Opsgenie to ilert Migration Guide

This comprehensive guide helps Opsgenie customers migrate to ilert by mapping concepts between the two platforms and providing step-by-step migration instructions.

Overview

ilert offers a free migration service from Opsgenie to help you transition smoothly. This guide will help you understand how Opsgenie concepts map to ilert and how to get started quickly.

Need Help? Contact our support team at [email protected] for assistance with your migration. We'll work with you to create a migration plan tailored to your specific setup.

Concept Mapping: Opsgenie vs ilert

Understanding how Opsgenie concepts translate to ilert is the first step in your migration journey.

Opsgenie Concept	ilert Equivalent	Description
Alert	Alert	Technical alerts from monitoring tools that notify on-call responders
Integration	Alert Source (Inbound Integration)	Connection point where events from monitoring tools are received
Escalation Policy	Escalation Policy	Defines who gets notified and when alerts escalate
Schedule	On-call Schedule	Determines who is on-call at any given time
Team	Team	Organizational unit for managing access and visibility
User	User	Individual team members who receive notifications
Incident	Incident	Communication tool for stakeholders (different from technical alerts)
Service	Service	Business capabilities that stakeholders can subscribe to
Status Page	Status Page	Public-facing pages to communicate service status
Responder	Responder	User assigned to handle an alert
Alert Rule	Alert Source Configuration	Rules for processing and grouping events
Forwarding Rule	Event Flow (optional)	Advanced routing and processing of events
Notification Rule	Notification Settings	User preferences for how they receive notifications
Heartbeat	Heartbeat Monitoring	Monitors connectivity between infrastructure and ilert

Key Differences to Understand

1. Alerts vs Incidents

Opsgenie:

• Uses "alerts" and "incidents" somewhat interchangeably for technical issues

ilert:

• Alerts: Technical signals from monitoring tools, targeted at on-call responders

• Incidents: Communication tool for stakeholders and external users about service-impacting issues

Migration Tip: Your Opsgenie alerts will become ilert alerts. If you used Opsgenie incidents for stakeholder communication, you'll want to create ilert incidents separately.

2. Integrations vs Alert Sources

Opsgenie:

• Integrations are configured per monitoring tool

• Each integration has its own configuration

ilert:

• Alert sources (inbound integrations) are the connection points

• Each alert source represents one endpoint for receiving events

• Supports 100+ pre-built integrations

Migration Tip: Each Opsgenie integration typically maps to one ilert alert source. You can also use the Event API for custom integrations.

3. Escalation Policies

Opsgenie:

• Escalation policies define notification rules and escalation paths

ilert:

• Escalation policies work similarly but with some enhanced features:

  • Support for delayed escalation (to avoid paging for self-resolving alerts)

  • Routing keys for dynamic policy selection

  • Multiple targets per escalation level (depending on your plan)

Migration Tip: Your Opsgenie escalation policies can be recreated in ilert with similar structure. The escalation timeout concept is the same.

Migration Checklist

Use this checklist to track your migration progress:

Pre-Migration

• Review your current Opsgenie setup and document all integrations

• List all teams, users, and their roles

• Document all escalation policies and their configurations

• List all schedules and rotation patterns

• Identify all integrations and their configurations

• Note any custom workflows or automations

Account Setup

• Create ilert account at app.ilert.com/signup

• Set up account timezone and basic settings

Users and Teams

• Import or create all users

• Set up teams (if using team-based organization)

• Configure user roles and permissions

• Set up user notification preferences (phone numbers, email, etc.)

• Configure two-factor authentication (2FA) if needed

On-Call Schedules

• Create all on-call schedules

• Set up recurring schedules with rotation patterns

• Configure schedule layers for complex rotations

• Configure schedule restrictions

• Test schedule coverage

Escalation Policies

• Create escalation policies matching your Opsgenie policies

• Configure escalation rules with timeouts

• Assign users and schedules to escalation levels

• Set up delayed escalation if needed

• Configure routing keys if using dynamic routing

Alert Sources (Integrations)

• Create alert sources for each monitoring tool

• Configure integration-specific settings

• Set up event grouping if needed

• Test alert ingestion from each source

• Update webhook URLs or API keys in monitoring tools

Advanced Features

• Set up event flows (if using forwarding rules)

• Configure support hours

• Set up maintenance windows

• Configure alert actions (outbound integrations)

