Error Notifications

Error notifications should go without saying. However, getting notified of something wrong with the data warehouse can be challenging.

I blast out notifications of errors using SQL Server Agent and T-SQL. I try to make those blast outs go to distros instead of a specific individual. That usually involves working with whoever manages Exchange to get a proper distro built.

I really try to get a mailbox specifically for errors and not just informational notifications. However, if you have seen the average IT person’s corporate mail folder, you know its very easy to have the single error notification mailbox drowned out amongst the couple dozen other mailboxes they have set up.

The only solution for this that I have found is that it has to be someone’s daily task to check that mailbox regardless if there was an alert or not. I have gotten mixed results on this.

The bottom line here is I am just the crew chief. Once I hand off the jet, I cannot be responsible for pilot error. When the annunciator panel says, “hydraulic pressure low”, you cannot just ignore it like a teenager with their first car.