A significant occurrence in the system that requires user notification.
An event is identified by a unique factory-set number or code (for example, event 40485). Events are grouped into categories or types (for example, Alarm Set events). All events have default severities assigned to them.
There are four levels of event severity:
Information events indicate normal occurrences that provide information about the system, errors, administration, and debugging. Examples of information-level events include logon notifications and password expiry notifications.
Minor events indicate service-threatening problems that do not require immediate attention. However, if a minor event persists for an extended period of time, it can trigger a major event. Examples of minor events include events that are generated when file storage systems begin to reach their maximum capacity. If the conditions responsible for the events persist, maximum storage capacity may be reached, and major events may be generated.
Major events indicate service-threatening problems that require attention relatively soon. Examples of major events include hardware failures from which the system has successfully recovered, or unrecovered hardware problems in noncritical components, such as voice cards.
Critical events indicate service-affecting problems that require immediate attention. Examples of critical events include hardware failures where the system has failed to recover, software configuration problems, or a disk drive error.