elasticsearch/docs/reference/ml/anomaly-detection/ml-configuring-alerts.asciidoc

[[ml-configuring-alerts]]
= Generating alerts for {anomaly-jobs}
:frontmatter-description: Create {anomaly-detect} alert and {anomaly-jobs} health rules.
:frontmatter-tags-products: [ml, alerting]
:frontmatter-tags-content-type: [how-to]
:frontmatter-tags-user-goals: [configure]

{kib} {alert-features} include support for {ml} rules, which run scheduled 
checks for anomalies in one or more {anomaly-jobs} or check the health of the 
job with certain conditions. If the conditions of the rule are met, an alert is 
created and the associated action is triggered. For example, you can create a 
rule to check an {anomaly-job} every fifteen minutes for critical anomalies and 
to notify you in an email. To learn more about {kib} {alert-features}, refer to 
{kibana-ref}/alerting-getting-started.html#alerting-getting-started[Alerting].

The following {ml} rules are available:

{anomaly-detect-cap} alert:: 
  Checks if the {anomaly-job} results contain anomalies that match the rule 
  conditions.

{anomaly-jobs-cap} health:: 
  Monitors job health and alerts if an operational issue occurred that may 
  prevent the job from detecting anomalies.

TIP: If you have created rules for specific {anomaly-jobs} and you want to 
monitor whether these jobs work as expected, {anomaly-jobs} health rules are 
ideal for this purpose.

In *{stack-manage-app} > {rules-ui}*, you can create both types of {ml} rules:

[role="screenshot"]
image::images/ml-rule.png["Creating a new machine learning rule",500]
// NOTE: This is an autogenerated screenshot. Do not edit it directly.

In the *{ml-app}* app, you can create only {anomaly-detect} alert rules; create
them from the {anomaly-job} wizard after you start the job or from the
{anomaly-job} list.

[[creating-anomaly-alert-rules]]
== {anomaly-detect-cap} alert rules

When you create an {anomaly-detect} alert rule, you must select the job that
the rule applies to.

You must also select a type of {ml} result. In particular, you can create rules
based on bucket, record, or influencer results.

[role="screenshot"]
image::images/ml-anomaly-alert-severity.png["Selecting result type, severity, and test interval", 500]
// NOTE: This is an autogenerated screenshot. Do not edit it directly.

For each rule, you can configure the `anomaly_score` that triggers the action. 
The `anomaly_score` indicates the significance of a given anomaly compared to 
previous anomalies. The default severity threshold is 75 which means every 
anomaly with an `anomaly_score` of 75 or higher triggers the associated action.

You can select whether you want to include interim results. Interim results are 
created by the {anomaly-job} before a bucket is finalized. These results might 
disappear after the bucket is fully processed. Include interim results if you 
want to be notified earlier about a potential anomaly even if it might be a 
false positive. If you want to get notified only about anomalies of fully 
processed buckets, do not include interim results.

You can also configure advanced settings. _Lookback interval_ sets an interval 
that is used to query previous anomalies during each condition check. Its value 
is derived from the bucket span of the job and the query delay of the {dfeed} by 
default. It is not recommended to set the lookback interval lower than the 
default value as it might result in missed anomalies. _Number of latest buckets_ 
sets how many buckets to check to obtain the highest anomaly from all the 
anomalies that are found during the _Lookback interval_. An alert is created 
based on the anomaly with the highest anomaly score from the most anomalous 
bucket.

You can also test the configured conditions against your existing data and check 
the sample results by providing a valid interval for your data. The generated 
preview contains the number of potentially created alerts during the relative 
time range you defined.

TIP: You must also provide a _check interval_ that defines how often to
evaluate the rule conditions. It is recommended to select an interval that is
close to the bucket span of the job.

As the last step in the rule creation process, define its <<ml-configuring-alert-actions,actions>>.

[[creating-anomaly-jobs-health-rules]]
== {anomaly-jobs-cap} health rules

When you create an {anomaly-jobs} health rule, you must select the job or group
that the rule applies to. If you assign more jobs to the group, they are
included the next time the rule conditions are checked.

You can also use a special character (`*`) to apply the rule to all your jobs. 
Jobs created after the rule are automatically included. You can exclude jobs 
that are not critically important by using the _Exclude_ field.

