Applications
Alarm Monitoring and Notification

Control Solutions' AddMe III and AddMe Jr. i.CanDoIt servers include scheduling capability along with SNMP support.

Control Solutions' i.Board2 is the lowest cost i.CanDoIt server that includes both SNMP support and Modbus RTU gateway support.

Case Study:

We have a backup generator that is scheduled to automatically exercise once a week by starting and running for half an hour. We want to be notified if it fails to start during this prescribed run time.

This is an example of being notified when something does not happen. See the full discussion here.

There are two things to configure for an alarm notification:
1. The alarm
2. The notification.
Both of these are illustrated here.

What are Threshold Rules? What are Events? 
Where are the Alarms?

These questions all point to essentially the same answer. You build an alarm by defining a threshold rule. When the threshold rule is triggered or activated, we call this an event. There are several things you can do with an event, and you may treat any of them as an alarm. An event may result in turning specific I/O on or off. An event may result in a notification message being sent (e.g., via email to your cell phone). An event may send a message to a central server which then decides what to do. An event may simply be logged in an event file to simply record the fact that it happened sometime.

How do I set up an Alarm?

I/O point data is placed in "registers" by easily configured I/O. Threshold "rules" determine what constitutes an event. The image below is a screen shot of a threshold rule that will result in an event when the sensor on input #7 exceeds a level of 1000. Data values are scaled to any units you decide. You find the threshold rules in the System->Action Rules->Thresholds page.

How do I prevent spurious events when the test value is hovering around the threshold?

Hysteresis will prevent spurious events near the threshold. In the following example, the event will occur when register 7 reaches a level of 1000. If register 7 drops below 1000 by a margin less than 50, then returns to above 1000, the event will not repeat. The value of register 7 must drop below 950 and return to over 1000 before the trap will repeat.

How do I generate an event only after the condition has existed for a minimum time?

The on/off time qualifications are used to add time to the criteria. The following example shows a minimum on time of 30 seconds. This means the data in register 7, most likely placed there by sensor hardware, must exceed a level of 1000 for at least 30 seconds before an event will be generated. If the minimum off time was also set, the rule must test false for that amount of time before it can repeat the "true" event.

How do I change event thresholds based on time of day?

Start by using a register for the test threshold rather than fixed value as shown below:

Then alter the contents of this threshold register based on schedule in the Advanced->Scheduler->Weekly Schedule page as shown below.

Using the example setup shown above, the event will be generated any time register 7 exceeds a level of 1000 between 8AM and 5PM, Monday through Friday. The rest of the time, register 7 needs to exceed a level of 1500 before an event will be generated.

Email notifications generated directly by the remote device are very effective for a small number of sites. But this approach can get unmanageable for a larger number of sites. To get the same benefits with far less hassle, consider taking advantage of the LogMyData web portal.

Internet Remote Monitoring Web Portal Subscription for Wired Devices (also available Wireless)

• Event notifications
• History Logging
• Service Record Maintenance
• Web portal account

We have an alarm. Now how do we set up a notification?

One of the useful things you can do with an event defined by a "threshold rule" is send an email to notify someone that something has happened. You may define "recipients" which can be one or more email addresses. You select or define the message, and then pick which events cause this email to be sent.

Each threshold rule that has been defined under System->Action Rules->Thresholds is listed on the email events page. Each event may be checked off for delivery to any of the recipients. You have the option of sending the email when the event first occurs (notify on true) and when the event clears (notify on false).

The email handling capability of i.CanDoIt includes the ability to receive email as well. If you would like email messages to be repeated until somebody acknowledges the event, check the "Expect Ack" box and enter a repeat time. To acknowledge the event, you only need to "Reply To" the email you received. The mail will contain a coded acknowledge string generated automatically when the email is sent. If the reply contains this expected reply string, the event is considered acknowledged.

The email server is set up on the Email Server page, with additional network setting entered on the System Setup, Network page. Visit the Guided Tours to see examples of server setup.

This is one of several Applications pages that may now be found on our web site. It is our goal to continue adding more applications information over time to help you find new tips, techniques, and helpful information for using our network and Internet enabled devices. We welcome your feedback. Please email support@csimn.com with your suggestions about how we can help you more effectively. If you have technical questions that you would like a response to, please open a support ticket - start by clicking Support above.