Configuring Alarms

Alarm configuration in N3uron is flexible and fully customizable to your needs. A tag can have one or multiple alarms configured within it. Alarms can also be configured in Templates so that each instance will already have alarms configured when the instance is created. Alarm settings can be used to create alarms that are equal or not equal to a certain setpoint, above or below a setpoint, etc. In the event that complex conditions are required, users will have to resort to the Derived Tags module. 

To configure an alarm, let's start by creating a tag by following some simple steps.

• Step 1: Go to System-->Config-->Tags. Here, a new tag can be created in one of two ways: click on the menu button located on the left-hand side of the Model header and select New Tag, or alternatively, right-click on the root folder in the Model panel and select New Tag. 

Figure.1 Create a new tag

• Step 2: Give it a name (in this example, it has been named Tag).
• Step 3: Go to the Alarms & Events section within the tag configuration area and click on the ellipsis button on the right-hand side of the Alarms label. In the drop-down menu, select the New Tag Alarm-number option.

Figure 2. Alarm creation menu

• Step 4: Give it a name (in this example, we have used Power Limit).
• Step 5: Expand the menu located under the new alarm you have just created to see the following parameters:
  • Enabled: Enables evaluation of the alarm condition.
  • Description: Provides additional information about the alarm. 
  • Priority: Specifies the priority or severity level for the alarm. Each level is associated with a numeric value:
    • 1 = Low
    • 2 = Medium
    • 3 = High
    • 4 = Critical
      Note:

      Timestamp source and Ack mode fields are available from N3uron version 1.21.7.
  • Timestamp source: Apply the timestamp when the alarm is activated or cleared.
    • Source: Use the tag timestamp.
    • Local: Use the node timestamp.
  • Ack mode: Defines how acknowledgement works for the alarm.
    • Manual: Users will have to manually ack the alarm.
    • Auto: When the alarm is cleared, it will be acked automatically. Users can still ack the alarm while is active.
    • Unused: The alarm will be always acked, regardless of the status.
  • Mode: This setting controls which condition this alarm is evaluating. The available modes are as follows: 
    • Equal to: Active when the Tag value is equal to the alarm's Target value. 
    • Not equal to: Active when the Tag value is not equal to the alarm's Target value.
    • Greater than: Active when the Tag value is above the alarm's Target value. 
    • Greater than or equal to: Active when the Tag value is above or equal to the alarm's Target value. 
    • Less than: Active when the Tag value is below the alarm's Target value. 
    • Less than or equal to: Active when the Tag value is below or equal to the alarm's Target value. 
      Note:

      Between setpoints and Outside setpoints fields are available from N3uron version 1.21.7.
    • Between setpoints: Active when the Tag value is between the alarm's low value and high value. It is possible to include the high and low values. 
    • Outside setpoints: Active when the Tag value is below the alarm's low value or above the alarm's high value. It is possible to include the high and low values. 
  • Target 
    • Value: Value to compare to.
      Note:

      Clear deadband and Delay fields are available from N3uron version 1.21.7.
    • Clear deadband: Apply the deadband when clearing an alarm. 
      • Use u to set an absolute number. For example, if the Target is 100, having a deadband of 5.5u will set the clearing value to 94.5.
      • Use % to set a percentage. For example, if the Target is 100, having a deadband of 10% will set the clearing value to 90.
  • Delay:
    • Active: Defines the time, in milliseconds, before the alarm will be considered active after the alarm's condition becomes true. The default value is 0. 
    • Clear: Defines the time, in milliseconds, before an active alarm will be considered clear after the alarm's condition becomes false.  The default value is 0.

The image below shows an alarm that has already been configured.

Figure 3. Alarm Configuration Example