Alert Channels

Configure nxtRadar notification channels — email, webhook, PagerDuty, and Slack — and set up multi-tier escalation policies for critical infrastructure alerts.

Overview

Alert channels define how nxtRadar delivers notifications when alert rules fire. Channels must be configured before creating alert rules that reference them. This page covers creating and testing all supported channel types, and configuring escalation policies for critical alerts.

Administrator Access Required — This operation requires the admin role. Contact your NxtSight administrator if you do not have sufficient permissions.

nxtDeploy

SMTP email alerts and webhook notifications can be configured directly in nxtDeploy:

1. Open Configuration

   Navigate to nxtDeploy → Configuration and select the Monitoring tab.

2. Configure alert channels

   Scroll to the Alert Configuration section and set the notification channels:

   Setting	Description
   SMTP Server	Mail server hostname and port
   SMTP From Address	Sender email address for alert notifications
   SMTP Recipients	Comma-separated recipient email addresses
   SMTP TLS Mode	TLS encryption mode (STARTTLS or SSL)
   Webhook URL	Endpoint URL for Slack, Microsoft Teams, or custom webhooks

3. Test the channels

   Use the Test Email and Test Webhook buttons to verify delivery before saving. This sends a test notification to confirm connectivity and credentials.

   Always test channels immediately after configuration. Discovering a broken channel during a real incident delays response significantly.

4. Save and deploy

   Click Save Configuration, then navigate to nxtDeploy → Operations and run a Reconfigure for the monitoring services.

   Alert channels are configured and tested.

CLI

Alert channels can also be configured through the nxtRadar CLI and the Monitoring Dashboard. See the sections below for channel-specific configuration.

Prerequisites

• Administrator credentials with the admin role
• SMTP, webhook, PagerDuty, or Slack credentials depending on the channel type

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Creating Alert Channels

Dashboard

1. Navigate to Alert Channels

   Navigate to Monitor Center > Monitoring (Add Channel, admin view).

2. Configure the channel

   Select the channel type and complete the required fields:

   Channel Type	Required Fields
   Email	SMTP server, port, from address, recipient list, TLS mode
   Webhook	URL, HTTP method, optional Authorization header
   PagerDuty	Integration key (from PagerDuty service), severity mapping
   Slack	Incoming webhook URL, target channel name
   Teams	Incoming webhook URL

3. Test the channel

   Click Test after saving to send a test notification. Verify delivery before assigning the channel to production alert rules.

   Use the Test button immediately after creating a channel. Discovering a broken channel during a real incident delays response significantly.

CLI

List configured channels

nxtradar alert channel list

Add email channel

nxtradar alert channel create \
  --name ops-email \
  --type email \
  --to [e-mail] \
  --smtp smtp.example.com:587

Add webhook channel

nxtradar alert channel create \
  --name ops-webhook \
  --type webhook \
  --url https://hooks.example.com/nxtradar \
  --method POST

Test a channel

nxtradar alert channel test ops-webhook

Delete a channel

nxtradar alert channel delete ops-webhook

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Escalation Policies

Configure multi-tier escalation for critical infrastructure alerts:

1. Navigate to Escalation Policies

   Navigate to Monitor Center > Monitoring (Escalation Policies, admin view).

2. Define escalation tiers

   Tier	Trigger	Channel	Delay
   Tier 1	Alert fires	PagerDuty on-call	Immediate
   Tier 2	Not acknowledged	Slack ops channel	5 minutes
   Tier 3	Still unacknowledged	Page on-call manager	15 minutes

   Escalation policies only apply to alert rules with the policy assigned. Verify every critical alert rule has an escalation policy — a rule without one stops at Tier 1 and never escalates.

3. Assign to alert rules

   Open the target alert rule and set the Escalation Policy field. The policy applies to all future alert events for that rule.

   Alert rule references the escalation policy. Future alert events will escalate per the configured tiers.

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Channel Configuration Reference

Email (SMTP)

Email channel configuration

name: ops-email
type: email
smtp:
  server: smtp.example.com
  port: 587
  username: [e-mail]
  password: <SMTP_PASSWORD>
  tls: starttls
from: [e-mail]
recipients:
  - [e-mail]
  - [e-mail]

PagerDuty

PagerDuty channel configuration

name: pagerduty-oncall
type: pagerduty
integration_key: <PAGERDUTY_INTEGRATION_KEY>
severity_mapping:
  critical: critical
  warning: warning
  info: info

Generate the integration key in PagerDuty under Services → Integrations → Add Integration → Events API v2.

Slack

Slack channel configuration

name: slack-ops
type: slack
webhook_url: https://hooks.slack.com/services/T.../B.../...
channel: "#ops-alerts"
username: "nxtRadar Alerts"
icon_emoji: ":alert:"

Generate the webhook URL in Slack under Apps → Incoming Webhooks → Add to Slack.

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Next Steps

Metrics & Alerts (User Guide)

How users create alert rules that reference these channels

Alert Rules (Advanced)

Silence rules, inhibition, and escalation policy usage

Security

Dashboard access control and credential management

Troubleshooting

Diagnose channel delivery failures and SMTP connectivity issues