Express Connect:Monitoring and alerting for connections over Express Connect circuits

Prerequisites

• A connection over an Express Connect circuit is established. For more information, see Create and manage a dedicated connection over an Express Connect circuit or Overview of hosted connections.
• An alert contact or an alert contact group is created before you configure an alert rule. For more information, see Create an alert contact or alert contact group.

View the status of connections over Express Connect circuits

You can view the status of connections over Express Connect circuits updated in real time. This helps you detect connectivity errors at the earliest opportunity.

1. Log on to the Express Connect console.
2. In the top navigation bar, select a region.
3. On the Physical Connection page, view the status of a connection over an Express Connect circuit in the Connection Status column.
   Important The Connection Status column displays the actual status of a connection over an Express Connect circuit only after the Express Connect circuit is installed and paid. Otherwise, the Connection Status column displays Down.

   • UP: The connection is active.
   • Down: The Express Connect circuit is not paid or is down.

Configure alert rules

After you configure alert rules, the system sends alert notifications based on the configured alert rules when the Express Connect circuit is down. This helps you detect connectivity errors at the earliest opportunity to prevent service interruptions.

1. Log on to the Express Connect console.
2. In the top navigation bar, select a region.
3. On the Physical Connection page, find the ID of the connection over the Express Connect circuit and click Set Alert Threshold in the Connection Status column.
4. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Alerts > Alert Rules.
5. On the Alert Rules page, click Create Alert Rule.
6. On the Create Alert Rule page, set the following parameters and click OK.

   Parameter	Description
   Product	The name of the Alibaba Cloud service that can be monitored by CloudMonitor. Express Connect - Physical Connections is selected in this example.
   Resource Range	The range of the resources to which the alert rule is applied. Valid values: All Resources: The alert rule applies to all resources of the specified cloud service. Application Groups: The alert rule applies to all resources in the specified application group of the specified cloud service. Instances: The alert rule applies to the specified resources of the specified cloud service.
   Rule Description	The description of the alert rule. If a metric meets the specified condition, an alert is triggered. To specify the rule description, perform the following operations: Click Add Rule. In the Add Rule Description panel, set the following parameters and click OK: Alert Rule: Enter a name for the alert rule. Metric Type: Select a metric type. If you select Single Metric, set the following parameters: Metric: In this example, PhysicalConnectionStatus is selected. Threshold and Alert Level: Configure the threshold that an alert level corresponds to based on your business requirements. If you select Multiple Metrics, set the following parameters: Alert Level: Select an alert level. The notification method varies based on the alert level. Metric Type: Select Standard creation and complete the relevant configurations. Select Expression creation and complete the relevant configurations. Select the number of times the threshold is reached before an alert is triggered: Set this parameter based on your business requirements. If you select Dynamic Threshold, set the following parameters: Metric: Select a metric. Threshold and Alert Level: Configure the threshold that an alert level corresponds to based on your business requirements. Alert sensitivity: Select a sensitivity level. Historical data used by default (days): Select a time period during which the monitoring data is used.
   Mute For	The interval at which CloudMonitor sends alert notifications until the alert that is triggered based on the alert rule is cleared. Valid values: 5 Minutes, 15 Minutes, 30 Minutes, 60 Minutes, 3 Hours, 6 Hours, 12 Hours, and 24 Hours. If the value of a metric reaches the alert threshold, CloudMonitor sends an alert notification. If the alert is triggered again within the mute period, CloudMonitor does not resend an alert notification. If the alert is not cleared after the mute period ends, CloudMonitor resends an alert notification. Note You can click Advanced Settings to set this parameter.
   Effective Period	The period during which the alert rule is effective. CloudMonitor monitors the specified resources and generates alerts only during this period. Note You can click Advanced Settings to set this parameter.
   Alert Contact Group	The alert contact groups to which alert notifications are sent. The alert notifications of the application group are sent to the alert contacts that belong to the selected alert contact groups. An alert contact group can contain one or more alert contacts. For more information about how to create an alert contact and an alert contact group, see Create an alert contact or alert contact group.
   Alert Callback	The callback URL that can be accessed over the Internet. CloudMonitor sends POST requests to push alert notifications to the specified callback URL. Only HTTP requests are supported. For more information about how to configure alert callbacks, see Use the alert callback feature to send notifications about threshold-triggered alerts.
   Auto Scaling	If you turn on Auto Scaling, the specified scaling rule is enabled when an alert is triggered. In this case, you must configure the Region, ESS Group, and ESS Rule parameters. For more information about how to create a scaling group, see Manage scaling groups. For more information about how to create a scaling rule, see Manage scaling rules.
   Log Service	If you turn on Log Service, the alert information is written to the specified Logstore in Log Service when an alert is triggered. You must set the Region, ProjectName, and Logstore parameters. For more information about how to create a project and a Logstore, see Getting Started.
   Message Service - topic	If you turn on Message Service - topic, the alert information is written to the specified topic in Message Service (MNS) when an alert is triggered. In this case, you must configure the Region and topicName parameters. For more information about how to create a topic, see Create a topic.
   Method to handle alerts when no monitoring data is found	The method that is used to handle alerts when no monitoring data is found. Valid values: Do not do anything (This is the default value.) Send alert notifications Treated as normal
   Tag	Set a tag name and a tag value. Click the icon to add a tag. Click the icon to delete a tag.

View monitoring data of a connection over an Express Connect circuit

You can analyze the monitoring data of the connection collected within a specified time range.

1. Log on to the CloudMonitor console.
2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Cloud Service Monitoring. On the page that appears, enter Express Connect - Physical Connections in the search box. Then, find and click Express Connect - Physical Connections.
3. On the Express Connect - Physical Connections page, select a region in the top navigation bar. Then, click the Express Connect - Physical Connections tab, find the ID of the connection over the Express Connect circuit, and then click Monitoring Charts in the Actions column.

   By default, the system displays monitoring data collected within the last hour. You can select 1 Hour, 3 Hours, 6 Hours, 12 Hours, 1 Day, 3 Days, 7 Days, or 14 Days, or specify a custom time range above the monitoring chart.

   • If the status of the connection over the Express Connect circuit displays 1, it indicates that the Connection Status column displays UP and the connection is active.
   • If the status of the connection over the Express Connect circuit displays 0, it indicates that the Connection Status column displays Down and the Express Connect circuit is not paid or is down.