• Set up heartbeat monitoring if used

• Configure status pages and services

• Set up ChatOps integrations (Slack, Microsoft Teams)

Testing and Validation

• Test alert creation from each integration

• Verify escalation paths work correctly

• Test on-call schedule assignments

• Verify notification delivery (SMS, voice, email, push)

• Test alert acknowledgment and resolution

• Validate team visibility and permissions

• Test incident creation and status page updates

Cutover

• Schedule migration cutover window

• Notify team members of migration

• Update all monitoring tools to point to ilert

• Monitor for any issues during cutover

• Verify all alerts are flowing correctly

• Deactivate Opsgenie integrations (after validation period)

Step-by-Step Migration Process

Step 1: Create Your ilert Account

1. Go to app.ilert.com/signup

2. Create your account with your email address

3. Verify your email and log in

4. Complete the initial setup wizard

Step 2: Set Up Users and Teams

Import Users

Use our API or manually create users:

1. Go to Users → Users

2. Click Create new user

3. Enter user details (name, email, phone number)

4. Assign user role (Account Owner, Admin, User, or Read-only)

5. Configure notification preferences

Create Teams

1. Go to Users → Teams

2. Click Create new team

3. Enter team name and description

4. Add team members

5. Configure team roles and permissions

6. Set team visibility (public or private)

Migration Tip: If you have many teams in Opsgenie, consider using ilert's team-based organization to manage visibility and permissions effectively.

Step 3: Create On-Call Schedules

Recurring Schedules

For schedules with repeating patterns:

1. Go to On-call schedules → Create new on-call schedule

2. Choose Create recurring schedule

3. Add users in rotation order

4. Set rotation interval (daily, weekly, etc.)

5. Set start date and time

6. Configure coverage restrictions if needed

7. Add schedule layers for complex rotations

Step 4: Create Escalation Policies

1. Go to Escalation policies → Create new escalation policy

2. Enter policy name

3. Optionally assign to a team

4. Add escalation rules:

   • Click Add escalation rule

   • Select target (user or schedule)

   • Set escalation timeout

   • Repeat for each escalation level

5. Configure delayed escalation (optional) to avoid paging for self-resolving alerts

6. Set routing key if using dynamic routing (optional)

Migration Tip: ilert supports multiple targets per escalation level (depending on your plan), which can simplify your escalation policies compared to Opsgenie.

Step 5: Create Alert Sources (Integrations)

For each monitoring tool you use:

1. Go to Alert sources → Alert sources

2. Click Create new alert source

3. Search for your integration type (e.g., "Prometheus", "Datadog", "Email")

4. Select the integration and click Next

5. Enter alert source name

6. Optionally assign to teams

7. Click Next

8. Select or create an escalation policy

9. Configure alert grouping:

   • Default groupiung: Events with the same key (called alias in Opsgenie) update the same alert

   • Time-based grouping: By using a fixed time-window or until alert is acknowledged or resolved

   • Group by ilert AI: Intelligent grouping using AI

10. Click Continue setup

11. Configure additional settings (priority, templates, etc.)

12. Click Finish setup

13. Copy the API key or webhook URL

14. Update your monitoring tool to use the new endpoint

Common Integrations:

• Email: Forward emails to alert source email address

• Event API: Use REST API for custom integrations

• Prometheus: Configure Alertmanager to send to ilert

• Datadog: Use Datadog webhook integration

• AWS CloudWatch: Use SNS integration

• Grafana: Use Grafana webhook notification channel

Migration Tip: ilert supports an Opsgenie integration that can forward alerts during migration. This allows you to run both systems in parallel during the transition.

Step 6: Configure Notification Settings

For each user:

1. Go to User settings → Notification settings

2. Add phone number for SMS and voice alerts

3. Configure notification channels:

   • Push notifications (mobile app)

   • SMS

   • Voice calls

   • Email

4. Set up notification rules:

   • When to use high vs low priority

   • Alert update notifications

   • On-call reminder notifications

   • Incident notifications

Migration Tip: ilert supports acknowledging alerts via SMS reply, which is convenient for on-call responders.

