Subscriptions & Alerts

Proactive Monitoring with Subscriptions

Dashboards and logs are reactive — you see problems when you look. Subscriptions make VergeOS monitoring proactive by delivering email notifications when conditions change or on a regular schedule. Every VergeOS environment should have a core set of subscriptions configured from day one so that administrators learn about issues before end users do.

Subscriptions require a working SMTP configuration (covered later on this page). Once SMTP is in place, any dashboard, tier, network, VM, tenant, or other VergeOS object can have one or more subscriptions attached to it.

Subscription Types

VergeOS provides two complementary subscription types. An effectively monitored environment uses both types together — on-demand subscriptions for immediate issue awareness, and scheduled subscriptions for trend tracking and daily oversight.

On-Demand Subscriptions

On-demand subscriptions are event-driven or threshold-triggered alerts. They fire as soon as a condition is met, ensuring administrators are notified of potential issues in near real-time.

Common triggers for on-demand subscriptions include:

Trigger Category	Example
Storage threshold	vSAN tier reaches a specified percentage of capacity used
Update available	New VergeOS update packages are ready to install
Errors / Warnings	Any error or warning event is logged on a monitored object
Status changes	A node goes offline, a VM stops unexpectedly, a network faults

On-demand subscriptions are the first line of defense — they tell you something needs attention right now.

Scheduled Subscriptions

Scheduled subscriptions deliver dashboard or listing information at configured time intervals. They are designed to provide regular summaries of system health and assist administrators with everyday supervision and trend tracking.

Examples of scheduled subscriptions:

• System dashboard sent daily at 7:00 AM — gives the team a morning health snapshot
• vSAN tier dashboard sent weekly — tracks capacity growth trends over time
• VM listing sent weekly — reviews running workload inventory
• Tenant dashboard sent daily — monitors tenant resource consumption

Efficient Monitoring

A well-monitored VergeOS environment will have multiple on-demand and scheduled subscriptions configured. On-demand subscriptions catch acute events; scheduled subscriptions reveal slow-moving trends like gradual capacity consumption.

Creating a Subscription

Subscriptions are managed from System > Subscriptions in the VergeOS UI. The creation workflow walks you through the following fields:

Step-by-Step Configuration

1. Navigate to System > Subscriptions from the Cloud Dashboard
2. Select New from the left menu
3. Configure the subscription fields:

Field	Description
Owner Type	User (individual recipient) or Group (team of recipients)
Owner	Select the specific user or group from the dropdown
Target Type	The category of VergeOS object to monitor (e.g., Cluster, vSAN Tier, Network, VM, Tenant, System)
Target	The specific instance of that object type (e.g., “Tier 1 - SSD”, “Production Network”, “Node 1”)
Type	On-Demand (triggered) or Scheduled (timed)

On-Demand Settings

When the subscription type is set to On-Demand, additional fields appear:

Field	Description
Trigger	The condition that fires the alert (threshold, error, warning, status change)
Throttle	Minimum time between repeated alerts for the same condition — prevents inbox flooding
Reminder Interval	How often to re-send the alert while the condition persists (e.g., every 4 hours)

The throttle setting is critical for noisy environments. Without it, a flapping condition (e.g., a temperature sensor oscillating around a threshold) could generate hundreds of emails. Set the throttle to a reasonable interval — 15 to 60 minutes is typical for most alerts.

The reminder interval ensures that a persistent problem is not forgotten. If a vSAN tier is at 90% capacity and no one acts on the initial alert, the reminder will re-notify at the configured interval until the condition clears.

Scheduled Settings

When the subscription type is set to Scheduled, you configure the delivery timing:

Field	Description
Frequency	How often the report is sent (e.g., daily, weekly)
Time	The time of day the report is generated and delivered
Day	For weekly schedules, which day of the week

Subscription Profiles and Targeting

One of the most powerful aspects of VergeOS subscriptions is their flexibility in targeting. You can create subscriptions against virtually any object in the system:

System-Level

Monitor the overall system dashboard, cluster health, or update availability across the entire environment.

Storage-Level

Track individual vSAN tiers for capacity thresholds, drive errors, or degraded redundancy states.

Network-Level

Alert on network faults, connectivity changes, or traffic anomalies on specific internal or external networks.

Workload-Level

Monitor individual VMs or tenant environments for status changes, resource exhaustion, or error events.

This granular targeting means you can build a subscription strategy that matches your operational model — broad system-level alerts for the infrastructure team, and specific VM or tenant alerts for application owners or MSP customers.

Common Alert Configurations

The following subscription configurations represent best practices for most VergeOS deployments. Consider these as a starting template and customize based on your environment.

Storage Capacity Alerts

Setting	Value
Target Type	vSAN Tier
Target	Each tier individually (Tier 1, Tier 2, etc.)
Type	On-Demand
Trigger	Storage % used threshold (e.g., 80%, 90%)
Throttle	60 minutes
Reminder	4 hours

Create separate subscriptions at multiple thresholds (80% warning, 90% critical) to provide escalating urgency.

