Subscriptions & Alerts
Proactive notification configuration in VergeOS -- on-demand alerts, scheduled reports, subscription profiles, throttle controls, and SMTP prerequisites.
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:
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
Navigate to System > Subscriptions from the Cloud Dashboard
Select New from the left menu
Configure the subscription fields:
Name
A unique label for the subscription (used in the list view and email subject lines)
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)
Subscription Profile
Required -- defines the report/alert content and, for on-demand, the comparison logic; the options shown are filtered by Target Type
Suspend
Optionally pause notifications until a date/time or indefinitely (useful during maintenance windows)
On-Demand Settings
When the subscription type is set to On-Demand, additional fields appear:
Subscription Profile
Required template that encodes both what to watch (onchange_fields) and how it is compared (new, gt0, gt, anyval, or different) -- the available profiles are filtered by Target Type
Throttle
Minimum minutes between repeated alerts for the same condition -- prevents inbox flooding (max 60 minutes)
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. Throttle is capped at 60 minutes (the field maximum); pick a value between 15 and 60 minutes for most alerts, using 60 when you want the longest gap the system allows.
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:
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
VergeOS subscriptions are flexible in their 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
Target Type
vSAN Tier
Target
Each tier individually (Tier 1, Tier 2, etc.)
Type
On-Demand
Subscription Profile
A vSAN-tier capacity profile (e.g., "Tier Used %") that compares usage to a threshold
Throttle
60 minutes
Reminder
4 hours
Create separate subscriptions at multiple thresholds (80% warning, 90% critical) to provide escalating urgency.
Node Offline Detection
Target Type
Node
Target
Each node individually
Type
On-Demand
Subscription Profile
A node-status profile that detects a transition out of Running
Throttle
15 minutes
Reminder
1 hour
vSAN Degraded State
Target Type
vSAN Tier
Target
Each tier individually
Type
On-Demand
Subscription Profile
A vSAN-tier health profile that fires on error or warning events
Throttle
30 minutes
Reminder
2 hours
Update Availability
Target Type
System
Type
On-Demand
Subscription Profile
An update-availability profile that detects new installable packages
Throttle
60 minutes (the maximum)
Reminder
7 days
Daily System Health Report
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:
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)
Use SASL Authorization
Enable when the relay requires authentication -- reveals the Username and Password fields below
Username
SASL username for relay authentication (shown when SASL Authorization is enabled)
Password
SASL password for relay authentication (shown when SASL Authorization is enabled)
Direct Send vs. Relay
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.
Key Takeaways
Two Subscription Types
On-Demand for immediate event/threshold alerts and Scheduled for recurring dashboard reports. Use both together for full 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.
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