Managing the E-mail with options Alarm plugin
Stay ahead of integration issues with the Nodinite E-mail with Options Alarm Plugin. It sends customizable, automated email alerts whenever your monitored systems change state, so your team is informed and ready to respond.
- ✅ Configure advanced email alerts for integration monitoring
- ✅ Set up flexible recipient and SMTP options, including OAuth 2.0
- ✅ Choose which monitoring states send an email, and how often to repeat it
- ✅ Customize email content and formatting with a Stylesheet
The E-mail with options Alarm Plugin sends an email to the recipients you specify when the state of Monitor Views changes, according to your configuration. Unlike the Email plugin, it doesn't depend on the email address in User profiles, so it also works when Nodinite uses OAuth/OpenID authentication.
You can send emails both when errors occur and when issues are resolved (positive and negative ACKs).
Understanding the Email Flow
Alarm Plugin entry"] smtp["fa:fa-server SMTP server"] mail["fa:fa-envelope Recipients"] queue["fa:fa-bell Alarm Queue"] ok --> ms warn --> ms err --> ms ms -->|"Monitoring state options match"| plugin plugin -->|"Stylesheet formats the email"| smtp smtp --> mail plugin -.->|"Send failed"| queue queue -.->|"Re-sent later"| plugin style ok fill:#93d16d,color:#000 style warn fill:#FFD525,color:#000 style err fill:#c33d34,color:#fff style ms fill:#2678BD,color:#fff style plugin fill:#2678BD,color:#fff style smtp fill:#2678BD,color:#fff style mail fill:#93d16d,color:#000 style queue fill:#c33d34,color:#fff
An OK (green), Warning (yellow), or Error (red) state change reaches the Monitoring Service; when the state is selected on the Monitoring state options tab of the entry the Monitor View uses, the entry formats the email and sends it through your SMTP server. A failed send waits in the Alarm Queue (red) and is re-sent.
The E-mail with options Alarm Plugin comes pre-installed with the Nodinite Core Services. The Monitoring Service sends the emails, so its server must reach the SMTP server (required ports). You need to be a Nodinite administrator to configure Alarm Plugins.
Default Entry and Additional Entries
Since Nodinite 7.2.0, every Alarm Plugin is used through Alarm Plugin entries. The Email options default entry ships with Nodinite. Each additional entry is built on the same plugin, for example one per team or recipient list, and each Monitor View selects the entry or entries it uses. When you upgraded to 7.1, every former Monitor View-specific configuration became its own entry. The entry concept and the Action menu are described once in Add or manage Alarm Plugin.
Open the default entry from 'Administration' 'Settings' 'Alarm Plugins' by selecting 'Email options'.
The four clicks from the Administration sidebar to the Email options default entry. The list also shows the entries the 7.2.0 migration created, with the Monitor Views that select each one.
The Monitor Views panel lists the six Monitor Views that use this entry, including a deleted one; the minus icon removes a Monitor View from the entry.
The Configuration tab shows the Alarm Plugin Type and five sub-tabs: Basic, Recipients, Monitoring state options, SMTP options, and Recurrence.
The type can't be changed on a default entry; on an entry you added, changing it resets all configuration settings.
Configuration Tabs
Basic tab
Use a separate recurrence subject so recipients can tell a reminder from a new alert.
| Field | Help text in the Web Client | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | The subject for the e-mail (You can use macros like: , , , , , and ) | Default: Status Report from Nodinite - [{Customer} \| {Environment}] - With {Status}. Variables |
| Recurrence subject | The recurrence subject for the e-mail (same macros) | Default: Recurrent Status Report from Nodinite - [{Customer} \| {Environment}] - With {Status} |
| Web Client URL | Embed a link to the signaling Monitor View. Enter the URL to this Nodinite instance (NOTE: Do not use 'localhost') | The address of your Web Client |
| Send body as text | When checked, send the e-mail in plain text instead of HTML | ❌ Unchecked (HTML) |
| Stylesheet (unlabeled list) | Select the Stylesheet to use when formatting the output of the alarm. | Default: Email options Alarm Plugin, an XSLT Stylesheet |
Recipients tab
Click Add for each recipient; the minus icon removes one.
| Field | Help text in the Web Client |
|---|---|
| Sender address | The e-mail address of the sender |
| Recipient list – Mail to | The list of recipient e-mail addresses. Mail to: The e-mail address to the recipient; please enter one entry per recipient |
The Mail to addresses also receive the alarm tests. The sender address must be allowed to send through your SMTP server.