Step 7: Set Up Advanced Features

Support Hours

Define when your team is available:

1. Go to Alert sources → Support hours

2. Create support hours

3. Assign to alert sources

4. Configure behavior during off-hours (delay, escalate, etc.)

Maintenance Windows

Suppress alerts during planned maintenance:

1. Go to Alert sources → Maintenance windows

2. Create maintenance window

3. Set start and end time

4. Assign to alert sources

Event Flows (Optional)

For advanced routing and processing:

1. Go to Alert sources → Event flows

2. Create event flow

3. Configure routing rules

4. Add processing steps

5. Connect to alert sources

Step 8: Set Up Status Pages and Incidents

If you use Opsgenie for stakeholder communication:

1. Go to Incidents & Status Pages → Services

2. Create services representing your business capabilities

3. Go to Status Pages

4. Create status pages

5. Add services to status pages

6. Configure subscribers and notifications

Migration Tip: In ilert, incidents are separate from alerts and are designed specifically for stakeholder communication, not technical alerting.

Step 9: Test Your Setup

Before cutting over:

1. Test Alert Creation:

   • Send a test alert from each integration

   • Verify alert appears in ilert

   • Check alert details and metadata

2. Test Escalation:

   • Create a test alert

   • Verify first responder is notified

   • Wait for escalation timeout

   • Verify escalation to next level

3. Test On-Call Assignment:

   • Verify correct person is on-call

   • Test schedule rotation

   • Verify gap detection works

4. Test Notifications:

   • Verify SMS delivery

   • Test voice calls

   • Check email notifications

   • Verify ChatOps integration

5. Test Acknowledgment:

   • Acknowledge alert via web UI

   • Acknowledge via SMS reply

   • Acknowledge via mobile app

   • Verify escalation stops

Step 10: Cutover to ilert

When ready to switch:

1. Schedule Cutover:

   • Choose a low-traffic period

   • Notify all team members

   • Have support resources available

2. Update Integrations:

   • Update webhook URLs in monitoring tools

   • Replace API keys

   • Update configuration files

   • Test each integration after update

3. Monitor:

   • Watch for alerts in ilert

   • Verify all integrations are working

   • Check for any missed alerts

   • Monitor escalation paths

4. Validate:

   • Compare alert volume with Opsgenie

   • Verify all critical alerts are received

   • Check notification delivery

   • Validate team assignments

5. Deactivate Opsgenie:

   • After validation period (recommend 1-2 weeks)

   • Deactivate Opsgenie integrations

   • Archive Opsgenie data if needed

Common Migration Scenarios

Scenario 1: Simple Team with Basic Escalation

Opsgenie Setup:

• One team

• One escalation policy: User A → User B (after 5 min)

• Email integration

ilert Setup:

1. Create team

2. Add users A and B

3. Create escalation policy:

   • Level 1: User A (5 min timeout)

   • Level 2: User B

4. Create email alert source

5. Assign escalation policy to alert source

Scenario 2: Multiple Teams with Schedules

Opsgenie Setup:

• Multiple teams

• Schedules with rotations

• Team-specific escalation policies

ilert Setup:

1. Create all teams

2. Create on-call schedules for each team

3. Create escalation policies per team

4. Assign schedules to escalation policies

5. Create alert sources per team

6. Use team filter to manage visibility

Scenario 3: Follow-the-Sun Schedule

Opsgenie Setup:

• 24/7 coverage across timezones

• Multiple schedule layers

ilert Setup:

1. Create recurring schedule

2. Add schedule layers:

   • Layer 1: US team (9 AM - 5 PM EST)

   • Layer 2: EU team (9 AM - 5 PM CET)

   • Layer 3: APAC team (9 AM - 5 PM JST)

3. Configure timezone for each layer

4. Assign to escalation policy

Migration Tip: ilert's schedule layers make follow-the-sun schedules easier to configure than in Opsgenie.

Scenario 4: Complex Integration Setup

Opsgenie Setup:

• Multiple monitoring tools

• Custom forwarding rules

• Alert deduplication

ilert Setup:

1. Create alert source for each monitoring tool

2. Use event flows for complex routing (if needed)

3. Configure alert grouping:

   • Use "Group by alert key" for deduplication

   • Or use "Group by ilert AI" for intelligent grouping

4. Set up alert actions for automation

What Can Be Migrated?

ilert can migrate the following from Opsgenie:

✅ Users and teams: All user accounts and team structures ✅ Schedules and rotations: On-call schedules and rotation patterns ✅ Escalation policies: Alert escalation rules and workflows ✅ Integration configurations: Alert source settings and webhook configurations

What Cannot Be Migrated?

