Table of Contents

Customizing the layout of notification messages

By default, all notification messages have a standard, hard-coded layout. However, if necessary, you can design custom notification message templates and store them in a file called NotifyTemplates.xml.

Creating a NotifyTemplates.xml file

If you want to customize the layout of all or some of the notification messages sent by a particular DataMiner Agent, do the following:

  1. Create a file called NotifyTemplates.xml and store it in the folder C:\Skyline DataMiner\ of that DataMiner Agent.

  2. In the NotifyTemplates.xml file, create a <Template> tag inside the <NotifyTemplates> root tag for every type of notification message for which you do not want to use the default, hard-coded layout.

  3. Save the file and restart the DataMiner Agent.

Note
  • If you define any templates in this file, you must use the mandatory template names listed in Template names.
  • If you want to use special characters in this file, see Using special characters in NotifyTemplates.xml.
  • The NotifyTemplates.xml file is not synchronized across the DMS. In other words, every DMA can have its own NotifyTemplates.xml file.

Template names

When defining notification message templates in the NotifyTemplates.xml file, make sure each template has one of the following mandatory names.

  • [Format]-correlation-infoheader

    Template of the base Alarm section’s header in the notification message sent as a result of a triggered Correlation rule.

  • [Format]-correlation-infoitem

    Template of a base Alarm item in the base Alarm section of the notification message sent as a result of a triggered Correlation rule.

  • [Format]-correlation-infofooter

    Template of the base Alarm section’s footer in the notification message sent as a result of a triggered Correlation rule.

  • [Format]-notifications

    The notification message sent independently (not as a result of a Correlation rule).

Tip

For more information on how to configure a Correlation rule to send a notification message, see Sending an email

Template name prefixes indicating the message format

In the above-mentioned template names, [Format] must be replaced by one of the following words that indicate the format of the template:

Format Description
text Email message containing plain text.
html Email message containing HTML.
sms Cellphone text message.

Example: The template called “text-notifications” should contain the template for notification messages sent in plain-text emails.

Note

HTML templates will be inserted into the [contents] placeholder located in the <body> tag of the file C:\Skyline DataMiner\NotifyMail.html.

Using special characters in NotifyTemplates.xml

  1. Open NotifyTemplates.xml in a text editor that supports file encodings.

  2. Set encoding to UTF-8.

  3. At the top of the file, add the following XML processing instruction:

    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

  4. Enter all necessary text, which can now contain all kinds of special characters.

Example of a NotifyTemplates.xml file

The following example shows a NotifyTemplates.xml file in which two templates have been defined: one for plain-text notifications and another one for HTML notifications:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<NotifyTemplates>
  <Template name="text-notifications" options="">
    <Content>
        <![CDATA[
        Filter '[filtername]' has been triggered[if:multiple]
        ([occurrences] times for similar alarms)[endif] (Alarm Id ='[treeid]/[alarmid]')
        -Dataminer: [dmaname] (id = [dmaid])
        -Element: [elementname] (id='[elementkey]')
        [if:description] -Element Description: [elementdesc][endif]
        -Parameter: [paramname] (id='[paramid]')
        -Value: [value]
        -Owner: [owner]
        -Severity: [severity] ([severitylevel])
        -Source: [source]
        -State: [state]
        -Time: [time]
        -Type: [type]
        -UserStatus: [userstatus]
        -Comment: [comment]
        -TreeID: [treeid]
        More Info: http://[dmaip]/SystemDisplay.htm[if:element] and
        http://[dmaip]/ElementDisplay.htm?id=[dmaid]/[elementid][endif]
      ]]>
    </Content>
  </Template>
  <Template name="html-notifications" options="">
    <Content>
      <![CDATA[
      <p>Filter '[filtername]' has been triggered[if:multiple]
      ([occurrences] times for similar alarms)[endif],
      based on Alarm with Id = '[alarmid]' (TreeID: '[treeid]'):</p>
      <table class="notification_table">
      <tr class="header">
        <th>DataMiner</th>
        <th>Element</th>
        [if:description]<th>Element Description</th>[endif]
        <th>Parameter</th>
        <th>Value</th>
        <th>Owner</th>
        <th>Severity</th>
        <th>Source</th>
        <th>State</th>
        <th>Time</th>
        <th>Type</th>
        <th>UserStatus</th>
        <th>Comment</th>
      </tr>
      <tr class="alternate">
        <td>[dmaname]</td>
        <td>[elementname]</td>
        [if:description]<td>[elementdesc]</td>[endif]
        <td>[paramname]</td>
        <td>[value]</td>
        <td>[owner]</td>
        <td class="severity[severityid]">[severity] [severitylevel]</td>
        <td>[source]</td>
        <td>[state]</td>
        <td>[time]</td>
        <td>[type]</td>
        <td>[userstatus]</td>
        <td>[comment]</td>
      </tr>
      </table>
      <p>More Info: <a href="http://[dmaip]/SystemDisplay.htm">SystemDisplay</a>
      [if:element]
      and <a href="http://[dmaip]/ElementDisplay.htm?id=[dmaid]/[elementid]">
      ElementDisplay</a>
      [endif]
      </p>
      ]]>
    </Content>
  </Template>
</NotifyTemplates>
Note

In the example above, a number of placeholders are enclosed in square brackets. For more information, see Notification template placeholders.