Enable the health check types that you want to apply. All checks are enabled by 
default. At least one check needs to be enabled to create the rule. The 
following health checks are available:

_Datafeed is not started_:: 
  Notifies if the corresponding {dfeed} of the job is not started but the job is 
  in an opened state. The notification message recommends the necessary 
  actions to solve the error.
_Model memory limit reached_:: 
  Notifies if the model memory status of the job reaches the soft or hard model 
  memory limit. Optimize your job by following 
  <<detector-configuration,these guidelines>> or consider 
  <<set-model-memory-limit,amending the model memory limit>>. 
_Data delay has occurred_:: 
  Notifies when the job missed some data. You can define the threshold for the 
  amount of missing documents you get alerted on by setting 
  _Number of documents_. You can control the lookback interval for checking 
  delayed data with _Time interval_. Refer to the 
  <<ml-delayed-data-detection>> page to see what to do about delayed data.
_Errors in job messages_:: 
  Notifies when the job messages contain error messages. Review the 
  notification; it contains the error messages, the corresponding job IDs and 
  recommendations on how to fix the issue. This check looks for job errors 
  that occur after the rule is created; it does not look at historic behavior.

[role="screenshot"]
image::images/ml-health-check-config.png["Selecting health checkers",500]
// NOTE: This is an autogenerated screenshot. Do not edit it directly.

TIP: You must also provide a _check interval_ that defines how often to
evaluate the rule conditions. It is recommended to select an interval that is
close to the bucket span of the job.

As the last step in the rule creation process, define its actions.

[[ml-configuring-alert-actions]]
== Actions

You can optionally send notifications when the rule conditions are met and when
they are no longer met. In particular, these rules support:

* alert summaries
* actions that run when the anomaly score matches the conditions (for {anomaly-detect} alert rules)
* actions that run when an issue is detected (for {anomaly-jobs} health rules)
* recovery actions that run when the conditions are no longer met

Each action uses a connector, which stores connection information for a {kib}
service or supported third-party integration, depending on where you want to
send the notifications. For example, you can use a Slack connector to send a
message to a channel. Or you can use an index connector that writes a JSON
object to a specific index. For details about creating connectors, refer to
{kibana-ref}/action-types.html[Connectors].

After you select a connector, you must set the action frequency. You can choose
to create a summary of alerts on each check interval or on a custom interval.
For example, send slack notifications that summarize the new, ongoing, and
recovered alerts:

[role="screenshot"]
image::images/ml-anomaly-alert-action-summary.png["Adding an alert summary action to the rule",500]
// NOTE: This is an autogenerated screenshot. Do not edit it directly.

TIP: If you choose a custom action interval, it cannot be shorter than the
rule's check interval.

Alternatively, you can set the action frequency such that actions run for each
alert. Choose how often the action runs (at each check interval, only when the
alert status changes, or at a custom action interval). For {anomaly-detect}
alert rules, you must also choose whether the action runs when the anomaly score
matches the condition or when the alert recovers:

[role="screenshot"]
image::images/ml-anomaly-alert-action-score-matched.png["Adding an action for each alert in the rule",500]
// NOTE: This is an autogenerated screenshot. Do not edit it directly.

In {anomaly-jobs} health rules, choose whether the action runs when the issue is
detected or when it is recovered:

[role="screenshot"]
image::images/ml-health-check-action.png["Adding an action for each alert in the rule",500]
// NOTE: This is an autogenerated screenshot. Do not edit it directly.

You can further refine the rule by specifying that actions run only when they
match a KQL query or when an alert occurs within a specific time frame.

There is a set of variables that you can use to customize the notification
messages for each action. Click the icon above the message text box to get the
list of variables or refer to <<action-variables>>. For example:

[role="screenshot"]
image::images/ml-anomaly-alert-messages.png["Customizing your message",500]
// NOTE: This is an autogenerated screenshot. Do not edit it directly.

After you save the configurations, the rule appears in the
*{stack-manage-app} > {rules-ui}* list; you can check its status and see the
overview of its configuration information.

When an alert occurs for an {anomaly-detect} alert rule, it is always the same
name as the job ID of the associated {anomaly-job} that triggered it. You can
review how the alerts that are occured correlate with the {anomaly-detect}
results in the **Anomaly explorer** by using the **Anomaly timeline** swimlane
and the **Alerts** panel.

If necessary, you can snooze rules to prevent them from generating actions. For
more details, refer to
{kibana-ref}/create-and-manage-rules.html#controlling-rules[Snooze and disable rules].

[[action-variables]]
== Action variables

The following variables are specific to the {ml} rule types. An asterisk (`*`)
marks the variables that you can use in actions related to recovered alerts.

You can also specify {kibana-ref}/rule-action-variables.html[variables common to all rules].

[[anomaly-alert-action-variables]]
=== {anomaly-detect-cap} alert action variables

Every {anomaly-detect} alert has the following action variables:

`context`.`anomalyExplorerUrl` ^*^::
URL to open in the Anomaly Explorer.

