---
title: "Alert Management FAQ"
description: "Short answers about Alert Management destinations, metrics, thresholds, attaching, and what happens when an alert fires, each linking to the full page."
content_type: "faq"
product: "alerts"
platform: "TIR"
url: "/tir/alerts/faq/"
---

# Alert Management FAQ

## Setting up alerts

### Which resources can I set alerts on?

You can set alerts on an Instance, a VM, an Inference service, a Training Cluster, and a Load
Balancer. Other resource types, such as an Auto Scaling Group, have no alert panel. See [Alert
metrics and conditions](/tir/alerts/concepts/alert-metrics-and-conditions/).

### How many steps does it take to get alerts?

Three: create a monitoring integration, create an alert that uses it, and attach the alert to a
running resource. See [Get started](/tir/alerts/get-started/).

### Does creating an alert start watching a resource?

No. Creating an alert only defines the rule. Attach it to a resource to start watching.

### Why is Attach unavailable?

Alerts attach only to a resource that is running. Start the resource, then attach. See [Attach an
alert to a resource](/tir/alerts/how-to/attach-an-alert-to-a-resource/).

### Can I change the service of an alert?

No. **Service for alert** is set when you create the alert, and everything else can change. For
another service, create a new alert and delete the old one. See [Manage
alerts](/tir/alerts/how-to/manage-alerts/).

### Why is the Alert tab missing on my Instance?

The portal hides the **Alert** tab while an Instance is expired. On a running Instance it sits with the other
tabs. See [Attach an alert to a resource](/tir/alerts/how-to/attach-an-alert-to-a-resource/#open-the-alerts-panel).

### Why does an Inference service have no Alert tab?

Its alerts are in the **Settings** tab, under **Alerts**. See [Attach an alert to a
resource](/tir/alerts/how-to/attach-an-alert-to-a-resource/#open-the-alerts-panel).

## When an alert fires

### How long must a condition last before an alert fires?

Five minutes before TIR sends the firing notification. The **Status** in the resource's alert table
reads **Firing** as soon as the condition is met. The alert resolves when the value is back within
the threshold.

### Can I set the condition for XID Error or Nodes Down?

No. **XID Error** always means **Not Equal To** 0, and **Nodes Down** always fires when more than 0
nodes are down. See [Alert metrics and
conditions](/tir/alerts/concepts/alert-metrics-and-conditions/).

## Notifications and integrations

### Where do notifications go?

To the monitoring integrations the alert uses: email to project members, a Slack channel, or a
webhook URL. An alert can use several integrations. See [What a notification
contains](/tir/alerts/concepts/what-a-notification-contains/).

### Can I send an alert to an email address that is not a member of my project?

No. An email integration lists the members of the project, and each receives the email at the
address of their account. To notify someone outside the project, give a webhook URL that forwards to
them, or add them as a project member. See [Create a monitoring
integration](/tir/alerts/how-to/create-a-monitoring-integration/).

### How many headers can a webhook have?

Up to 10 custom headers per integration. See [Webhook
requests](/tir/alerts/concepts/webhook-requests/).

### Does TIR retry a webhook?

No. TIR sends each request once, waits up to 10 seconds for the connection, and ignores the
answer. Answer with a 2xx status quickly.

### Can I test an integration before I use it?

You can test a webhook with **Test URL** and Slack with **Test URL** or **Test Token**. Email has no test, so
confirm it works when the first alert arrives. The webhook test leaves out the headers you added in the form. See [Create a monitoring
integration](/tir/alerts/how-to/create-a-monitoring-integration/).

### Why can I not delete a monitoring integration?

You can delete an integration only after you remove it from every alert that uses it. See [Manage monitoring
integrations](/tir/alerts/how-to/manage-monitoring-integrations/#delete-an-integration).

## Deleting

### What happens to attached resources when I delete an alert?

The alert is detached from all of them and stops sending notifications. To stop it on one resource
only, detach it there. See [Manage alerts](/tir/alerts/how-to/manage-alerts/#delete-an-alert).