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How-To: Use IPSentry keywords effectively.
When making use of text alert messaging, IPSentry provides a large set of keywords that are converted to their associated values before the alert is actually triggered.
These keywords range from machine specific information such as name, description, IP Address to date/time information.
By making use of these keywords, you avoid many of the pitfalls associated with alerts containing highly specific information that must be changed from machine to machine. When you change the name of a machine for example, the message being sent should also contain the new name without you having to load the alert configurations and edit the name in each location.
Keep this in mind, especially with Email and Alpha Pager alerts.
Yes, you could setup email alerts with the subject of ThisMachine is DOWN, but what if you changed the machine name from "ThisMachine" to "ThatMachine" AND you wanted to send a success alert?
A better entry would be %IPS_NAME% is %IPS_M_STAT%. Now, when the alert is triggered, the %IPS_NAME% will be replaced with the current machine name, and the %IPS_M_STAT% will be replaced with the current state of the machine. So, when the machine is down, %IPS_M_STAT% will say DOWN, when it is up, it would say UP. If you changed the machine name to BALLARD, then %IPS_NAME% would be changed to BALLARD.
Once you begin using keywords, keep in mind some limitation that may exists especially with Alpha pagers. Some servers have message length limitations of 80 or less characters. In this case, the remaining portion of the message will be truncated. You should put the most important and identifiable information at the beginning of messages to avoid potential loss of critical information such as NAME and STATE. You can then follow that up with Date, Time, an other available keywords based on the type of entry.
These a just a couple things to keep in mind when using IPSentry keywords.
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