Configurable email alert distribution?

Sharon_DBA

Hi,
Just recently purchased SQL Response for my shop...

Is there a way to configure an alert to email after every instance, and not just the ones that are cleared? It looks as if only cleared alerts will email out, not each and every alert. Is this correct?

Brian Harris

Hi Sharon,

Yes, that is correct; if an alert is not cleared, no further emails are sent. Only when the alert is cleared, and then re-raised, is a subsequent email triggered. There isn't a way to configure this behaviour in SQL Response at the moment.

As some types of alerts can be raised numerous times, this was a deliberate design decision to stop users being spammed with hundreds of emails relating to multiple occurrences of the same type of problem.

We'll definitely look again at this issue for future versions of SQL Response.

Best regards,
Brian Harris

Sharon_DBA

Thanks, Brian.
I understand the reasoning, however, there is another way to view this - here's an example...

Take alert blocking for example. I am most concerned about a specific, sporadic blocking situation that occurrs around midnight. Normal database blocking is a typical occurrence, and may happen earlier in the evening (after normal business hours). If I don't log in and clear the earlier block, then the important midnight block will never be alerted on.

This situation makes it so that I am forced to work more than I should have to - having to log in remotely and clear all alerts at any time day or night- so that I can ensure I am made aware of each and every off-hour issue. The product is supposed to make the life of a DBA easier, not harder, and the choice to alert on first occurrence vs. alert on all occurrences should also be the DBA's choice.

It should be a configurable option to choose either method, so I thought I'd raise this point. If your developers can consider this in a near future revision, that would be great. Personally, I can't move forward with purchasing more SQL Response licenses for more server monitoring given the current design - it just doesn't make sense.

Thanks and regards,
Sharon

Sharon_DBA

"We'll definitely look again at this issue for future versions of SQL Response."...any chance this will happen soon? It is 01:30AM and I am up manually checking my jobs. It's exactly the reason why we purchased this product...to prevent me from having to do exactly what I am doing right now. Yet, this monitoring cannot be relied upon if it is designed to only alert on first occurrence only. I am sorry to say we have wasted our money if this one shortcoming is not addressed soon.

Also, a database alert should never be considered "spam" as was mentioned earlier. We need to know of alerts as they happen, regardless of frequency.

Please, can you tell me when this will be addressed?

Thank you,
Sharon

Brian Harris

Hi Sharon,

The next version of SQL Response currently being developed is version 2.0, a major new release with a complete re-design and a range of new features.

There is already a feature request in place for SQL Response to be able to set the frequency of alert email notifications, which will be addressed at v2.0. For reference, this feature request is: SSR-1377.

Announcements about v2.0 will appear on the forums when a public release is available; this won't be for a few months at least.

Redgs,
Brian

Sharon_DBA

Hi Brian,
This is wonderful news. Eagerly anticipating this new release...

Many regards,
Sharon