Step-by-Step: Setting Up Proactive Alerts with Smart Thresholds

Alert fatigue is real—and damaging. IT teams either drown in irrelevant notifications or miss critical signals entirely. Atera’s Alert Threshold Profiles offer a smarter way: define exactly what matters, when it should trigger an alert, and how it should behave once triggered.
 

This blog walks you through creating a smart threshold profile, customizing it, assigning it across environments, and validating that it works in real-world conditions—so you can turn down the noise and amplify the signals that matter most.

Key Takeaways

• Create new alert threshold profiles under Admin > Thresholds
• Customize CPU, memory, disk, process, and service conditions
• Assign the profile to customers, sites, or specific devices
• Validate trigger behavior with manual tests on pilot endpoints
• Refine thresholds using Atera’s live Alerts dashboard
   

Get started with smarter alerts today — share your details and we’ll help you customize your first profile. Click Here
 

1. Create Your First Alert Threshold Profile

What it does: Lets you define a dedicated set of alert rules grouped under one profile.

Where it lives: Admin > Monitoring and automation > Thresholds

Why you’ll love it: It provides a clean, reusable way to build monitoring rules for different customer tiers, environments, or device roles.

1. Go to Admin > Thresholds
2. Click Add Profile
3. Name the profile (e.g., "Prod-Server Thresholds") and save

Now the profile is listed and ready for customization.

2. Customize Smart Threshold Items

What it does: Allows granular control over what conditions generate alerts and at what severity.

Where it lives: Inside the Threshold Profile editor

Why you’ll love it: You can define exact CPU, RAM, disk usage, and process rules per environment or use case.

• Expand Performance and input values for Warning and Critical thresholds
• Configure Hardware values for disks, fans, and temperatures
• Add rules under Process Monitoring and Event IDs as needed
• Tweak thresholds for Exchange services or antivirus status if relevant
   

3. Assign the Profile to Devices, Customers, or Sites

What it does: Ensures your threshold profile actively monitors the right endpoints.

Where it lives: Threshold Profiles > Profile Assignment button

Why you’ll love it: One-click assignment lets you scale the same rules across hundreds of endpoints.

1. From the Threshold Profiles list, click Assign
2. Choose whether to assign to Devices, Sites, or Customers
3. Select targets and apply
   
    

Assigning by customer is ideal for MSPs managing distinct SLA tiers.

4. Test and Validate Alert Behavior

What it does: Confirms that alerts trigger as expected and lead to the right actions.

Where it lives: Alerts > Agent Console > Device view

Why you’ll love it: You can catch false positives or missing triggers before rolling out company-wide.

1. Pick a test device and open the Agent Console
2. Use a CPU stress tool or disk fill script to simulate a breach
3. Watch for alert appearance, notification delivery, and ticket generation

You can also test whether automation rules or auto-ticketing triggers correctly from the alert.

5. Monitor and Refine from the Alerts Page

What it does: Lets you track live alerts and make data-backed refinements to your threshold rules.

Where it lives: Alerts page

Why you’ll love it: You’ll eliminate noise, detect blind spots, and continuously tune alert sensitivity.

• Use filters to drill into alerts by profile, device, or severity
• Resolve false alerts and trace back to adjust profile thresholds
• Mark alerts as snoozed for temporary maintenance periods

Refinement is ongoing—revisit your profiles monthly to adjust for seasonal or infrastructure changes.

Ready to Tune Your Environment with Precision Alerts?

Head to your Thresholds tab and create your first custom profile. Assign it to a small test group, validate alert behavior, then scale it with confidence. Smarter alerts mean faster resolution times, reduced fatigue, and tighter IT operations.

Book a quick session with our experts to validate your alert setup and avoid missed signals. Schedule Now
 

FAQ

1. Can I use multiple threshold profiles on a single device in Atera?

No. Only one threshold profile can be assigned per device at a time. If multiple profiles apply, the most recently assigned one will override any previous assignment.

2. What severity levels can I configure in Atera alerts?

Atera supports three severity levels:

• Information
• Warning
• Critical
  You can assign severity when defining thresholds for CPU, RAM, disk, processes, or services.

3. How do I automatically create a ticket when a threshold is breached in Atera?

To auto-create tickets from alerts:

• Enable Auto-Ticketing during Threshold Profile setup
• Ensure your automation rules are active under Admin > Ticket Automation
  This ensures every alert can generate a ticket without manual intervention.

4. How can I control who receives Atera alert notifications?

Go to Admin > Contacts & Notifications.
Here you can:

• Add or remove recipients for alert emails
• Choose who gets notified per alert type or severity
• Customize notification behavior for individual customers or devices

5. Can I pause alerts during scheduled maintenance in Atera?

Yes. Use the Snooze function to pause alerts temporarily, or configure scheduled maintenance windows from the Alerts page, which suppresses alerts for selected timeframes.

6. How do I test if a threshold profile is working correctly?

1. Assign the profile to a test device
2. Use tools to simulate stress (e.g., high CPU load or disk fill)
3. Watch the Alerts page or Agent Console for proper alert generation
   This lets you catch false positives or confirm expected behavior before full deployment.

7. Can I assign a threshold profile to multiple devices or customers at once?

Yes. Go to Threshold Profiles > Assign, then:

• Select Devices, Sites, or Customers
• Apply the profile in bulk with one click
  Ideal for MSPs managing multiple environments.

8. How do I fine-tune thresholds after deployment?

Use the Alerts dashboard to:

• Filter alerts by severity, device, or profile
• Identify false positives
• Adjust your profile’s threshold settings accordingly
  Refine monthly to align with seasonal loads or infrastructure changes.