Express Connect integrates with CloudMonitor to let you track the real-time status of virtual border routers (VBRs) and configure alert rules. When an alert is triggered, CloudMonitor sends a notification so you can identify and resolve connectivity issues promptly.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, ensure that you have:
A VBR. See Create and manage a VBR
An alert contact or alert contact group (required before configuring alert rules). See Create an alert contact or alert contact group
View the VBR status
Log on to the Express Connect console.
In the top navigation bar, select the region.
On the Virtual Border Routers (VBRs) page, check the VBR status column.
A VBR status is only available after the VBR is associated with an Express Connect circuit.
The status column shows one of the following values:
Unavailable: The VBR is available.
Available: The VBR is unavailable.
-: The VBR status is unknown.
View monitoring data of a VBR
Log on to the Express Connect console.
In the top navigation bar, select a region. In the left-side navigation pane, click Virtual Border Routers (VBRs).
On the Virtual Border Routers (VBRs) page, find the VBR and click the monitor icon in the Monitor column.
The dashboard shows monitoring data for the last hour by default. Select 1 hour, 3 hours, 6 hours, or 12 hours, or specify a custom time range.
Configure an alert rule for a VBR
When an alert rule is triggered, CloudMonitor sends a notification so you can respond to VBR errors quickly.
Log on to the Express Connect console.
In the top navigation bar, select a region. In the left-side navigation pane, click Virtual Border Routers (VBRs).
On the Virtual Border Routers (VBRs) page, find the VBR and click the monitor icon in the Monitor column.
Click Set Alert Threshold in the upper-right corner of the Monitor panel.
On the Alert Rules page, click Create Alert Rule.
In the Create Alert Rule panel, configure the following parameters and click OK.
The table below describes the key parameters. For other parameters, see Create an alert rule.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Product | The resource type to monitor. Select Express Connect - VBR. |
| Resource Range | The scope of resources the alert rule applies to: <br>- All Resources: triggers an alert when any VBR under the current Alibaba Cloud account meets the condition. <br>- Application Group: triggers an alert when a VBR in the selected application group meets the condition. Select the group from the Associated Resources drop-down list. <br>- Instance: triggers an alert only for the selected VBR. Select the region and VBR ID from the Associated Resources drop-down list. |
| Rule Description | The condition that triggers the alert. Click Add Rule, then in the Configure Rule Description panel, enter a rule name in the Alert Rule field and set the Metric Type: <br>- Simple Metric: select a metric and set the threshold and alert level. <br>- Combined Metrics: select an alert level and specify conditions for two or more metrics in the Multi-metric Alert Condition section. The resource must have data for each metric — if a metric has no data (for example, Internet metrics on an ECS instance without an elastic IP address (EIP)), the alert cannot be triggered. <br>- Expression: select an alert level and configure an alert expression. For details, see Alert rule expressions. <br>- Dynamic Threshold: configure threshold-based alerts. This feature is in invitational preview — submit a ticket to enable it. For details, see Overview and Create dynamic threshold-triggered alert rules. |
VBR monitoring metrics
The following tables list the metrics available for VBR monitoring, grouped by type.
Traffic metrics
| Metric | Description | MetricName | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| BytesInFromIDCToVpc | Total data transmitted from the data center to the virtual private cloud (VPC). Unit: bytes. | BytesInFromIDCToVpc | Value |
| BytesOutFromVpcToIDC | Total data transmitted from the VPC to the data center. Unit: bytes. | BytesOutFromVpcToIDC | Value |
| RateInFromIDCToVpc | Data transfer rate from the data center to the VPC. Unit: bit/s. | RateInFromIDCToVpc | Value |
| RateOutFromVpcToIDC | Data transfer rate from the VPC to the data center. Unit: bit/s. | RateOutFromVpcToIDC | Value |
| PkgsInFromIDCToVpc | Number of packets sent from the data center to the VPC. Unit: packets. | PkgsInFromIDCToVpc | Value |
| PkgsOutFromVpcToIDC | Number of packets sent from the VPC to the data center. Unit: packets. | PkgsOutFromVpcToIDC | Value |
Dropped packet metrics
| Metric | Description | MetricName | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| PkgsDropInFromIDCToVpc | Number of dropped packets when packets are sent from the data center to the VPC. Unit: packets. | PkgsDropInFromIDCToVpc | Value |
| PkgsDropOutFromVpcToIDC | Number of dropped packets when packets are sent from the VPC to the data center. Unit: packets. | PkgsDropOutFromVpcToIDC | Value |
| PkgsRateLimitDropOutFromVpcToVbr | Number of packets dropped due to throttling when packets are sent from the VPC to the VBR. Unit: packets. | PkgsRateLimitDropOutFromVpcToVbr | Value |
Health check metrics
| Metric | Description | MetricName | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| VbrHealthyCheckLatency | Network latency measured by health checks between the Express Connect circuit and the VBR. Unit: microseconds. When the circuit is down, latency is 0; when the circuit is up, latency is greater than 0. | VbrHealthyCheckLatency | Value |
| VbrHealthyCheckLossRate | Packet loss rate measured by health checks between the Express Connect circuit and the VBR. When the circuit is down, packet loss is 100%; when the circuit is up, packet loss is 0. | VbrHealthyCheckLossRate | Value |