Tip
Use a distribution list or group email address to send the email to multiple recipients. Avoid individual email addresses to reduce the number of emails sent and any personal dependencies.
Monitoring state options tab
By default, OK, Warning, and Error send an email; Unavailable and Connection Error don't.
| Field | Help text in the Web Client | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger on changed Resource state | When checked, trigger an Alarm when any Resource changes its state. Otherwise, trigger an Alarm when the Monitor View changes its monitoring state | ❌ Unchecked |
| ✅ Send Alarm on OK | When checked, send alarms to the e-mail recipients for Monitor Views changing its state to the 'OK' state | ✅ Checked |
| ⚠️ Send Alarm on Warning | … to the 'Warning' state | ✅ Checked |
| ❌ Send Alarm on Error | … to the 'Error' state | ✅ Checked |
| 🚫 Send Alarm on Unavailable | … to the 'Unavailable' state | ❌ Unchecked |
| Send Alarm on Connection Error | … to the 'Connection Error' state | ❌ Unchecked |
SMTP options tab
Secrets entered here are stored encrypted in the Configuration Database (Secret Management).
| Field | Help text in the Web Client |
|---|---|
| SMTP Server | The SMTP server in use to send or relay e-mails (DNS name or IP-address) |
| Port | Specify the port to use connecting with the SMTP server. The default is port 25. For encrypted connections, use port 587 or 465 |
| SSL is required | When enabled, the connection must use SSL. When disabled, the connection will automatically determine whether SSL is required or not. |
| Ignore certificate revocation errors | New 7.2 Check to ignore SSL certificate revocation errors when the revocation server is offline or unavailable. Use with caution and only in environments where revocation checks are problematic. When to use this option |
| Enable Authentication | Check when the SMTP server requires authentication to process requests. |
| Authentication Type | Choose authentication type: Basic Authentication or OpenID Authentication |
Force Disable SSL (shown on the SMTP options tab of the Email plugin) disables SSL/TLS negotiation entirely. Use it only after confirming that a certificate whose Subject Alternative Name (SAN) contains the relay host name isn't possible; see FAQ - SSL/TLS Certificate Name Mismatch.
Info
If your SMTP server supports TLS (Transport Layer Security), check SSL is required so the email content is encrypted during transmission.
Basic Authentication
Basic authentication sends the username and password to the SMTP server.
| Field | Help text in the Web Client |
|---|---|
| Username | Basic authentication username |
| Password | Basic authentication password |
Note
If your SMTP server supports anonymous relay from specific IP addresses (whitelisting), disable authentication to avoid password expiration and account lockouts.
Warning
Microsoft has deprecated Basic Authentication in Exchange Online. If you use Office365/Microsoft 365 as your SMTP provider, switch to OpenID Authentication (OAuth 2.0); see FAQ - Office365 Email Configuration. Review the Deprecation of Basic Authentication in Exchange Online announcement for the latest status and timelines.
OpenID Authentication
New 7.x OpenID Connect (OAuth 2.0) authentication is available for SMTP. Register an application in your identity provider to obtain the credentials.
For Microsoft 365, the Office365 FAQ lists the exact values.
| Field | Help text in the Web Client |
|---|---|
| Client ID | Client ID for OpenID authentication |
| Client Secret | Client Secret for OpenID authentication |
| OpenID Endpoint Configuration | Endpoint Configuration for OpenID authentication |
| Scope | Scope for OpenID authentication. For more than one scope, separate each with a comma. |
If sending fails, check the app registration's permissions and scopes, the endpoint URL, and the credentials; then run an alarm test and read the error. The Monitoring Service diagnostic files and the Log Audits have more detail.
