Understanding Events and Event Actions

An event is a means of identifying a change of state of a process or device on the network, so that a notification of the change can be generated and tracked.

For example: an event identifies when a workstation changes from online on the network to offline, or when a critical resource threshold, such as virtual memory utilization, is met.

%ProductName% uses the following criteria to identify the characteristics of an event, such as its origin, cause, and severity.

Date
Identifies the day the event was generated.
Time
Identifies the time of day the event was generated.
Event Type
Provides origination information and descriptive detail to help identify the source and cause of the event.
Event Text
Provides additional descriptive detail to help identify the cause of the event.
System Name
Identifies the name of the system from which the event was received.
Severity
Identifies the urgency of the event.
Category
Identifies whether the event signifies a problem (Alert) or an all-clear condition (Resolution).
Sender Name
Identifies the source from which the event was sent.
Group Name
Identifies the name of the group associated with the system targeted in the event. Group name only appears in group events.
Extended Attributes
Identifies additional keywords and keyword values that can further qualify some categories of events, such as SNMP.
System Variables
Identifies user-defined system variables that help test and track the status of network resources.

Events that are generated as a result of monitoring a group of systems are called Group events. Events that are generated as the result of monitoring one or more individual systems are termed Individual events. Refer to Understanding How Group Events and Individual Events Are Interpreted  for more information.

Actions define the steps to take in response to an event, for example, entering the event in the event log, sending a message that includes the text of the event, or executing a command. Actions that can be taken in response to an event are created using the predefined action templates described in Understanding Event Action Plans.