`context`.`isInterim`::
Indicates if top hits contain interim results.

`context`.`jobIds` ^*^::
List of job IDs that triggered the alert.

`context`.`message` ^*^::
A preconstructed message for the alert.

`context`.`score`::
Anomaly score at the time of the notification action.

`context`.`timestamp`::
The bucket timestamp of the anomaly.

`context`.`timestampIso8601`::
The bucket timestamp of the anomaly in ISO8601 format.

`context`.`topInfluencers`::
The list of top influencers.
+
.Properties of `context.topInfluencers`
[%collapsible%open]
====
`influencer_field_name`::: 
The field name of the influencer.

`influencer_field_value`::: 
The entity that influenced, contributed to, or was to blame for the anomaly.

`score`:::
The influencer score. A normalized score between 0-100 which shows the 
influencer's overall contribution to the anomalies.
====

`context`.`topRecords`::
The list of top records.
+
.Properties of `context.topRecords`
[%collapsible%open]
====
`actual`:::
The actual value for the bucket.

`by_field_value`::: 
The value of the by field.

`field_name`::: 
Certain functions require a field to operate on, for example, `sum()`. For those 
functions, this value is the name of the field to be analyzed.

`function`::: 
The function in which the anomaly occurs, as specified in the detector 
configuration. For example, `max`.

`over_field_name`::: 
The field used to split the data.

`partition_field_value`::: 
The field used to segment the analysis.

`score`:::
A normalized score between 0-100, which is based on the probability of the 
anomalousness of this record.

`typical`:::
The typical value for the bucket, according to analytical modeling.
====

[[anomaly-jobs-health-action-variables]]
=== {anomaly-jobs-cap} health action variables

Every health check has two main variables: `context.message` and 
`context.results`. The properties of `context.results` may vary based on the 
type of check. You can find the possible properties for all the checks below.

==== _Datafeed is not started_ 

`context.message` ^*^::
A preconstructed message for the alert.

`context.results`::
Contains the following properties:
+
.Properties of `context.results`
[%collapsible%open]
====
`datafeed_id` ^*^:::
The {dfeed} identifier.

`datafeed_state` ^*^:::
The state of the {dfeed}. It can be `starting`, `started`, 
`stopping`, `stopped`.

`job_id` ^*^:::
The job identifier.

`job_state` ^*^:::
The state of the job. It can be `opening`, `opened`, `closing`, 
`closed`, or `failed`.
====

==== _Model memory limit reached_

`context.message` ^*^::
A preconstructed message for the rule.

`context.results`::
Contains the following properties:
+
.Properties of `context.results` 
[%collapsible%open]
====
`job_id` ^*^:::
The job identifier.

`memory_status` ^*^:::
The status of the mathematical model. It can have one of the following values:

* `soft_limit`: The model used more than 60% of the configured memory limit and 
  older unused models will be pruned to free up space. In categorization jobs no 
  further category examples will be stored.
* `hard_limit`: The model used more space than the configured memory limit. As a 
  result, not all incoming data was processed.

The `memory_status` is `ok` for recovered alerts.

`model_bytes` ^*^:::
The number of bytes of memory used by the models.

`model_bytes_exceeded` ^*^:::
The number of bytes over the high limit for memory usage at the last allocation 
failure.

`model_bytes_memory_limit` ^*^:::
The upper limit for model memory usage.

`log_time` ^*^:::
The timestamp of the model size statistics according to server time. Time 
formatting is based on the {kib} settings.

`peak_model_bytes` ^*^:::
The peak number of bytes of memory ever used by the model.
====

==== _Data delay has occurred_

`context.message` ^*^::
A preconstructed message for the rule.

`context.results`::
For recovered alerts, `context.results` is either empty (when there is no 
delayed data) or the same as for an active alert (when the number of missing 
documents is less than the _Number of documents_ treshold set by the user). 
Contains the following properties:
+
.Properties of `context.results`
[%collapsible%open]
====
`annotation` ^*^:::
The annotation corresponding to the data delay in the job.

`end_timestamp` ^*^:::
Timestamp of the latest finalized buckets with missing documents. Time 
formatting is based on the {kib} settings.

`job_id` ^*^:::
The job identifier.

`missed_docs_count` ^*^:::
The number of missed documents.
====

==== _Error in job messages_

`context.message` ^*^::
A preconstructed message for the rule.

`context.results`::
Contains the following properties:
+
.Properties of `context.results`
[%collapsible%open]
====
`timestamp`:::
Timestamp of the latest finalized buckets with missing documents.

`job_id`:::
The job identifier.

`message`:::
The error message.

`node_name`:::
The name of the node that runs the job.
====