boxes next to the alerts you’d like to clear. The Alert Controls will appear at the top left of the list.

3. Click Clear Alert.

4. Click Confirm in the confirmation popup.

Clear Alert in Summary Drawer

To clear an alert from its Alert Summary Drawer:

1. Open the alert’s Summary drawer (see Access the Summary Drawer).

2. Click Clear Alert in the Take Action pane.

3. Click Confirm in the confirmation popup.

Clear Alert on Details Page

To clear an alert from its Alert Details Page:

1. Go to the alert’s Details page (see Access the Details Page).

2. Click Clear Alert in the Alert Details Page Sidebar.

3. Click Confirm in the confirmation popup.

Add an Alert Comment

Add an alert comment in the locations shown in Alert Management Access.

Note: Comments are displayed in the locations described in Alert Comments.

Add Comment from Action Menu

To add a comment from an alert’s Action menu (see Alert-Specific Actions):

1. Open the alert’s Action menu (see Access the Action Menu).

2. Click Add Comment.

3. Enter your comment in the Add a Comment field and click Save.

   Note: The field is expandable with the handle in its lower right corner.

Add Comment on Summary Drawer

To comment on an alert in its Alert Summary Drawer:

1. Open the alert’s Summary drawer (see Access the Summary Drawer).

2. Enter your comment in the Comments field.

3. Click Add Comment to add the comment to the alert.

Add Comment on Details Page

To comment on an alert on its Alert Details Page:

1. Go to the alert’s Details page (see Access the Details Page).

2. Enter your comment in the Comments field in the Alert Details Page Sidebar.

3. Click the blue arrow at the right to add the comment to the alert.

Add Comment in Ack Alert Dialog

To add a comment when acknowledging an alert in the Acknowledge Alert Dialog:

1. Open the dialog from the Ack Alert button in one of the following locations:

   1. Action menu: See Access the Action Menu.

   2. Summary drawer: See Access the Summary Drawer.

   3. Details page sidebar: See Access the Details Page.

2. Enter your comment in the Comments field and click Confirm.

Edit an Alert Comment

Edit your comments on an alert in the locations shown in Alert Management Access.

Note: You cannot edit another user’s comments.

Edit Comment in Summary Drawer

To edit a comment in an alert’s Alert Summary Drawer:

1. Open the alert’s Summary drawer (see Access the Summary Drawer).

2. In the Summary drawer, find the Comments card for the comment you’d like to change.

3. Click Edit and make the needed changes.

4. Click Save.

Edit Comment on Details Page

To edit a comment in an alert’s Alert Details Page:

1. Go to the alert’s Details page (see Access the Details Page).

2. In the Alert Details Page Sidebar, find the Comments card for the comment you’d like to change.

3. Click Edit and make the needed changes.

4. Click Save.

Remove an Alert Comment

Remove your comment from an alert in the locations shown in Alert Management Access.

Note: You cannot remove another user’s comments.

Remove Comment on Summary Drawer

To remove your comment from an alert on its Alert Summary Drawer:

1. Open the alert’s Summary drawer (see Access the Summary Drawer).

2. In the Summary drawer, find the Comments card for the comment you’d like to remove.

3. Click Remove at the top right.

4. Click Remove in the confirmation popup.

Remove Comment on Details Page

To remove your comment from an alert on its Alert Details Page:

1. Go to the alert’s Details page (see Access the Details Page).

2. In the Alert Details Page Sidebar, find the Comments card for the comment you’d like to remove.

3. Click Remove.

4. Click Remove in the confirmation popup.

Silence Alert Notifications

Silence an alert’s Notifications for seven days from the locations shown in Alert Management Access.

Note: To set a custom silence duration when acknowledging an alert, see Alert-Specific Actions.

Silence Alert using Action Menu

To silence an alert using the alert’s Action menu (see Alert-Specific Actions):

1. Open the alert’s Action menu (see Access the Action Menu).

2. Click Silence Notifications.

Silence Alert in Summary Drawer

To silence notifications for an alert in the alert’s Alert Summary Drawer:

1. Open the alert’s Summary drawer (see Access the Summary Drawer).

2. Click Silence Notifications in the Take Action pane.

Silence Alert on Details Page

To silence an alert’s notifications on its Alert Details Page:

1. Go to the alert’s Details page (see Access the Details Page).

2. Click Silence Notifications in the Alert Details Page Sidebar, .

Custom Silence Alert

Silence an alert’s notifications for a custom duration when acknowledging an alert in the Acknowledge Alert Dialog:

1. Open the dialog from the Ack Alert button in one of the following locations:

   1. Action menu: See Access the Action Menu.

   2. Summary drawer: See Access the Summary Drawer.

   3. Details page sidebar: See Access the Details Page.

2. Check the box for Silence notifications for this alert.

3. Set the desired duration using the Duration controls (see Ack Alert Dialog UI).

4. Click Confirm to silence notifications, acknowledge the alert, and close the dialog.

Suppress an Alert

Suppressing an alert prevents it from triggering notifications based on defined criteria.

Suppress Alert in Summary Drawer

1. Open the alert's Alert Summary Drawer.

2. Click Suppress Alert in the Take Action pane.

3. Configure the suppression rules in the slide-out panel and save.

Debug an Alert

Use the debugging tools to inspect policy evaluations and see exactly why an alert triggered.

Debug Alert in Summary Drawer

1. Open the alert's Alert Summary Drawer.

2. Click Debug Alert... in the Take Action pane to open the policy debugger.