PD Trigger

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Poseidon and Damocles units send alarm alerts (e.g. when a temperature is exceeded) via e-mail or SNMP trap. PD Trigger receives and reacts to SNMP traps (rapidly delivered UDP packets). A system of rules allows to configure a reaction to a precisely defined stimulus or alarm. Works with Poseidon and Damocles (over SNMP). Runs as a NT service, supports Windows 2000/XP/Vista and 2000/2003 Server. Various reactions to alarms: Warning pop-ups, playing an audio file, sending a text message (SMS), activating a remote output, launching a specified application by NT service / GUI application. Password-protected configuration interface.

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Main features

• Compatibility: Supports all Poseidon and Damocles products (SNMP required)
• Rules: Simple management and creation of rules using graphical wizards.
  • Operations can be combined by specifying multiple rules.
  • Independent rules executed when the remote device is started.
  • Independent rules executed when PD Trigger is started.
  • Supports multiple device at once – alarm inputs are resolved at the sensor/input name level.
• Actions: Examples of reactions that can be invoked based on a condition:
  • Displaying a warning pop-up window (together with other actions if needed).
  • Playing a WAV file with the system media player.
  • Launching an external application when a user is logged in.
  • Launching an external application with no users logged in.
  • Sending a SMS (short text message) using an external modem connected to the PC, with optional logging.
  • Activating outputs of Poseidon or Damocles units over the Ethernet.
• Operating systems: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/2000 Server/2003 Server.
  • Client/server application to enable stand-alone operation in Windows servers.
  • NT service mode allows autonomous operation.
  • Independent system log.
• Simple installation: Automatic configuration of the default firewall in Windows XP SP2/2003 Server/Vista.
• Security: Password-protected configuration interface.

System of rules

PD Trigger executes user-specified actions based on a set of rules that define under which conditions should the operations be performed. Individual rules can be combined.

Parameters of rules:

• Name – Simplifies rule management by users.
• Condition – Defines the condition on which to act: device powered up (specify the device IP address), input or sensor in alarm (specify the input/sensor name). Furthermore, the condition specifies whether the rule should execute upon alarm activation, alarm deactivation, or both.
• Action – Defines what should happen if the filter condition is matched (display a warning pop-up, send a SMS, etc).

Each action requires a separate rule, except for the pop-up window that can be displayed within another action.

Initialization rules

PD Trigger supports special rules executed once in the following situations:

• Rule activated when the device is powered up.
• Rule activated when PD Trigger is started.

Both of these rules can be used to set the initial values of remote outputs. Rules activated at device power-up can be used, for instance, to display warnings about the need to check the status of the monitored environment, and so on.

Cient/server application

PD Trigger works as a client/server application. Its core is a NT service that runs in the background and ensures continuous operation.

The GUI works as a client that connects to the service. Besides configuration, the GUI handles the actions necessary to inform the user about the current status (PD Trigger Events, sound playback).

If the client portion is not started, no pop-ups are displayed. Activity of the client portion (PD Trigger Control panel) is indicated by the PD Trigger icon in the system tray; if the connection is lost (e.g. service stopped), the icon is crossed.
The client portion is started automatically when a user logs in, or it can be started manually using START/Programs/HW group/PD Trigger/PD Trigger Control panel.

Installation

PD Trigger includes a user-friendly configurator that enables quick and easy installation.

Since PD Trigger needs to communicate with the outside world, your firewall configuration must allow the service to start and to open the corresponding ports for SNMP traps (typically 162, can be changed).

If the default Windows XP SP2, Windows 2003 Server, or Windows Vista firewall is detected during installation, you will be prompted to allow automatic firewall reconfiguration. If you give your permission, the installation program adds the service (Program Files\HW group\PD Trigger\PD_Trigger_srv.exe) to the list of firewall exceptions. Otherwise, you will need to do that manually.
The same applies for firewalls other than the default Windows firewall (Sunbelt, ISA, Norton, and so on).

PD Trigger Events

PD Trigger Events is a stand-alone application that displays alarms on the computer screen, and also acts as the warning window if a rule requests its display.

The output includes conspicious display with detailed information about the alarm, as well as a list of previous alarms that can be easily browsed. Details about the selected line (alarm) are displayed in the highlighted section of the window.

The application can display the Logfile or launch PD Trigger Configurator. Both options are useful for debugging the rules. The Clear All button clears all recorded alarms (only the PD Trigger Events list is cleared, the Logfile is not).

About

The About window is accessible from PD Trigger Configurator and lets you activate your license keys that increase the number of allowed rules. Administrator mode is necessary to activate a key.

