Learn about the properties that define and control alerts.
An alert’s type determines what causes it to fire.
| Type | Description | 
|---|---|
| State | A state alert fires when the metric on which it is based changes to a particular state. The possible states are running, pending, stopped, warning, error, and unknown. | 
| Threshold | A threshold alert fires when the metric on which it is based passes a preset level. | 
Alert severities control when an alert is issued. You can configure the states or threshold values for each alert.
| Severity | Description | 
|---|---|
| Normal | No alert is issued. | 
| Warning | A problem has given cause for concern. An alert is issued; you can subscribe to alerts that fire at the Warning level. | 
| Critical | A serious problem exists. An alert is issued; you can subscribe to alerts that fire at the Critical level. |