Schedules and overrides

Define who is on call and how an unacknowledged alert escalates.

How routing works

A schedule contains one or more rotation layers. Each layer belongs to an escalation level.

• People within one layer rotate over time.
• Every layer at level 1 is eligible first.
• Higher levels are paged while the alert remains unacknowledged.
• The chain can restart at level 1 for a limited number of passes.

One layer selects one person at a time. Use several layers at the same level when several people must be eligible together.

Create a schedule

1. Open Schedules.
2. Select New schedule.
3. Enter a name and select an IANA timezone.
4. Add at least one user to the first layer.
5. Set the rotation start and handoff interval.
6. Set the escalation delay and chain repeat count.
7. Select Create schedule.

Build rotations and escalation levels

Add users to a layer in the order that they take the rotation. The layer start time anchors the sequence.

Assign layers to level 1 for the first page. Assign backup layers to levels 2 and above. Acked waits for the configured escalation delay before it moves to the next level.

Use Repeat the chain to control the total number of passes. Acked marks the alert unreachable after the final pass ends without acknowledgement.

Set channel policy

Channel policy selects push, email, or voice for a priority at one escalation level. A priority without a rule uses every available channel.

1. Open the schedule.
2. Find Channel policy for the required level.
3. Add a priority rule.
4. Select its channels and save.

An empty channel selection means that priority uses no channels at that level.

Add a temporary override

An override replaces the scheduled user for a defined time window. It does not change the saved rotation.

1. Open the schedule.
2. Select a day in the calendar or select Add override.
3. Choose the replacement user.
4. Set the start and end times.
5. Save the override.

The schedule timezone controls the displayed override times.

Verify a schedule change

1. Confirm the current responder.
2. Confirm the next handoff.
3. Confirm each escalation level and delay.
4. Send a test alert through a service that uses the schedule.

Delete or clone a schedule

Use Clone when a new schedule shares an existing structure. Edit the clone before you assign services.

A schedule cannot be deleted while a service uses it. Move each service to another schedule first.