Note: After activation, both the service and the client applications need to be restarted (this is done automatically).

PD Trigger Configurator

PD Trigger Configurator is the main configuration environment for PD Trigger. It lets you define individual rules, actions and settings.

Except for the Logfile display, all options are password-protected (the default password is admin).

General

• SNMP port – Sets the port where PD Trigger listens for incoming SNMP traps. The default port is 162 (reserved for SNMP traps); however, it may be already in use in SNMP-enabled systems.
• Show This Computer Ethernet Address – Displays all IP addresses assigned to the network interfaces of the PC/server where PD Trigger is running. This information is necessary to set the target addresses for SNMP traps in Poseidon and Damocles units (see Configuring devices to work with PD Trigger).
• Logfile Enable – Allows you to deactivate the logging of PD Trigger operation into the Logfile. This option is checked by default; however, after the rules are configured and tested, it can be deactivated to save disk space (however, we recommend to keep logging on).
• Help – Simple help (this text).
• About – Information about the application, with the option to enter a license key.
• Service disconnected – PD Trigger icon. If the connection to the service is lost, the icon is crossed.

Rule list

Contains a list of all defined rules, together with their settings. To add, remove or edit rules, right-click the main Rules List window and select the corresponding Add rule, Remove rule, or Edit rule option in the pop-up menu.

Tip: You can also double-click a line to edit an existing rule.

Edit Rule – Creating and editing rules

The main dialog for creating rules consists of the following sections:

• Condition defines the conditions upon which the rule should execute.
• Action defines the action to take and its parameters.
• Tips displays a brief help for the fields being edited.

Condition

Mode radio buttons – Specify the type of event to monitor:

• Input/Sensor Change  – Rule is tied to an alarm.
• Run with Device Startup  – Rule is tied to the power-up of the remote device.
• Run with System Startup  – Rule is tied to the start of PD Trigger.

Filter – Filter for the incoming SNMP traps. Only traps that contain this expression in their body will be processed by the rule.

Normally, the name of the input/sensor (or its part) to which the rule should react is entered in the Filter field. Wildcard convention applies, that is, the "*" symbol (may occur at most once in the string) matches any number of any characters, while the "?" symbol matches any single character.

Example: 
* 12      = Binary 12, Sensor 12, Output 12,... 
Sen??r*1  = Sensor 1, Sensor_1, Sensor1, SenSOry#+1,...
Out*      = Output 12, Out1, Output_1

The Run with Device Startup condition reacts to the SNMP trap that is sent by the device upon power-up. The filter identifies the device by its IP addres. Again, the filter accepts wildcards (can be used only once in the string) as the "mask":
192.168.1.99  = only 192.168.1.99 
192.168.1.*   = 192.168.1.1, 192.168.1.99, 192.168.1.100, ... 
192.168.1.??  = 192.168.1.10, 192.168.1.98, 192.168.1.99,... 

Alarm Edge – Defines whether the rule should execute upon alarm activation (Alarm start), alarm deactivation (Alarm stop), or both activation and deactivation (Alarm start&stop).

 

Action

In this section, set the action, its parameters, and optionally test it.

Action Type – Defines the type of action to perform. The label of the field to the right changes according to this selection.

• None – Deactivates the Action section. Useful when you only want to display a warning pop-up window. The Show Message Box field is checked automatically if this option is selected.
• Output – Controls the outputs of Poseidon (only units equipped with outputs) and Damocles units.
  You can select the target device and the output using a graphical wizard – see the Output Action Wizard description.
  The Command field is used to specify the command to control the output in the following form:
  [username:password@]ip_address:port;output_id=command
  where output_id is the ID of the output ranging from 151 to 214 and command is one of the following:
  • 1 – Activate the output
  • 0 – Deactivate the output
  • X – Activate the output for the duration of the alarm
  • ! – Deactivate the output when the alarm is deactivated
    
    Example:
    192.168.1.99:80;151=0
    john:johnpass@192.168.1.67:80;151=!
    
    
• Sound – Plays a selected sound in the WAV format. Click the folder button to browse for the desired file (by default, %SystemRoot%\Media is the starting folder).
  
• Run by Service – Launches an external application using the service. Useful for launching applications on Windows Server platforms, or if the application should be launched when no users are logged in, or when the application does not display a GUI. Program path can be entered manually or browsed for. The Parameters field lets you specify the parameters to pass to the invoked application – see Parameters of invoked applications.
  
  Warning, security issue: Application is processed with the same level of system rights, as well as launching NT service!
   
• Run Application – Launches an external application that needs to display a GUI. A user must be logged in. Program path can be entered manually or browsed for. The Parameters field lets you specify the parameters to pass to the invoked application – see Parameters of invoked applications
  .
• Send SMS – Sends a short text message (SMS) through an external ModemCom/G10 modem. Actually, this action invokes the sms_send.exe external application. Values received from SNMP traps can be inserted into the SMS text using macros (see Macros). Example parameters:
  -d COM1 -n 777456789 -m "PDT: %NAME% = %VALUE%"
  Description of individual parameters (you specify them using the graphical configuration – see Send SMS Action Wizard):
  • -d         COM port where the modem is connected.
  • -n         Telephone number to send the SMS to.
  • -m        Message text, can include variables from the received trap (see Macros).

Note: The Run Application and Sound options only work if the PD Trigger Control panel is started (a user must be logged in).

Other features and settings

Macros

Macros let you insert values from the alarm SNMP traps into the parameters passed to the invoked applications, or into SMS messages.

• %COND% – Selected condition
• %IP% – IP address of the device
• %NAME% – Name of the sensor/input
• %VALUE% – Reading of the sensor/input
• %STATE% – Current state (Alarm)

Output Action Wizard

Graphical interface for simple configuration of reactions of outputs. Its output is the command to control the particular output (e.g. 192.168.1.99:80;151=0).
The wizard allows you to find the requested device and its output, and set the desired state of that output.

When the selected Action Type is Output, click the folder button next to the Command field. After the wizard starts, all HW group devices are searched for and displayed in the Device List window. The configuration file (setup.xml) containing the list of inputs, sensors and outputs is downloaded from each device.

Select an output. The Device Details section changes to Output Details and displays the output name and ID.

Select the action in the Output Action section:

• Set to OFF – Deactivates the output (Command=0)
• Set to ON – Activates the output (Command=1)
• Set to ON when alarm active – Activates the output for the duration of the corresponding alarm (Command=X)
• Set to OFF when alarm active – Deactivates the output for the duration of the corresponding alarm (Command=!)

If the configuration is protected with a username/password, the wizard prompts you to enter the credentials and adds them to the command.

Send SMS Action Wizard

Allows you to specify the parameters for sending text messages (SMS).

• Serial Port  – COM port number where the modem is connected
• Target Number – Target telephone number where the SMS is sent
• Text – SMS text, may include macros (see above). Macros can be easily inserted to the message, either using the pop-up menu that is invoked by right-clicking the message text, or by pressing the corresponding keyboard shortcut:
  • CTRL+C – Insert Condition Name (%COND%)
  • CTRL+N – Insert Sensor Name (%NAME%)
  • CTRL+I – Insert IP Adress (%IP%)
  • CRTL+V – Insert Sensor Value (%VALUE%)
  • CTRL+S – Insert Sensor State (%STATE%)
• Logfile Enable – Enables/disables logging of modem activity. Modem activity is logged in a separate file, "C:\Program Files\HW group\PD Trigger\sms_sender.log" by default.
• Filename – Allows you to change the location of the log file, or to display it.

Parameters of invoked applications

PD Trigger can launch external applications and supply parameters. The parameters can include (via macros) values from the traps, such as the device IP address or the sensor reading. The application must support invocation from the command line. The parameters are application-specific. Usually, the list of parameters can be displayed by starting the application with the /H or /? parameter.

PD Trigger + Poseidon and Damocles

Poseidon and Damocles units must be properly configured (with respect to SNMP Trap parameters) in order to work with PD Trigger. For details about the configuration, see the device manuals. The following parameters are crucial.

Note: The following description only applies if the Poseidon and Damocles units are on the same netowrk as the PC with PD Trigger, or if the PC has a public IP address.

Poseidon

Open the configuration FLASH interface of the Poseidon unit and switch to the SNMP Setup tab. You can define up to two destinations for SNMP traps:

• In the IP Address field, enter the IP address shown in the General section of PD Trigger Configurator.
• The Port field must contain the same value as the corresponding field in PD Trigger Configurator.
• Check the Enable box to make the device send the basic SNMP traps (device power-on and reset).
• In the Sensors tab, check the Out of Safe Range SNMP Trap boxes for the sensors that you want to monitor with PD Trigger. If you want to monitor binary inputs as well, set the Dry Contact Inputs alarm reaction to Send SNMP Trap, or to Send SNMP Trap + SMS&E-mail, and specify the alarm state of the corresponding input.

Damocles

In Damocles units, everything is configured in the Flash interface, in the Alarms tab.

If the target server/computer does not have a public IP, the configuration is the same, except that the IP address specified must be the unique public address of the Internet gateway. In addition, packet redirecting to the correct computer must be configured. Please ask your network configurator for details.

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