Generic Alert

Enhanced Definition

A Generic Alert is a standardized, structured notification mechanism used within IBM z/OS and its subsystems to report significant events, problems, or status changes. It provides a common format for various system components and applications to communicate critical information to system management tools, primarily IBM NetView, for monitoring and automated response.

Key Characteristics

- Standardized Format: Generic Alerts adhere to a predefined structure, often based on SNA (Systems Network Architecture) Management Services Unit (MSU) formats, ensuring consistent interpretation across different z/OS components.
- Problem Reporting: They are primarily used to signal problems, errors, or unusual conditions related to hardware, software, network resources, or application components.
- Automation Integration: Designed to be processed by automation tools like NetView and System Automation for z/OS (SA z/OS), enabling automated responses, problem resolution, or operator notification.
- Rich Information Content: Each alert contains specific fields detailing the event, such as resource name, alert type, severity, probable cause, user-defined data, and time of occurrence, aiding in rapid diagnosis.
- Source Agnostic: Various z/OS components, including VTAM, IMS, DB2, CICS, hardware monitors, and user applications, can generate Generic Alerts.

Use Cases

- System Resource Monitoring: Notifying operators and automation of critical events like a disk volume becoming full, a CPU reaching a high utilization threshold, or a specific system task failing.
- Network Management: Reporting network device failures, link status changes, or session problems detected by VTAM or other network management agents.
- Application Health Monitoring: Custom applications can issue Generic Alerts to signal internal errors, transaction bottlenecks, or critical business process failures to central monitoring systems.
- Hardware Problem Reporting: Alerts originating from the Hardware Management Console (HMC) or system console can be transformed into Generic Alerts to inform z/OS automation about hardware component issues.

Related Concepts

Generic Alerts are fundamental to NetView and System Automation for z/OS (SA z/OS), serving as the primary input for their monitoring and automation capabilities. They are often generated by VTAM for network events, and by various z/OS subsystems (CICS, DB2, IMS), or even custom COBOL or Assembler applications using specific APIs (e.g., DSIWAT macro for NetView). They represent a structured form of event notification, distinct from simple console messages, designed for programmatic processing and integration into enterprise-wide IT operations management.

Best Practices:

Implement Robust Automation: Leverage NetView and SA z/OS to automatically process, filter, and respond to Generic Alerts, reducing manual intervention and improving mean time to recovery (MTTR).
Filter and Prioritize: Configure NetView to filter out redundant or low-priority alerts and prioritize critical ones to prevent alert fatigue and ensure operators focus on the most impactful issues.
Standardize Alert Definitions: For custom applications, define clear standards for alert types, severities, and data fields to ensure consistency and facilitate easier automation development.
Regularly Review and Tune: Periodically review alert thresholds, automation scripts, and escalation procedures to ensure they remain relevant and effective as the z/OS environment evolves.
Log and Audit: Ensure Generic Alerts are properly logged for historical analysis, auditing, and compliance purposes, providing a comprehensive record of system events.