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Investigate and Resolve Alerts in System Center Essentials

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Applies To: Windows Essential Business Server

When an alert appears on the Security tab or the Computers and Devices tab of the Windows EBS Administration Console, you can use the System Center Essentials console to obtain detailed information about the alert and the recommended steps to resolve it.

Tip

If an alert appears on the System Health tab of the Windows EBS Administration Console, the details pane of the Administration Console provides information about the alert and the recommended steps to resolve it. In most cases, you can resolve an alert that appears on the System Health tab without using the System Center Essentials console.

When you investigate alerts that appear in System Center Essentials, consider the following:

  • The severity of the alert.

  • The number of times that the alert has occurred.

  • The importance of the application or device that the alert refers to.

This information helps you to prioritize the order for investigating alerts and for resolving the underlying issues. For example, in most cases you prioritize a critical alert on a server for Windows EBS above a critical alert that relates to a single client computer.

For more information about the monitoring features in System Center Essentials, see “Monitoring in System Center Essentials” at the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=131266).

Investigate an alert

You must use an account that is in the Domain Admins group to perform this procedure.

To investigate an alert that appears in the Windows Essential Business Server Administration Console

  1. Click Start, click All Programs, click Windows Essential Business Server, and then click Windows Essential Business Server Administration Console.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • If an alert appears on the Computers and Devices tab, click Computers and Devices.

    • If an alert appears on the Security tab, click Security.

  3. In the results pane, right-click the object with the alert, and then click View recent alerts. The System Center Essentials console appears, showing an alert view in the Alerts pane relates to the object.

    Note

    The name and the selection criteria for the alert view that opens in System Center Essentials are determined by the management pack that generates the alert. The alert view, by default, shows at least one week of alerts.

  4. In the Alerts pane, click an alert to select it.

    To find a specific alert, type text in the Look for text box, and then click Find Now.

  5. In the Alert Details pane, review the description of the alert and its possible causes.

    The Actions pane contains links to tasks and resources that you can use to diagnose and resolve the alert.

Modify alert properties

After you investigate the cause of an alert, you may be able to improve the process of dealing with similar alerts by modifying the alert properties. You can modify the properties of the rule that generates the alert to record knowledge about the alert. You can also create tasks to diagnose and recover from alerts.

Note

Microsoft Office Word must be installed so you can edit product or company knowledge. If a rule is from a sealed Management Pack, you can edit only the rule properties that relate to company knowledge.

For more information, see “How to Edit Properties of a Rule in System Center Essentials” at the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=132111).

You must use an account that is in the Domain Admins group to perform this procedure.

To modify the alert properties

  1. If the System Center Essentials console is not already open to display the alert, do the following:

    • Start the System Center Essentials console by using one of the procedures in Start the System Center Essentials Console, earlier in this document.

    • In the navigation pane, click Monitoring.

    • In the Monitoring pane, expand Monitoring, and then click Active Alerts.

  2. Right-click the alert that you want to modify, and then click Properties.

  3. To edit the rule that generates the alert, click Company Knowledge, and then click Edit Rule. The Rule Properties dialog box appears.

  4. Change the properties of the rule, and then click Close.

  5. Click OK.

Close an alert

After you resolve the issue that causes the alert, you can close the alert in System Center Essentials.

After you close a critical alert and the Windows EBS Administration Console is refreshed, the alert no longer appears in the Administration Console.

You must use an account that is in the Domain Admins group to perform this procedure.

To close an alert in the System Center Essentials console

  1. If the System Center Essentials console is not already open to display the alert, do the following:

    • Start the System Center Essentials console by using one of the procedures in Start the System Center Essentials Console, earlier in this document.

    • In the navigation pane, click Monitoring.

    • In the Monitoring pane, expand Monitoring, and then click Active Alerts.

  2. Right-click the alert that you want to close, and then click Close Alert.

    Note

    Select multiple alerts by pressing and holding down the CTRL key while you click the alerts.