About alarms

Alarms notify people that a device point has met a set of predefined conditions.

An alarm can be generated for these reasons:

• Offnormal: a value is outside its appropriate or expected range.

  For example, the normal operating temperature range of a device may be 70 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The point’s out-of-range property generates an alarm if the temperature exceeds the upper limit or goes below the lower limit of this range.

• Alert: regular equipment maintenance or some other task is due to be performed.

  For example, a motor may require lubrication every 400 hours of operation (this is not an out-of-range condition). Using the alarming function, you can configure an extension with a control point that monitors accumulated device run-time and notifies an operator via email at or before the accumulated time reaches 400 hours. This is an alarm that does not have a normal state.

• Fault: occasionally, a device may report a value, which is so far out of range that it is obvious a device or system needs immediate attention.

  For example, if a device with a normal operating temperature of between 70 to 100 degrees reports a temperature of 0 degrees F or 1000 degrees F, it is probable that there is a device or system fault and that the reported temperature is not the actual temperature at the device. This type of condition requires a separate notification for values judged to be faults as opposed to authentic out-of-range conditions.

You can configure alarms to notify specified recipients and be recorded in the database. Normal conditions for an individual point are properties that may be set and edited, as desired, by a user with proper access and privileges.