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Alert definitions are configuration rules that determine when alerts are triggered and how notifications are handled. When creating an alert definition, you specify the alert integrations that should be used. Multiple alert definitions can use the same alert integration.

Limitations and considerations

Keep the following things in mind:

• The maximum number of alert definitions that can exist at any one time per customer is 100. Contact support to discuss raising this limit.
• For observability metrics alerts, by default you can add alerts for Historic Stats. To add alerts for Origin Inspector and Domain Inspector metrics, you must purchase an Observability package.
• Permissions to create and update observability metrics alert definitions are available to superusers and engineers.
• Permissions to create and update audit log alert definitions are restricted to superusers only.

Accessing alert definitions

To view a list of your alert definitions, follow these steps:

1. Log in to the Fastly control panel.
2. Go to Observability > Alerts > Definitions. The Alert definitions page appears.

Creating alert definitions

You can create observability metrics, alert definitions, and audit log alert definitions. The creation process for each starts from the Alert definitions page. Audit log alerts can also be created from the Audit log page.

Observability metrics alert definitions

To create an observability metrics alert definition, start by picking the appropriate alert type and specifying the initial details:

1. Log in to the Fastly control panel.
2. Go to Observability > Alerts > Definitions.
3. Click Add alert definition.
4. In the Alert type area, select Observability metrics.
5. Fill out the Details area as follows:
   • In the Name field, enter a name for the alert.
   • In the Description field, enter a description of what the alert tracks.
6. From the Scope controls, select the scope of the alert:
   • Choose All services (aggregated) to monitor all your services.
   • Choose Single service to monitor a specific service.

If you selected Single service, choose its data source:

1. From the Service menu, select a specific service.
2. From the Data source menu, select a data pipeline.
   • Choose Historic Stats to select historical stats to monitor.
   • Choose Origin Inspector to select one or more origins to monitor.
   • Choose Domain Inspector to select one or more domains to monitor.

After selecting all services or a single service to alert on, select the metric to monitor and the alert type for when that metric is observed:

1. From the Metric menu, select the metric to monitor.
2. From the Alert type controls, select Threshold to trigger the alert when the metric is above or below a threshold value, or Percentage change to trigger the alert when the metric increases by, decreases by, or increases or decreases by a percentage.
3. If you selected Threshold for the alert type, fill out the following fields:
   • From the Evaluation type menu, select whether the alert should be triggered when the metric is above or below the threshold.
   • In the Threshold field, enter the number that the metric must be above or below for the alert to trigger. You can also click and drag the threshold line on the graph to set this field.
   • From the Evaluation period menu, select the number of minutes during which the observed metric is evaluated every minute to determine if the conditions have been met.
4. If you selected Percentage change for the alert type, fill out the following fields:
   • From the Evaluation type menu, select whether the alert should be triggered when the metric increases by, decreases by, or increases or decreases by a percentage.
   • In the Percent field, enter the percent that the metric must change for the alert to trigger.
   • From the Comparison period menu, select the period during which the observed percentage is evaluated. The first and last minute of the period will be used to calculate the percentage.
   • Optionally, from the Excluded values menu, select the values that should be disregarded and not used to trigger the alert.

Finally, select the integration that should receive the alert you've defined:

1. In the Notifications area, from the Integrations menu, select one or more integrations to receive alert notifications. If you haven't created an integration yet, click create an integration to set one up.
2. Click Save Alert.

The alert appears on the Alert definitions page and begins evaluating immediately.

Audit log alert definitions

To create an audit log alert definition, follow these steps:

1. Log in to the Fastly control panel.
2. Go to Observability > Alerts > Definitions.
3. Click Add alert definition.
4. In the Alert type area, select Audit log activity.
5. Fill out the Details area as follows:
   • In the Name field, enter a name for the alert.
   • In the Description field, enter a description of what the alert tracks.
6. From the Audit log activity type menu, select the activity type to monitor. Options include Account, Next-Gen WAF, CDN, and Compute.
7. From the Event types menu, select one or more event types to monitor.
8. Depending on which audit log activity type you selected additional controls may appear. Do one of the following:
   • For CDN, select Any CDN service to alert when an event occurs on any CDN service, or Specific CDN services to alert only when an event occurs on selected services. If you select Specific CDN services, from the CDN services menu, select one or more services.
   • For Compute, select Any Compute service to alert when an event occurs on any Compute service, or Specific Compute services to alert only when an event occurs on selected services. If you select Specific Compute services, from the Compute services menu, select one or more services.
   • For Next-Gen WAF, select Any workspace to alert when an event occurs on any workspace, or Specific workspaces to alert only when an event occurs on selected workspaces. If you select Specific workspaces, from the Workspaces menu, select one or more workspaces.
9. In the Notifications area, from the Integrations menu, select one or more integrations to receive alert notifications. If you haven't created an integration yet, click create an integration to set one up.
10. Click Create audit log alert. The alert appears on the Alert definitions page and begins evaluating immediately.

Editing alert definitions

You can edit observability metrics, alert definitions, and audit log alert definitions from the Alert definitions page.

Editing observability metrics alert definitions

To edit an observability metrics alert definition, follow these steps:

1. Log in to the Fastly control panel.
2. Go to Observability > Alerts > Definitions.
3. Click the pencil to the right of the alert definition that you want to edit.
4. Update the alert definition fields. For field descriptions, check out Observability metrics alert definitions above.
5. Click Save Alert. The updated alert definition appears on the Alert definitions page.

You can also edit an observability metrics alert definition from the alert details page. On the Alerts Overview page, click a firing or resolved alert to open its details page, then click Edit alert definition.

Editing audit log alert definitions

To edit an audit log alert definition, follow these steps:

1. Log in to the Fastly control panel.
2. Go to Observability > Alerts > Definitions.
3. Click the pencil to the right of the alert definition that you want to edit.
4. Update the alert definition fields. For field descriptions, check out Audit log alert definitions above.
5. Click Save Alert. The updated alert definition appears on the Alert definitions page.

Deleting alert definitions

From the Alert definitions page, you can delete alert definitions by clicking the trash to the right of the alert definition that you want to delete. The alert definition is removed from the Alert definitions page.