Reintroduce “From now for” option for setting downtimes (removed in 2.3)
Up to Checkmk version 2.2, the downtime command included the option “From now for”, which started a downtime at the moment of confirmation and allowed defining its duration directly. Starting with version 2.3, this option was removed and replaced by predefined presets.
In our experience, “From now for” was the most frequently used option when manually setting downtimes. It allowed users to react immediately and define an arbitrary duration, without being limited to predefined presets.
With the current presets, the downtime start time is determined when the preset is selected, not when the downtime is confirmed. This makes short downtimes (e.g. a 2-minute virtual server reboot) error-prone. Any delay between selection and confirmation can cause the error “You cannot set a downtime that ends in the past”, forcing the user to restart the process.
Reintroducing “From now for” would improve usability, reduce errors, and better match real operational workflows. Ideally, it should coexist
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19 Jan
Tanja Hohenstatt AdminHi Hardy,
thanks for the feedback! This "Any delay between selection and confirmation can cause the error “You cannot set a downtime that ends in the past”, forcing the user to restart the process." makes it sound to me like a bug. Can you please create a support ticket? We can then take care of it.
Cheers
Tanja -
22 Jan
Hardy DüttmannHi Tanja,
I don’t believe this is a bug. It works exactly as intended.
Using the predefined duration buttons, you select the length of the downtime. When you press a button, the start and end times are set in the fields below. For short downtimes—for example, a reboot of virtual machines—the downtime can be very brief. If you wait too long before setting it, the end of the downtime may already have been reached before you click the button, which then results in the error shown below.
The old option “Downtime from Now for” was much more flexible in terms of timing, and you didn’t have to define buttons first for the duration. The start and end times for the downtime are set exactly set at the moment the button is pressed, not beforehand.
I’d be happy to briefly demonstrate this behavior if you like.
Best regards
Hardy
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