Node Offline Detection

Setting	Value
Target Type	Node
Target	Each node individually
Type	On-Demand
Trigger	Status change (Running to Offline)
Throttle	15 minutes
Reminder	1 hour

vSAN Degraded State

Setting	Value
Target Type	vSAN Tier
Target	Each tier individually
Type	On-Demand
Trigger	Error / Warning status
Throttle	30 minutes
Reminder	2 hours

Update Availability

Setting	Value
Target Type	System
Type	On-Demand
Trigger	Update packages available
Throttle	24 hours
Reminder	7 days

Daily System Health Report

Setting	Value
Target Type	System Dashboard
Type	Scheduled
Frequency	Daily
Time	7:00 AM

SMTP Configuration Prerequisite

Subscriptions rely entirely on email delivery. Before any subscription can send notifications, SMTP must be configured at System > SMTP in the VergeOS UI.

VergeOS provides a built-in mail server that can either send email directly or route through an SMTP relay service.

SMTP Settings

Navigate to System > SMTP > Edit Settings and configure the following:

Setting	Description
Use TLS	Enable/disable TLS encryption — always enable when supported by the relay or receiving server
Hostname	FQDN of the sending server — must resolve in DNS with proper SPF, DMARC, and reverse DNS
From Name	Display name that appears in email messages (e.g., “VergeOS Alerts”)
From Address	Source email address for all subscription emails
Relay Host	Address of an external SMTP relay server (leave blank for direct sending)
Relay Port	TCP port for the relay — 25 (unencrypted), 587 (TLS/STARTTLS), or 465 (legacy SSL)
Relay User	Username for relay authentication (if required)
Relay Password	Password for relay authentication (if required)

Direct Send vs. Relay

Approach	Pros	Cons
Direct Send	No external dependencies, immediate delivery	Requires proper DNS/SPF/DMARC/rDNS, may be spam-filtered
SMTP Relay	Better deliverability, simpler DNS requirements	Depends on external service, may have rate limits

Practical Recommendation

Many customers opt for a commercial SMTP relay service (e.g., SendGrid, Amazon SES, or an internal Exchange relay) because it simplifies DNS configuration, improves deliverability, and avoids spam filtering issues. The relay provider will supply the correct host, port, and credentials for your SMTP configuration.

DNS and Deliverability Requirements

When using direct send (no relay), the following DNS records must be properly configured to avoid email being rejected or marked as spam:

• SPF record — Authorizes the VergeOS server IP to send email for the configured domain
• DMARC record — Defines the domain’s email authentication policy
• Reverse DNS (PTR) — The sending IP must have a PTR record that matches the configured hostname
• MX record — While not required for sending, proper MX configuration helps establish domain legitimacy

SMTP Dashboard and Monitoring

The SMTP Dashboard (System > SMTP) provides operational visibility into email delivery:

• Mail Queue — View pending messages, retry status, and delivery failures
• Mail Log — Audit trail of all sent messages with timestamps and delivery status
• Test Email — Send a test message to verify configuration before relying on it for production alerts

Always send a test email after configuring SMTP and before creating subscriptions. This validates end-to-end delivery including DNS resolution, TLS negotiation, relay authentication, and inbox placement.

Subscription Management

Viewing and Editing Subscriptions

All configured subscriptions are listed at System > Subscriptions. From this view you can:

• See the owner, target, type, and status of each subscription
• Edit existing subscriptions to adjust thresholds, throttle intervals, or recipients
• Delete subscriptions that are no longer needed
• Quickly identify which objects have alert coverage and which do not

Multi-Tenant Considerations

In multi-tenant environments, subscriptions can be configured at each tenant level independently. This means:

• The service provider configures system-level subscriptions on the host environment
• Each tenant administrator can configure their own subscriptions within their tenant scope
• Tenant subscriptions only have visibility into their own resources — they cannot see or alert on host-level objects

This isolation ensures that MSP customers can self-manage their own alerting without requiring provider intervention.

VMware Bridge

VMware administrators will recognize VergeOS subscriptions as analogous to vCenter Alarms combined with email notifications. The key difference is that VergeOS subscriptions are more flexible in their targeting — any dashboard or object can be a subscription target, not just predefined alarm types. vCenter requires configuring SMTP under Administration > Mail Sender, then defining alarm actions per alarm definition. VergeOS consolidates this into a single subscription workflow. Scheduled subscriptions have no direct equivalent in vCenter — administrators typically relied on third-party reporting tools like vROps for scheduled health reports.

Nutanix Bridge

In Prism Central, alert policies and notification rules serve a similar purpose to VergeOS subscriptions. Prism uses Alert Policies to define conditions and Notification Policies to route alerts to email, Slack, or webhook endpoints. VergeOS subscriptions combine both concepts into a single configuration — the subscription defines what to monitor, when to trigger, and who to notify. Nutanix scheduled reports are configured through Prism Central’s Reports feature with email delivery schedules, which maps closely to VergeOS scheduled subscriptions.

Key Takeaways

Two Subscription Types

On-Demand for immediate event/threshold alerts and Scheduled for recurring dashboard reports. Use both together for comprehensive coverage.

SMTP First

Configure and test SMTP delivery before creating any subscriptions. Direct send or relay — both work, but relay is often simpler to maintain.

Throttle and Remind

Use throttle settings to prevent alert storms and reminder intervals to ensure persistent issues are not forgotten.

Target Anything

Subscriptions can target any VergeOS object — systems, clusters, tiers, networks, VMs, and tenants — for maximum monitoring flexibility.