Tutorials / Alarms & Notifications

Alarms & Notifications

Configure intelligent alerts for critical events and anomalies

Overview

The Alarms system provides intelligent monitoring and notification capabilities for your IoT fleet. Create sophisticated alerting rules with multiple severity levels, escalation policies, and notification channels.

Alarm Severity Levels

🔴

Critical

Immediate action required; system failure or safety concern

🟠

Major

Significant issue requiring attention; service degradation

🟡

Minor

Non-critical issue; may require investigation

🔵

Warning

Informational; potential issue detected

Creating an Alarm

1

Access Alarms Section

Navigate to the Alarms menu from the main dashboard.

2

Create New Alarm Rule

Click the add button and provide a descriptive name for your alarm rule.

3

Define Trigger Conditions

Set the conditions that will trigger the alarm (threshold values, device state, data patterns).

4

Configure Severity

Assign appropriate severity level based on the impact of the condition.

5

Set Up Notifications

Choose notification channels (email, SMS, webhook) and recipients.

6

Configure Escalation

Define escalation policies for unacknowledged alarms (optional).

Alarm Trigger Types

Trigger TypeDescriptionExample
ThresholdValue exceeds or falls below limitTemperature > 80°C
RangeValue outside acceptable rangeHumidity not between 30-70%
Change RateRapid value changes detectedPressure drops >5 PSI/min
Device StatusConnection or operational stateDevice offline for >10 minutes
PatternData pattern anomalyUnusual vibration signature
CompoundMultiple conditions combinedHigh temp AND low flow rate

Notification Channels

Configure multiple notification channels for comprehensive alerting:

Email Notifications

Send detailed alarm information to individual users or distribution lists. Includes device details, alarm conditions, and suggested actions.

SMS Alerts

Send critical alarms via SMS for immediate attention. Configurable message templates with device name and alarm type.

Webhook Integration

POST alarm data to external systems (PagerDuty, Slack, custom endpoints). Supports authentication and custom payload formatting.

In-Platform Notifications

Dashboard notifications and mobile app push alerts for logged-in users.

Alarm Management

Alarm States

  • Active: Condition currently triggered
  • Acknowledged: User has acknowledged but not resolved
  • Cleared: Condition no longer present, automatically resolved
  • Closed: Manually closed by user

Alarm Actions

  • Acknowledge: Confirm awareness of the alarm
  • Assign: Assign to team member for resolution
  • Comment: Add notes about investigation or resolution
  • Escalate: Manually escalate to higher severity or different team
  • Clear: Manually mark as resolved

Escalation Policies

Define automatic escalation for unacknowledged critical alarms:

1

Initial Notification

Send to primary on-call team or designated responders.

2

First Escalation

If not acknowledged within X minutes, notify team lead and additional responders.

3

Final Escalation

Escalate to management or emergency contacts if still unacknowledged.

Alarm Analytics

Reporting and Insights

Access comprehensive alarm analytics:

  • Alarm frequency by device, type, and severity
  • Mean time to acknowledge (MTTA)
  • Mean time to resolve (MTTR)
  • Alarm trends and patterns over time
  • Top alarm generators and affected devices
  • Export alarm history for compliance and auditing

Best Practices

  • Set appropriate severity levels to avoid alarm fatigue
  • Use threshold hysteresis to prevent flapping alarms
  • Configure escalation only for critical alarms
  • Regularly review and tune alarm thresholds based on historical data
  • Document expected response procedures in alarm descriptions
  • Test notification channels periodically
Pro Tip: Start with conservative alarm thresholds and refine based on real-world data to minimize false positives while ensuring critical events are never missed.