5.6 Defining an Incidents Objective

An incident occurs when an elements condition remains greater than or equal to the threshold condition. By default the threshold is Critical.

The Incident objective specifies the maximum number of incidents and their duration that are allowed for the objective to still be compliant within the selected objective interval of time.

For example: In Peak times, allow a maximum of 10 incidents, each lasting no more than 60 seconds within a 2 hour interval that is aligned and a threshold condition of Major.

Figure 5-3 Incidents Objective with Default Options

To define an Incident objective, set the following:

  1. Time Category: Select a time category during which data is analyzed to determine if an incident occurs. The time category is associated with the calendar for the SLA for which the objective applies.

    Threshold Number: Set the number of incidents allowed before the objective is out of compliance.

    Time for Compliance: For an incident to be counted as part of the objective, it must last a specified amount of time; in other words, the element must be at the specified condition for equal to or greater than the specified amount of time. The default is 15 seconds. You can change this time, which is set as a whole number of seconds, minutes, or hours.

    This option allows discounting minor and occasional blips in performance and target True performance issues.

    Time Interval: The interval in which to calculate incidents. For more information, see Section 5.4, Understanding Time Intervals.

    Threshold Condition: The element must be at the condition or greater than the condition specified as the threshold for an incident to occur.

    Violation Condition: When the objective is out of compliance, the condition of the objective is Critical. You can change this condition. However, changing this condition has absolutely no impact on the state of the objective at any other time (for example, when it is halfway to the failure state). The state of a failed objective has absolutely no impact on the state of the SLA, which is determined by health scores of objective and not state of objectives.

    When an objective is halfway to failure, the state of the objective always defaults to Major. For example, if 6 incidents are allowed, when the 3 incident occurs, the objective state changes to Major.

    Activation and Deactivation Dates: (Optional) Indicates when the objective starts and ends. For more information, see Understanding Activation and Deactivation Dates.