Due to system differences and historical data integrity considerations:

❌ Historical alerts and incidents: Past alert and incident data cannot be migrated ❌ Alert history: Historical alert logs and timelines ❌ Custom integrations: Custom code and scripts need to be recreated

Note: While historical data cannot be migrated, you can export it from Opsgenie for reference if needed.

Integration-Specific Migration Notes

Prometheus

Opsgenie: Configure Alertmanager with Opsgenie webhook ilert: Configure Alertmanager with ilert webhook URL

1. Create Prometheus alert source in ilert

2. Copy webhook URL

3. Update Alertmanager configuration:

   receivers:
     - name: 'ilert'
       webhook_configs:
         - url: 'https://api.ilert.com/api/v1/events/prometheus/YOUR-API-KEY'

Datadog

Opsgenie: Use Datadog Opsgenie integration ilert: Use Datadog webhook integration

1. Create Datadog alert source in ilert

2. Copy webhook URL

3. In Datadog, create webhook integration

4. Point to ilert webhook URL

AWS CloudWatch

Opsgenie: Use CloudWatch SNS integration ilert: Use CloudWatch SNS integration

1. Create Amazon SNS alert source in ilert

2. Create SNS topic in AWS

3. Subscribe ilert webhook to SNS topic

4. Configure CloudWatch alarms to publish to SNS

Email Integration

Opsgenie: Forward emails to Opsgenie email address ilert: Forward emails to ilert alert source email address

1. Create email alert source in ilert

2. Copy unique email address

3. Update email forwarding rules

4. Configure email parsing rules if needed

Custom Integrations

Opsgenie: Use Opsgenie API ilert: Use ilert Event API

1. Create API alert source in ilert

2. Get API key

3. Update your code to use ilert Event API:

   curl -X POST https://api.ilert.com/api/v1/events/YOUR-API-KEY \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{
       "eventType": "ALERT",
       "summary": "Alert summary",
       "details": "Alert details"
     }'

Best Practices

1. Start Small

• Begin with a single team or integration

• Test thoroughly before expanding

• Gradually migrate remaining teams

2. Run in Parallel

• Use ilert's Opsgenie integration to forward alerts during migration

• Run both systems simultaneously during transition

• Compare alert handling between systems

3. Document Everything

• Document your Opsgenie configuration

• Keep notes on what works and what doesn't

• Share learnings with your team

4. Train Your Team

• Schedule training sessions

• Create quick reference guides

• Set up office hours for questions

5. Leverage ilert Features

• Use delayed escalation to reduce noise

• Configure intelligent alert grouping with AI

• Set up maintenance windows

• Use event flows for advanced routing

Troubleshooting

Alerts Not Appearing

• Verify webhook URL is correct

• Check API key is valid

• Review alert source logs

• Verify integration is enabled

Escalation Not Working

• Check escalation policy is assigned to alert source

• Verify escalation timeouts are set

• Check users are assigned to escalation levels

• Verify on-call schedules have coverage

Notifications Not Delivered

• Verify user phone numbers are set

• Check notification settings

• Verify notification rules

• Check quiet hours settings

Schedule Issues

• Verify schedule has users assigned

• Check schedule layers are configured correctly

• Verify timezone settings

• Check for schedule gaps

Getting Help

Support Resources

• Email Support: [email protected]

• Documentation: docs.ilert.com

• Quick Start Guide: Getting Started

Migration Assistance

ilert offers free migration assistance:

• Configuration review

• Setup assistance

• Training sessions

• Post-migration support

Contact [email protected] to get started.

Next Steps

After completing your migration:

1. Optimize Your Setup:

   • Review alert grouping rules

   • Fine-tune escalation policies

   • Configure maintenance windows

   • Set up alert actions for automation

2. Explore Advanced Features:

   • AI-powered alert grouping

   • Event flows for complex routing

   • Status pages and incident communication

   • Advanced reporting and analytics

3. Train Your Team:

   • Schedule training sessions

   • Create runbooks

   • Document workflows

   • Share best practices

4. Monitor and Improve:

   • Review alert patterns

   • Optimize escalation paths

   • Reduce alert noise

   • Improve response times

Related Documentation

• Quick Start Guide

• Alert Sources

• Escalation Policies

• On-Call Schedules

• Teams

• Opsgenie Migration FAQ

---

Ready to get started? Sign up for ilert and contact [email protected] for migration assistance.