Overview
In Auvik, notification channels such as email, webhooks, PSA integrations, Microsoft Teams, and Slack can be configured at multiple levels, including the root site, child sites, and individual alert rules.
By default, notification channels configured at the root site apply to child sites and alert rules that continue to follow the root configuration.
This article explains how notification-channel inheritance works and how to verify which notification channels will receive alerts.
Alert definition inheritance and notification-channel inheritance
Alert definitions and notification channels should be reviewed separately.
A change to an alert definition—such as a threshold, trigger condition, severity, or timer—may affect how the alert behaves. However, the current documented inheritance behavior specifically identifies changes to the notification-channel configuration as the action that makes the channel configuration independent.
Do not assume that a threshold difference alone explains a notification-channel difference. Always review the Notification Channels section on the applicable alert or site settings.
How notification-channel inheritance works
Root-site configuration
The root site acts as the primary source of notification channels.
When a notification channel is configured at the root site, it is available to:
- Child sites
- Alert rules that have not been customized with their own notification-channel configuration
If the root site previously had no notification channels configured, adding a channel can cause alerts that follow the root configuration to begin sending notifications immediately.
Inheritance is the default state
Child sites and alert rules continue using the root site’s notification channels as long as their notification-channel configuration has not been modified.
There is no separate control to enable or disable notification-channel inheritance. Inheritance occurs automatically when the configuration continues to follow the parent.
Modifying channels stops inheritance
Inheritance is overridden when notification channels are modified at the site or alert-rule level.
Examples include:
- Adding a notification channel
- Removing an existing notification channel
- Replacing the channel list
After the notification-channel configuration is modified:
- The site or alert rule uses its own defined channels.
- Future updates to the root site’s channels no longer automatically apply to that configuration.
- The intended channels must be reviewed and maintained at the customized level.
How to check where alerts are sent
To confirm which recipients will receive an alert:
- Open the relevant child site or alert rule.
- Locate the Notification Channels section.
- Review the channels listed.
- Compare the listed channels with the parent or root-site configuration.
The channels shown in the applicable configuration represent the destinations that will receive notifications.
If the child site or alert rule has a different channel list than the parent, treat it as a site-specific or alert-specific configuration and review it separately.
How to use different notification channels for a child site
To send alerts to different recipients than those configured at the root site:
- Open the child site or alert rule.
- Locate the Notification Channels section.
- Add, remove, or replace the channels as needed.
- Save the configuration.
- Verify that the intended channels are listed.
Once the channel list is changed, the child site or alert rule is maintained independently from the root notification-channel configuration.
For Alerts v2, a notification channel can also be associated with selected sites rather than every site covered by the alert definition. See Creating Alert Notifications using Alerts v2.
Restoring the intended notification configuration
Auvik does not provide a separate notification-channel control labelled “Reset to inherit.”
If a child site or alert rule has an independent notification-channel configuration:
- Open the child site or alert rule.
- Review the current notification channels.
- Add or remove channels so the list matches the intended parent configuration.
- Save the changes.
- Verify the resulting channel list.
Resetting an alert restores the alert to its inherited or default alert configuration where supported, but it does not modify the alert’s associated notification channels. Notification channels must be reviewed separately.
Auditing multiple child sites
When managing many sites:
- Filter or search for the alert definition by name.
- Open the alert or notification settings for each child site.
- Review the Notification Channels section.
- Compare the listed channels with the parent configuration.
- Correct any child-specific channel lists that are no longer intentional.
- Review the parent notification channels after standardizing the child sites.
Auvik does not provide a documented universal indicator that identifies every customized notification-channel configuration. The channel list on the applicable site or alert rule should be treated as the source of truth.
Troubleshooting
Not receiving alerts after changing notification channels
After migrating to Alerts v2 or editing, cloning, replacing, or deleting notification channels, verify that the expected channels are still associated with each alert definition.
If several channels stopped delivering around the same time, the alert definitions may no longer be associated with the correct notification channels.
Verify notification channel associations
- Go to Manage Alerts > Alerts v2.
- Open the affected alert definition.
- Review the Notification Channels or Notifications section.
- Confirm that the expected email, PSA, webhook, or other notification channels are listed.
- If a channel is missing, add the correct channel.
- Save the alert definition.
- Repeat the review for other critical alert definitions affected by the change.
When a notification channel is configured for only selected sites, also confirm that the affected site is included in the channel’s site association.
Check parent and child-site configurations
If the alert is managed at a parent or organization level:
- Compare the notification channels shown on the parent alert with those shown for the child site.
- Check whether the child site or alert definition has its own customized channel list.
- If the child configuration is intentional, add the required channel to that configuration.
- If the child should use the parent configuration, remove unintended child-level channel changes and verify the resulting channel list.
Auvik does not provide a universal reset option for notification-channel inheritance. Treat the channel list shown on the applicable site or alert definition as the source of truth.
Validate the notification channel
After restoring the association:
- Use the channel’s Send Test Alert option, when available.
- Confirm that the intended recipient or destination receives the test.
- Trigger a safe test alert using a non-production device or test condition.
- Confirm that the alert notification is delivered through the expected channel.
Do not intentionally interrupt a production device or service to test alert delivery.
Prevent future association issues
- Document which notification channels are associated with critical alert definitions.
- When replacing a notification channel, update every alert definition that used the previous channel.
- After bulk alert edits, review a sample of critical alert definitions.
- Make parent-level changes only when they are intended to affect child sites.
- Document any child-site or alert-specific channel customizations.
- Avoid using the same notification channel for equivalent Legacy and Alerts v2 alerts unless duplicate notifications are expected.
Best practices
- Configure common notification channels at the parent or root level where possible.
- Make child-site notification changes only when site-specific recipients are required.
- Document intentional child-site or alert-specific channel configurations.
- Review parent and child notification channels periodically.
- Avoid creating duplicate legacy and Alerts v2 alerts with the same notification channel unless duplicate notifications are intended.
- Use the Send Test Alert function to validate a notification channel after making changes.