Recurrence tab
New 7.2
Leave a state empty to send its alarm only once.
| Field | Help text in the Web Client |
|---|---|
| Enable Recurrence | Configure the recurrence for redistributing alarms |
| ✅ Ok Time Interval, ⚠️ Warning Time Interval, 🚫 Unavailable Time Interval, ❌ Error Time Interval, Connection Error Time Interval | A Time Interval per state; "If needed, you can create or adjust Time Intervals here" opens the Time Intervals page |
Using an Entry in a Monitor View
A Monitor View doesn't hold its own email settings. On its External notifications tab, the Monitor View lists the Alarm Plugin entries it uses; click Edit to add or remove entries (how).
This Monitor View uses one entry, "Email options", of type Email options.
To send some Monitor Views to other recipients, add an entry of type Email options (Add Alarm in the Alarm Plugins list) and select it in those Monitor Views. On an added entry, every configuration tab starts with an Override … options checkbox: "When checked, allows configuration of this section. When unchecked, inherits the options for this section from the default Email options plugin."
This entry overrides only the Monitoring state options; every other tab inherits from the default Email options entry.
Note
New 7.10.11 Leave Recurrence subject blank on an entry to keep the default entry's recurrence subject. Subject overrides migrated from older versions use the default entry's Web Client URL and body format. When an entry overrides the Recipients tab, both the Sender address and the Mail to list are applied to its emails.
Entry Settings When an Alarm Is Re-Sent
New 7.10.11 If an e-mail cannot be sent, it waits in the Alarm Queue and is re-sent later, as set by the AlarmQueueSettings System Parameter. The re-sent e-mail keeps the settings of the entry that sent it: recipients, subject, SMTP settings, and stylesheet. Sent e-mails appear in the Distributed Notifications history. After changing SMTP settings, purge queued entries that still carry the old settings (why).
Execute and Restore Alarm test
Click either test button in the Control panel. Execute Alarm test sends an alarm batch with Error, Warning, and 2 × OK; Restore Alarm test sends 4 × OK. The emails go to the Mail to addresses on the Recipients tab.
Important
If you don't receive any emails and there were no errors reported, check the junk mail folder. If the test fails, see the troubleshooting guides for DNS, Office365, and certificate errors.
Audit and Logging
Review these places, in this order:
- Alarm Queue – emails that could not be sent, with the error
- Distributed Notifications – the alert history of the Monitor View
- The Nodinite Log Audits – who changed the configuration
- The Nodinite Monitoring Service diagnostic files
Stylesheet
The E-mail with options Alarm Plugin uses an XSLT Stylesheet to format the email content. By default, it uses the built-in stylesheet Email options Alarm Plugin. Make a copy, customize it, and select it on the Basic tab of the entry.
The Alarm Plugin Object XML page shows the XML representation of the alarm object sent to the Alarm Plugin; use it as input when you preview or modify the Stylesheet. Custom Metadata on your Integrations, such as owner and runbook, can be shown in the email (Custom Metadata in alerts).
Working example with data
The default subject is: Status Report from Nodinite - [{Customer} | {Environment}] - With {Status}
You can use the following variables in the subject line:
{Customer}– Customer name of the Nodinite installation (CustomerName){Environment}– Environment name (Prod, Test) of the Nodinite installation (EnvironmentName){Version}– Nodinite version{Status}– List of Monitor View statuses, e.g. Errors, OK{StatusAndCount}– List of Monitor View statuses and the number for each status, e.g. 2 Errors, 1 OK{DateTime}– Date when the alarm was triggered{Alarm.JsonPath:...}– Advanced option using JsonPath to extract data from the alarm object, e.g. the Monitor View names with{Alarm.JsonPath:MonitorViews[*].Name}
Advanced: Using JsonPath in the subject line
Tip
Use a JsonPath expression to extract dynamically changing values from the alert.
You can use JsonPath to extract specific data from the alarm object sent to the Alarm Plugin, such as Repository Model data on the Integrations in the Monitor View. For example, this expression extracts the SLA value from the first Integration in the first Monitor View:
MonitorViews[0].Integrations[0].CustomFields[?(@.Name=='SLA')].CustomValues[0].Value
The complete alarm object to apply the JsonPath on, with more expressions, is on the Variables and JSON Path examples for Alerts page.