Alarms created by VMware Admin to get the alarms when a certain event happens in the virtual datacenter, in the cluster/resource pool, on ESX host, or on VMware Guest VM.
For example, you have a critical VM that its CPU goes high and you want to be notified, so you can create new alarm and to be notified.
You can go to vCenter server > Alarms and click on Definitions to see a list of alarms already predefined:
You could create an alarm at Datacenter, Folder, Resource Pool, ESX Host and VM Guest.
Alarms in vCenter defined at a top-level will propagate to all the hosts, folders and VMs bellow.
You can go to VM > Alarms and click on Definitions to see a list of alarms already predefined for those VMs:
If you want to view setting of predefined alarm right-click on that alarm and click on View Setting…
These default alarms can be modified and alarms can only be modified at the level that they are defined in. As you see there noted that alarm defined in vCenterserver.
If we go to vCenterserver and right-click on that alarm and click Edit Setting…
you can see and change setting.
Lets create a new alarm definition. So now i will created alarm for specific VM. To create alarm right-click on VM which you want to create Alarm and click Alarm-> Add Alarm…
Then fill all required field on the General Tab and click Enable this alarm if you want to:
On the Triggers tab you can set trigger for that VM. So click Add and set your trigger for CPU.
On the Actions Tab you can set action. Click add and then select action from the list:
On the configuration field type your email and click ok:
So our CPU alarm created successfully:
