When the phone system detects an error or alarm, the system will dial the telephone number (OSS) associated with AlarmTraq to send an alarm string. Once the alarm string is received by AlarmTraq, it is processed according to it’s severity and site profile settings.

First lets take a look at a typical alarm from a Definity G3:

123456789026/07:41,EOF,ACT|01A10,DS1-BD,y,MIN

The alarm string contains all the information to identify the site (Product ID), Time, Date, MO, Equipment Number and severity of the alarm.

123456789026/07:41,EOF,ACT|01A10,DS1-BD,y,MIN

This alarm is broken down as:

Definition	Value	Possible Values
Product ID	1234567890	10 Digits
Day	26	1-31 (Day of the month)
Time	07:41	00:00 – 23:59 (Time)
Emergency Xfer Status	EOF	EOF or EOT
Alarm Code	ACT	ACT (Active), RES (Resource), TST (Test), RST (Reset) or CLR (Clear)
Equipment Number	01A10	TEXT (UUCSS format)
Maintenance Object	DS1-BD	TEXT
OnBoard Alarm	Y	y/n or integer
Alarm Type	MIN	MAJ, MIN or WAR

AlarmTraq will attempt to process the alarm in its internal database and then send notification of the alarm based on the severity (Alarm Type) via pager, email, cell phone, Blackberry, Printer and web.

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Alarms that are reported to AlarmTraq

Alarms are classified as major, minor, or warning, depending the degree of severity and the effect on the system.

Alarm Level and description	Reported to AlarmTraq	Reported to Attendant	Action to be taken
Major Critical Service degradation	Y	Y After 4 attempts to contact AlarmTraq	Immediate Action
Minor Could be service effecting, usually only effects lines and trunks.	Y	Y After 4 attempts to contact AlarmTraq	Investigate problem and dispatch as needed
Warning	N AlarmTraq will receive some messages if instructed	N	If recurring problem investigate and dispatch as needed

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Understanding the Maintenance Object Database

When AlarmTraq receives an alarm from a system it looks in the alarm for what is called the Maintenance Object (MO). MOs are the software modules that monitor, test, and report possible fault conditions.

Once an alarm has been received by AlarmTraq and entered into the system, The specific MO is compared against the Maintenance Object Database to see if a match is found. If no match is found, the MO is automatically added to the database for future use.

Maintenance Object Database

If a match is found, the associated command(s) are formatted to so they can be interpreted by the switch. Using the alarm string from the previous chapter:

123456789026/07:41,EOF,ACT|01A10,DS1-BD,y,MIN;

The MO = DS1-BD

The EN = 01A10

Maintenance Object Database lookup:

Maint Object = DS1-BD

AlarmCode = ACT

AlarmType = MIN

OnBoard = Y

Command 1 = test board

Send EN = checked

Bash = unchecked

Suffix = long

 

Since a match was found, the first command to be issued to the switch will be : ‘test board 01A10 long’.

 

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Sending commands using Auto Dial-Back

Multiple commands may be sent to the switch for any Maintenance Object Database entry.

Alarm Data

Maintenance Object - Enter the alarm maintenance object

Alarm Code - Enter a valid alarm code. Valid configurations are:

• ACT

• RES

• RST

• CLR

Alarm Type - Enter a valid alarm type. Valid configurations are:

• MAJ - Major Alarm

• MIN - Minor Alarm

• WAR - Warning Message

OnBoard - Enter y, n or a number (0-10) 

 

Dial-Back Command

Command (1 – 6) - Enter a valid command to test this Maintenance object

Send EN - Select this checkbox if you want to send the port information with the command. Examples are:

·         Select the Send EN checkbox for the following type of commands:

• test board 01a04 short

• test fiber-link 01 long

• test port 01a0702 short

·         Do Not select the Send EN checkbox for the following commands:

• test synchronization

• test alarms clear short

• test inads-link

bash - Select this checkbox if you want to send the command from the ‘bash prompt’ on an S8xx0 system.

Suffix - Enter a valid command suffix Examples are:

• test board 01a04 short

• test fiber-link 01 long

• test port 01a0702 short

• test alarms clear short

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Considerations when using Auto Dial-Back

In order for AlarmTraq to successfully issue commands to your switch, the site profile must contain:

• A valid telephone number to dial.
• A valid login username with maintenance permissions (MSP) such as ‘dadmin’, ‘inads’, or ‘craft’.
• A valid password for the login user name.
• The “Run Command(s) After Receiving Alarm” checkbox must be selected.
• The “Outgoing Group” for this site must be a valid outgoing capable group.