User-configurable alerts for computing servers

A data-communications system including a communications server to provide data communications services including voice-over-IP services over a broadband network to a plurality of different entities respectively associated with a plurality of accounts, the data-communications system comprising:

• for each of the plurality of accounts, a user interface to permit an authorized user to configure a virtual data center in a settings file that is associated with said each of the plurality of accounts and that includes user-configurable server settings to identify each of a plurality of virtual servers to be used in a virtual data center;
• the virtual data center including a set of computing servers configured to provide a respective set of virtual servers for each of a plurality of accounts, the respective set of virtual servers for said each of the plurality of accounts being configured to provide the voice-over-IP services for users of said each of the plurality of accounts and at least one additional service from among the following services for web hosting, virtual meetings, billing, remote computing, call routing, load balancing, and switch board services through use of a private branch exchange;
• and
• a processing circuit communicatively-coupled to the set of computing servers and configured to, for each of the plurality of accounts:
• determine an operating state of the respective set of virtual servers provided for the account;
• access a respective alert policy of the account to assess whether the operating state of the virtual servers, relative to alert criteria indicated in the respective alert policy, deems that an alert message to one or more users specified in the respective alert policy should be sent, wherein the respective alert policy of the account is stored in or associated with the settings file;
• and
• permit the authorized user of the account to manage, through the user interface, available ones of the data communications services, the virtual data center in the settings file, and the respective alert policy as a user is presented with optional actions in response to the alert message.