Managing Alert Handlers

Sun OpenDS Standard Edition supports the following alert handlers:

• JMX alert handler for JMX notifications

• SMTP alert handler for email notifications.

• Custom alert handlers

To View All Configured Alert Handlers

Sun OpenDS Standard Edition stores alert handlers information in the configuration file under the cn=Alert Handlers,cn=config subtree. You can access the information using the dsconfig command.

• To display a list of alert handlers, run the following dsconfig command:

  $ dsconfig -h localhost -p 4444 -D "cn=directory manager" -w password -n \
   list-alert-handlers
  
  Alert Handler     : Type : enabled
  ------------------:------:--------
  JMX Alert Handler : jmx  : false

To Enable an Alert Handler

The JMX alert handler is disabled by default. Before you begin, you must configure JMX on the server. For more information, see Monitoring the Server With JConsole.

1. To list the alert handler's properties, use the dsconfig command as follows.

   $ dsconfig -h localhost -p 4444 -D "cn=directory manager" -w password -n \
     get-alert-handler-prop \
     --handler-name "JMX Alert Handler"
   
   Property            : Value(s)
   --------------------:---------------------------------------------
   disabled-alert-type : -
   enabled             : false
   enabled-alert-type  : -

2. To enable the alert handler, use dsconfig as follows.

   $ dsconfig -h localhost -p 4444 -D "cn=directory manager" -w password -n \
     set-alert-handler-prop \
     --handler-name "JMX Alert Handler" --set enabled:true

3. (Optional) Verify the change by using dsconfig.

   $ dsconfig -h localhost -p 4444 -D "cn=directory manager" -w password -n \
     get-alert-handler-prop \
     --handler-name "JMX Alert Handler"
   
   Property            : Value(s)
   --------------------:---------------------------------------------
   disabled-alert-type : -
   enabled             : true
   enabled-alert-type  : -

To Create a New Alert Handler

You can create a new alert handler by using dsconfig. This example configures a new SMTP handler. Before starting this procedure, ensure that you have configured an SMTP server for your server.

1. Use dsconfig with the create-alert-handler subcommand to create the handler.

   $ dsconfig -h localhost -p 4444 -D "cn=directory manager" -w password -n \
     create-alert-handler \
     --handler-name "my SMTP Handler" --type smtp --set enabled:true \
     --set message-body:"Alert Type: %%alert-type%%\n\nAlert ID: \
     %%alert-id%%\n\nAlert Message: %%alert-message%%" \
     --set message-subject:"Alert Message" \
     --set recipient-address:directorymanager@example.com \
     --set sender-address:OpenDS-Alerts@directory.example.com

2. (Optional) View the list of alert handlers by using dsconfig.

   $ dsconfig -h localhost -p 4444 -D "cn=directory manager" -w password -n \
    list-alert-handlers

Supported Alert Types

The server sends out message alerts when an alert type event occurs in the system. The supported alert types are defined in the following table.

To Delete an Alert Handler

The following example removes an alert handler from the directory server.

Note - You can simply disable an alert handler instead of deleting it. In this case, the alert handler is available if you need to enable it again in the future. For more information, see To Disable an Alert Type.

• Use the following dsconfig command.

  $ dsconfig -h localhost -p 4444 -D "cn=directory manager" -w password -n \
    delete-alert-handler \
    --handler-name "JMX Alert Handler"

To Disable an Alert Type

By default, all alert types are allowed. If you specify a value for the enabled-alert-type property, only alerts with one of those types are allowed. If you specify a value for the disabled-alert-type property, all alert types except for the values in that property are allowed. Alert types are specified by their Java class, as shown in this example.

• To disable an alert type, specify its Java class as a value of the disabled-alert-type property.

  This command disables the startup alert from the JMX Alert Handler.

  $ dsconfig -h localhost -p 4444 -D "cn=directory manager" -w password -n \
    set-alert-handler-prop \
    --handler-name "JMX Alert Handler" \
    --set disabled-alert-type:org.opends.server.DirectoryServerStarted