The Keep Correlation Engine is a versatile tool for correlating and consolidating alerts into incidents or incident-candidates. This guide explains the core concepts, usage, and best practices for effectively utilizing the rule engine.

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Core Concepts

  • Rule definition: A rule in Keep is a set of conditions that, when met, creates an incident or incident-candidate.
  • Alert attributes: These are characteristics or data points of an alert, such as source, severity, or any attribute an alert might have.
  • Conditions and logic: Rules are built by defining conditions based on alert attributes, using logical operators (like AND/OR) to combine multiple conditions.

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Creating Correlation Rules

Creating a rule involves defining the conditions under which an alert should be categorized or actions should be grouped.
  1. Accessing the Correlation Engine: Navigate to the Correlation section in the Keep platform.
  2. Defining rule criteria:
  • Name the rule: Assign a descriptive name that reflects its purpose.
  • Set conditions: Use alert attributes to create conditions. For example, a rule might specify that an alert with a severity of ‘critical’ and a source of ‘Prometheus’ should be categorized as ‘High Priority’.
  • Logical grouping: Combine conditions using logical operators to form comprehensive rules.
  • Manual approve: Create Incident-candidate or full-fledged incident.

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Dynamic Incident Naming

The correlation engine supports dynamic incident naming based on alert attributes. This allows you to create more meaningful and context-aware incident names that reflect the actual alert data.

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Template Variables

You can use template variables in your incident name using the {{ alert.attribute }} syntax. These variables are replaced with actual values from the alerts. For example:
  • {{alert.labels.host}} - References the host from alert labels
  • {{alert.service}} - References the service name from the alert

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Behavior with Multiple Alerts

When an incident contains multiple alerts:
  • Values from all alerts are automatically concatenated with commas
  • Duplicate values are automatically deduplicated
  • If a new alert adds a unique value, the incident name is updated to include it

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Dynamic Name Example

Template: “Service Issue on {{alert.labels.host}}” First alert 
{
  ...
  {
    "labels": {
      "host": "host1"
    }
  }
  ...
}
Second alert 
{
  ...
  {
    "labels": {
      "host": "host2"
    }
  }
  ...
}
Incident Name Service Issue on host1,host2

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Examples

  • Metric-based alerts: Construct a rule to pinpoint alerts associated with specific metrics, such as high CPU usage on servers. This can be achieved by grouping alerts that share a common attribute, like a ‘CPU usage’ tag, ensuring you quickly identify and address performance issues.
  • Feature-related alerts: Establish rules to create incident by specific features or services. For instance, you can start incident based on a ‘service’ or ‘URL’ tag. This approach is particularly useful for tracking and managing alerts related to distinct functionalities or components within your application.
  • Team-based alert management: Implement rules to create incidents according to team responsibilities. This might involve grouping based on the systems or services a particular team oversees. Such a strategy ensures that alerts are promptly directed to the appropriate team, enhancing response times and efficiency.