The Basics of Selecting Remote Alarm Network Reliability
Make sure your system supports these tools essential to remote network reliability:
- Alarm presentation and notification: Send detailed alarm descriptions and correction instructions to NOC and field techs via pager notifications and web interfaces.
- Alarm sorting and analysis: Make sense of alarm cascades with automatic intelligent alarm sorting, filtering, processing, and trend analysis.
- Alarm collection and device monitoring: Don't settle for limited remote network monitoring equipment. Get multiprotocol support for every monitoring device in your network, plus discrete alarms, analog alarms, ping alarms, and redundant path reporting.
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The Essential Network Reliability Checklist:
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Here's a handy checklist of items essential for network reliability. You should make sure these tools are present in your next system. Print this checklist out and use it to rate the systems you're evaluating.
If a system can't meet these basic requirements, cross it off your list.
Critical alarm collection and device monitoring functions
- Control relays: Many common site problems, from power outages to high temperature alarms, can be solved by quickly turning on a generator or an air conditioner. Remote operation of site devices is the best way to eliminate unnecessary site visits and it's a lot faster than going in the truck.
- Live analog monitoring: You can't adequately monitor battery levels, temperature, and humidity with one-threshold contact closures. Look for support for analog inputs, including live management of actual analog values.
- Multiprotocol support for your existing devices: Make sure your next master system collects alarms from all your existing devices, including your older legacy gear. You can get rid of all your specialized consoles and monitor your network from one screen.
- Back-up dial-up reporting: Don't rely on your primary network to bring back alarms. If anything goes wrong with your transport, you'll lose your telemetry data just when you need it the most. Look for a system that supports dial-up alternate path reporting.
- SNMP support and ping alarms: If you're responsible for both telecom and IP equipment, consolidate all your management on one system.
Key alarm presentation and notification functions
- Web interface: Everybody knows how to use a Web browser. A Web interface makes sure all your field techs can access your alarm system, from any computer from any location.
- Pager and e-mail notifications: Pager and e-mail notifications let your field techs respond to alarms while they're still in the field, speeding repairs and reducing windshield time. Look for a system with SMS support, which can send detailed alarm notifications to alpha pagers, cell phones, and PDAs.
- Alarm correction instructions: Detailed instructions included in alarm notifications ensure that system operators, without extra training, will know precisely what to do and who to call if an alarm happens.
- Detailed alarm notifications: Summary "major/minor" alarms don't give you enough information to make dispatch decisions. Look for a network alarm management system that includes detailed diagnostic information in each alarm.
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Essential alarm sorting and analysis functions
- History and trend analysis: Identify problem areas and eliminate recurring problems with a system that keeps a complete alarm history that's exportable for trend analysis.
- Custom combination alarms: A low battery isn't a serious problem, and neither is a failed generator, but they're pretty serious when the happen at the same time. Look for a system that can watch many different alarm inputs and spot critical alarm combinations.
- Nuisance alarm filtering: Even the best NOC staff stops taking alarms seriously if they're bombarded with status alerts, oscillating conditions, and unimportant alarms. Look for a system that filters these out.
- Root cause analysis: Finding the underlying cause between alarm cascades can take hours of patient detective work. Look for a system that can automatically correlate repeated combinations of alarms.
- Alarm sorting: A large, complex network can create a cascade of alarms. Some are unimportant, but others are critical. Look for a system that can automatically sort and prioritize this flood of information for you.
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