Unable to edit preconfigured Alarm Definition in VSphere Client

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vCenter Server 7.0
• VMware vCenter Server 8.0

Issue/Introduction

This article addresses a common scenario encountered when attempting to edit a preconfigured alarm definition in the vSphere Client. You may find that the “Edit” button is grayed out, preventing modifications to the alarm details.

• Followed the Create or Edit Alarms document and tried to edit a preconfigured alarm.
  
  
• EDIT button is grayed out.

Environment

vCenter Server 

Cause

Preconfigured alarms are system-defined alerts configured by the vCenter Server to monitor different aspects of the vSphere environment. These alarms have predefined conditions and actions and cannot be edited directly on individual objects, such as datastores as seen in the above image.

Resolution

To modify these alarms to better fit your requirements, follow the steps below to modify them:

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Navigate to vCenter Server:

   • Open the vSphere Client.
   • In the inventory tree, locate and select your vCenter Server instance.

2. Access Alarm Definitions:

   • Click on the "Configure" tab.
   • Select "Alarm Definitions" from the menu.

3. Locate the Alarm to Edit:
   

   • Find the alarm to be modified.

4. Edit the Alarm:

   • Right-click on the selected alarm and choose "Edit."
   • This will open the alarm definition window, displaying its current settings:
     • Conditions: The specific criteria that trigger the alarm (e.g., high CPU usage, disk space low).
     • Actions: The actions to be taken when the alarm is triggered (e.g., sending email notifications, running scripts).
     • Other Settings: Additional parameters like severity level, suppression time, and escalation policies.

5. Modify the Alarm Settings:

   • Adjust the conditions, actions, or other settings as needed.
   • Add, remove, or modify conditions to fine-tune the alarm's behavior.
   • Customize the actions to specify the desired responses, such as sending notifications to specific users or groups.

6. Save Changes:

   • Click "OK" to save the changes.

Additional Information

For a complete list of preconfigured alarm definitions available in vSphere, refer to the VMware documentation.

Note: This approach only applies to preconfigured alarms. Custom alarms created by users can be edited directly from the object they are associated with (like a datastore).