Notification template placeholders

When defining a notification message template in the NotifyTemplates.xml file, you can use the following placeholders.

Some can only be used in templates for notification messages sent as a result of a triggered Correlation rule, while others can only be used in templates for notification messages that are sent independently (not as a result of a triggered Correlation rule). See the Correlation and Notifications columns.

Name Description Correlation Notifications
alarmid The alarm ID (single integer for the event only). X X
alarmvalue Legacy Correlation message placeholder [AlarmValue]. X
(Most recent base alarm)		 X
alternate:xxx Every second time this placeholder is used, the string "xxx" will appear in the notification message. X X
comment Alarm comment. X
creationtime Alarm creation time. X
dmaid DMA ID of the DMA where the element was created. X X
dmaip IP address of DMA where the element was created. X
dmaname Name of DMA where the element was created. X
element Legacy Correlation message placeholder [Element]. X
(Most recent base alarm)		 X
elementdesc Element description. X X
elementid Element ID. X X
elementkey DmaID/ElementID. X X
elementname Element name. X X
elementtype Element type. X
endif Closing tag of an IF clause. X X
filtername The notification message filter. X
if:description Opening tag of the IF clause that will check the existence of an element description.
The contents of the IF clause will only appear in the notification message when an element description exists.		 X
if:element Opening tag of the IF clause that will check the existence of any element-level information.
The contents of the IF clause will only appear in the notification message when element-level information exists.		 X
if:multiple Opening tag of the IF clause that will check the existence of multiple occurrences of the same item.
The contents of the IF clause will only appear in the notification message when there are multiple occurrences of the same item.		 X
info Legacy Correlation message placeholder [Info].
This placeholder will be replaced by the three "Correlation message" templates (either the default, hard-coded ones, or the customized ones defined in the file NotifyTemplates.xml). See Template names.		 X
link Legacy Correlation message placeholder [Link].
(Deprecated.)		 X
(Most recent base alarm)
occurrences If there are multiple occurrences of the same item, this placeholder will contain the number of occurrences.
See also: [if:multiple].		 X
owner The owner of the alarm. X X
parameter Legacy Correlation message placeholder [Parameter].
The name of the parameter (in case of Correlation: the name of the parameter in the most recent base alarm).		 X
(Most recent base alarm)		 X
paramid Parameter ID. X X
paramidx Row index of dynamic table. X X
paramname The parameter name. X X
pollingip Polling IP address of the element. X
prevkey ID of the previous alarm in the alarm tree. X X
property:xxx The value of the property named "xxx".
"xxx" must be e.g. Element.MyProperty, Service.MyProperty or Alarm.MyProperty (the property name itself is case insensitive).		 X X
rca:element Element RCA level. X X
rca:parameter Parameter RCA level. X X
rca:service Service RCA level. X X
rootkey Root key of the alarm. Obsolete from DataMiner 10.4.12/10.5.0 [CU0] onwards. Use treeid instead. X X
rootcreationtime Root creation time of the alarm. X
roottime Root time of the alarm. X
ruleState Legacy Correlation message placeholder [RuleState].
Possible values: up, down.		 X
serviceimpact Number of affected services. X X
serviceimpact:text Names of the affected services. X
severity Legacy Correlation message placeholder [Severity].
Examples: Critical, Major, Normal, Timeout.		 X
(Most recent base alarm)		 X
severityid Severity ID. X X
severitylevel Severity level.
Examples: High, Low, Normal.		 X X
severitytext Severity + severity level.
Examples: Critical High, Major Low.
Note: If level is "Normal", it will be omitted. E.g. "Warning Normal" will be "Warning".		 X X
source Examples: DataMiner System, Correlation Engine, External. X X
sourceid Source ID. X X
state Alarm state.
Examples: Open, Mask, Cleared, Clearable.		 X X
stateid Alarm state ID. X X
time Timestamp. X X
time:short Shortened timestamp used in cellphone text messages (time only, no date). X X
treeid TreeID of the alarm. Available from DataMiner 10.4.12/10.5.0 [CU0] onwards. X X
type Alarm type
Examples: New Alarm, Escalated From, Dropped From.		 X X
typeid Alarm type ID. X X
userstatus User status
Examples: Not Assigned, Acknowledged, Unresolved.		 X X
userstatusid User status ID. X X
value Alarm value. X X
value:short Shortened alarm value used in cellphone text messages (max 50 characters). X X
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