Investigate an alert that involves a change to config data

A high percentage of alerts occur due to errors in config data. If the chain of events that resulted in an alert includes a change request that involves the same CI as the alert, then you can use a variety of tools to isolate the config changes that might have caused the alert.

Before you begin

Important:

Starting with the Washington D.C. release, DevOps Config is being prepared for future deprecation. It will be hidden and no longer activated on new instances but will continue to be supported.

Roles required: Both cdm_viewer and evt_mgmt_user.

About this task

You work in the Config changes tab while investigating the causes of an alert. The tab includes several tools that enable you to visualize the series of config changes that might have led to the alert. You can filter, sort, and organize config data to help you identify problematic changes to the configuration data item key:value pairs (CDIs).

Procedure

1. Use either of the following methods to view an alert:
   • On the home page () of the Service operations workspace, select an alert.
   • On the list page () of the Service operations workspace, navigate to Alerts and then select an alert.
   The top five most likely causes of the alert are listed in the Cause section on the Overview tab. If the chain of events that resulted in the alert includes a change request that involves the same CI as the alert, then that CHG record appears in the list.

   

2. On the Changes tab, select a change request.
   The change request opens. If the change request involved a change to config data because a CDM snapshot was deployed, then the Config changes tab appears.
3. On the Config changes tab, work with the information in the Investigate configuration changes section.

   

   Table 1. Investigate configuration changes section on the Config changes tab

   Field	Description
   Application	The CDM application that is affected by the alert.
   Deployable	The CDM deployable whose snapshot was deployed.
   Snapshot	The CDM snapshot that was deployed. To open the snapshot on a new tab in the Service Operations Workspace, select the snapshot.
   Snapshot deployment timeline
   Date range / Start date / End date	The time period that the timeline displays. By default, the timeline displays the period that includes the alert, the target snapshot (the snapshot that is associated with the change request), and the five most recently deployed snapshots. Specify a predefined period in the Date range box or use the calendar tools to specify custom start and end times.
   Timeline / Show legend	The timeline displays snapshot deployments and the alert. Select Show legend to view the icons that identify snapshots and events on the timeline. In addition to the snapshot that immediately precedes the current (target) snapshot, you can compare the target snapshot to any earlier snapshot that appears on the timeline. To view additional snapshots, change the date range. Use the zoom icons () to shrink or grow the portion of the date range that appears on the timeline. Zoom does not change any of the other timeline settings. Use the left and right arrows to view items that have scrolled out of view. Select a snapshot to view its name, associated change record, and deployment date. Select the link to open the associated change request. Select an alert to view its alert ID and creation date.
   Reference snapshot / Target snapshot	The target snapshot is the snapshot that is associated with the change request. (The alert can be associated with multiple change requests, each of which is associated with a target snapshot). Most often, the target snapshot immediately precedes the alert. By default, the system selects the snapshot that immediately preceded the target snapshot as the reference snapshot. While investigating the cause of the alert, you can use the Reference snapshot list to select any snapshot that precedes the reference snapshot in the selected date range on the timeline. (Snapshots on the timeline after the target snapshot do not appear in the list.) If you select a different reference snapshot, select Compare to generate the list of differences between the two selected snapshots. The difference information appears in the Configuration changes section. For any snapshot on the timeline, follow these steps to open it in the Service Operations workspace. Choose the target snapshot or select a snapshot in the Reference snapshot list. Select Open snapshot.

4. Now work with the information in the Configuration changes section on the Config changes tab.

   When the Config changes tab opens, the system immediately identifies the differences in the CDIs between the reference snapshot and the target snapshot. The Configuration changes section displays the differences.

   The letters in the following illustration identify the tools you can use to analyze the data.

   

   A. Navigation panel

   The navigation panel displays the node structure of the snapshot. Select a node to view its contents in the data panel. Nodes that include changed CDIs (either directly or in descendent nodes) are annotated with added, deleted, or edited, as appropriate. Use the Search field to search for text in the navigation panel.

   B: Data panel

   The data panel displays groups of CDIs for the selected node. By default, the root node is selected in the node tree, and the list includes all CDIs for both snapshots. Select a node in the navigation panel to display CDIs for only that node and its descendents. You can switch from this list view of the config data to a script view, as described in G: Script view.

   Expand and close groupings with the expand icon (). If a selection includes more than 50 CDIs, then CDIs are organized into groups of 50.

   C: Diff only

   Select Diff only to view only CDIs that differ between the two snapshots.

   D: Filter the types of changes that should appear in the list

   The condition builder icon () appears when you point to the Actions column name in the list view. Select the icon to specify the types of config data changes that should appear in the list.

   Table 2. "Types of changes" filters

   Filter	Meaning
   (empty)	[Not used.]
   --	No difference in this CDI between the reference and target snapshots.
   Added	The CDI was added to the target snapshot.
   Deleted	The CDI was deleted from the target snapshot.
   Changed	The value of the CDI was changed in the target snapshot.

   E: Filter the list based on CDI names and values

   The condition builder icon () appears when you point to the Key label column in the list view. Select the icon to filter the list of config data changes that should appear in the list.

   The sort indicator icon () indicates that CDIs are sorted alphabetically by the label of the key.

   

   F: Find nodes with a particular kind of change

   In the list view, select the find icon () and specify the type of change to isolate.

   

   G: Script view

   • The data initially appears in list form. Select Script view to view the config data as code.
   • Differences are indicated by symbols next to the line number.
     • Deletions are indicated by -
     • Additions are indicated by +
     • Edits are indicated by the pencil icon () plus notes in the in-line text, as shown in this "Diff only" example.
   • Conversions from text to array: In the example, because the data structure of the googleApiKey CDI changed from a text value to an array, the text form is deleted and the array form is added.