Grafana OnCall Quiz
Last Updated: September 13, 2026
This quiz covers review/migration of archived OnCall OSS installations.
A quiz to test your understanding of Grafana OnCall.
Cloud Connection ended on 2026-03-24. OSS mobile push through the Grafana IRM app and SMS/voice notifications relying on Cloud Connection no longer function. Separately configured Twilio or other notification services are distinct paths; this does not mean every self-hosted phone/SMS mechanism ended.
- Which is NOT a key feature of Grafana OnCall?
- A) On-call schedule management
- B) Escalation chain configuration
- C) Metric collection and storage
- D) ChatOps integration (Slack, Teams)
Show Answer
Answer: C) Metric collection and storage
Explanation: OnCall receives and manages alerts, schedules, routing and responder actions; it is not a metrics database. OSS was archived on 2026-03-24. Channel/API availability in an existing installation must be checked separately from maintained Cloud IRM.
- What is the role of the
waittype in Grafana OnCall's escalation policy?- A) Wait for data collection before sending alerts
- B) Wait before proceeding to the next escalation step
- C) Wait for user response then auto-resolve
- D) Wait for alert grouping
Show Answer
Answer: B) Wait before proceeding to the next escalation step
Explanation: A wait step delays the next escalation step. It neither acknowledges nor resolves an incident. The inspected public serializer accepts one-minute-to-24-hour waits, in seconds; actual stop/re-page behavior depends on the chain and alert-group state.
- What is an "Override" in Grafana OnCall's on-call schedule?
- A) Completely deleting and recreating the schedule
- B) Temporarily changing the responder for a specific period in the existing schedule
- C) Changing the schedule's time zone
- D) Modifying the rotation cycle
Show Answer
Answer: B) Temporarily changing the responder for a specific period in the existing schedule
Explanation: An override changes coverage for a defined period. In the inspected API it is an on_call_shifts type, with an explicit timezone and the required association to the intended schedule. Verify existing shift IDs, priorities, gaps and final responders; do not assume the old nested overrides endpoint.
- What method is used when integrating Grafana OnCall with Alertmanager?
- A) Alertmanager directly collects OnCall's metrics
- B) Send alerts to OnCall via Alertmanager's webhook_configs
- C) OnCall periodically polls Alertmanager's API
- D) Both systems share a database
Show Answer
Answer: B) Send alerts to OnCall via Alertmanager's webhook_configs
Explanation: Use webhook_configs with the generated URL for the actual integration type, stored in a protected url_file when suitable. Define every referenced receiver and use current matchers. Public API raw-token authentication is separate from a webhook URL; send_resolved does not make OnCall update the source rule.
- What is the main purpose of alert grouping in Grafana OnCall?
- A) Sort alerts by time
- B) Group related alerts into one to reduce alert fatigue
- C) Classify alerts by severity
- D) Automatically delete duplicate alerts
Show Answer
Answer: B) Group related alerts into one to reduce alert fatigue
Explanation: Grouping can reduce duplicate responder work but must use a key scoped to the incident domain. Too few labels merge unrelated incidents; unbounded IDs fragment groups. Source Alertmanager timing and OnCall grouping/resolution templates are distinct, and delivery is not guaranteed exactly once.
- What happens when the
importantflag is true fornotify_on_call_from_schedulein Grafana OnCall's escalation policy?- A) Alert is marked as highest priority
- B) The user's configured important notification-rule set is selected
- C) Escalation chain is skipped and alert is sent immediately to supervisor
- D) Alert is permanently stored
Show Answer
Answer: B) The user's configured important notification-rule set is selected
Explanation: Important selects the user's important personal notification-rule set. The configured rule order, waits, channels and availability still apply. It does not automatically send through all channels; default rules are not universally Slack-only.
- Which is the correct way to use Slack actions with an existing OnCall installation?
- A) Assume every installation supports /oncall ack
- B) Treat slash commands as Bash
- C) Verify the installed app's commands, permissions and action buttons
- D) Assume acknowledgment resolves the source monitor
Show Answer
Answer: C) Verify the installed app's commands, permissions and action buttons
Explanation: Check the installed Slack app's actual root command/help and authorized action buttons. The inspected source uses a configurable root command and /grafana examples, not the old asserted /oncall command catalogue. Acknowledge, Resolve and Silence are distinct actions; deployment execution is not implied.
- What is the appropriate basis for a new on-call tool or migration decision?
- A) Choose only by old integration counts
- B) Assume OSS has no operating cost
- C) Check maintenance, required features, actual cost and migration/recovery
- D) Install archived OnCall OSS by default
Show Answer
Answer: C) Check maintenance, required features, actual cost and migration/recovery
Explanation: Use current maintenance/lifecycle, required features, operating cost and contracts. Fixed old integration counts or per-user prices are insufficient. OnCall OSS is archived; Opsgenie has an announced 2027-04-05 service/support end. Review a maintained destination and test migration/recovery.
- What must be verified for availability of an existing OnCall deployment?
- A) Three API replicas guarantee availability
- B) Dependencies, state, delivery, failure and recovery behavior
- C) Only the number of clusters
- D) Only a read-only database replica
Show Answer
Answer: B) Dependencies, state, delivery, failure and recovery behavior
Explanation: Replica count alone does not remove every failure point. Existing installations require dependency, broker/cache/database, scheduler, key, TLS, delivery and recovery validation. Archived OSS is not a default new production choice; no HA deployment was exercised in this review.
- What is the main purpose of setting up routes in Grafana OnCall?
- A) Network traffic distribution
- B) Apply different escalation chains based on alert conditions
- C) Database query optimization
- D) User authentication path configuration
Show Answer
Answer: B) Apply different escalation chains based on alert conditions
Explanation: Routes select escalation/notification behavior using the integration's actual payload, matching mode, ordering and fallback. The inspected serializer uses nested slack.channel_id/enabled. Test missing/conflicting fields; arbitrary message-text regex matching is not a universal provider contract.