The first parameter passed to the alarm program is the event-severity code. All events reported to the message log have one of the severity codes listed in Table 6. Message-log events that have severity 1 do not cause the database server to invoke the alarm program.
| Severity | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Not noteworthy. The event is not reported to the alarm program (for example, date change in the message log). |
| 2 | Information. No error has occurred, but some routine event completed successfully (for example, checkpoint or log backup completed). |
| 3 | Attention. This event does not compromise data or prevent the use of the system; however, it warrants attention (for example, one chunk of a mirrored pair goes down). |
| 4 | Emergency. Something unexpected occurred that might compromise data or access to data (assertion failure, or oncheck reports data corrupt). Take action immediately. |
| 5 | Fatal. Something unexpected occurred and caused the database server to fail. |