- 5 minutes to read

What is a User Notification?

Empower your organization to communicate proactively and manage maintenance windows with Nodinite User Notifications. This feature enables you to schedule, target, and display important messages to end users, including seamless Maintenance Mode management.

  • Schedule and manage notifications for all or targeted users
  • Promote critical messages on the Dashboard for maximum visibility
  • Enable Maintenance Mode to suppress alerts and streamline planned downtime
  • Target specific roles or all users with rich HTML content

Info

The User Notifications feature provides a convenient and consistent way to schedule and manage notifications, empowering you to improve communication with end users, including the critical Maintenance Mode feature.

Critical User Notification pinned at the top of the Dashboard
A Critical notification pinned on the Dashboard of the Nodinite Web Client.

Understanding User Notifications

An administrator creates a User Notification in Tools and gives it a publication window. Until the start date it is Upcoming, during the window it is Active and visible to its audience, and afterwards it is old and hidden from the list by default. A notification of type Maintenance also mutes alerts for its Monitor Views while it is active.

graph LR Admin["fa:fa-user-gear Administrator
Add User Notification"] --> Up["fa:fa-hourglass Upcoming
before the start date"] Up --> Act["fa:fa-bell Active
Dashboard and notifications area"] Act --> Old["fa:fa-box-archive Old
after the end date"] Act -->|"type Maintenance"| MM["fa:fa-bell-slash Alerts muted,
Auto Healing off"] Act -.->|"recurrence"| Up style Admin fill:#2678BD,color:#fff style Up fill:#FFD525,color:#000 style Act fill:#93d16d,color:#000 style Old fill:#3F827B,color:#fff style MM fill:#9E59BB,color:#fff

Yellow: upcoming. Green: active and shown to users. Teal: old, hidden by default. Purple: the extra effect of the Maintenance type. A Time Interval Configuration makes the window recur.

General Properties

The User Notification has the following properties:

Property Description
Title The Title is mandatory and is the short text that should catch the attention of the intended target audience.
Content The Content can be more extensive text that informs the user about the details of the notifications. The text area makes use of a WYSIWYG HTML editor, and you can provide rich text formatting, including images and more.
Type / Severity This property allows you to provide different classifications for the User Notification, such as OK or Critical, based on the severity of the message you want to convey.
Pin to the top of the screen or the Dashboard When checked, an Error or Critical notification is pinned at the top of every page, and any other type at the top of the Dashboard only; otherwise, it is only available in the notifications area (bell icon) in the top right corner.
Global (for all users) When checked, the User Notification is visible for all users, and you do not need to manage and limit the target audience (Roles).
Publication start date The start time for when the User Notification is visible (Active) for the target audience.
Publication end date The end time for when the User Notification is visible (Active) for the target audience.
Roles If the User Notification is not global, you can manage the list of individual Roles.
Recurrence An optional Time Interval Configuration that repeats the publication window.
Monitor Views All or selected Monitor Views, used by the Maintenance type.

Maintenance Mode

New 6.0
With Nodinite 6, the user notification includes a new option to mute Alerts in Monitor Views. During a maintenance window, the Monitoring Service synchronizes with the Monitoring Agents, but any alerts are blocked. The state of Monitoring Views, as the window opens, is compared to the state at the end of the window. If there is a reason to send an alert at the end time, the System will do so.

Type/severity drop-down with the Maintenance option selected
Choosing the Maintenance type turns the notification into a maintenance window.

  • The System suppresses Alerts during the maintenance window.
  • Remote Actions are operational as usual during a maintenance window.
  • The Resource state is always up to date, as the synchronization between the Monitoring Service and agents is not interrupted during the Maintenance Mode.
  • A User with Administrative privileges may prolong the maintenance window at will.
  • A User with Administrative privileges may end the maintenance window at will.
  • Included Monitor Views display information about the active Maintenance Mode.
  • The System automatically turns off the Auto Healing feature during the Maintenance Mode. New 6.1.0.72

Note

Don't confuse Maintenance Mode with the MaintenanceMode System Parameter. That parameter is a Web API flag that stops the Web API from loading plugins; it neither mutes alerts nor pauses services.

In the following image example, you can see some Monitor Views with an active maintenance window. You can see how long it will remain in the maintenance window.

Monitor Views list showing Monitor Views in an active maintenance window with the remaining time
Monitor Views in an active maintenance window show how long the window remains.

Next, expand the accordion to view additional details.

Expanded details of an active maintenance window for a Monitor View
The details name the User Notification behind the window.

To manage the maintenance window, click the Actions menu. You can perform the following actions:

Actions menu for an active maintenance window with edit, add an hour, remove, and end options
Administrators can prolong, shorten, or narrow the window without opening the editor.

  • Edit User Notification
  • Add an hour to the maintenance window. This option prolongs the window.
  • Remove the Monitor View from the list of Monitor Views as part of the maintenance window. This option is unavailable if the maintenance window is global, including all Monitor Views.
  • End the maintenance window. This option affects all Monitor Views part of the configuration.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I use Maintenance Mode?

Use Maintenance Mode when:

  • Performing planned system updates or deployments
  • Conducting infrastructure maintenance that may cause temporary service disruptions
  • Testing changes in production during controlled windows
  • Avoiding alert fatigue during known downtime periods

What happens to monitoring during Maintenance Mode?

The Monitoring Service continues to collect data and synchronize with agents. However:

  • Alerts are suppressed during the maintenance window
  • Auto Healing is automatically disabled
  • Remote Actions remain operational
  • Alert state is compared at the start and end of the window

Can I extend a maintenance window?

Yes! A User with Administrative privileges can prolong the maintenance window by one hour at a time or end it early using the Actions menu.

Next Steps

User Notifications

Monitoring & Alerts

Dashboard & Communication