Learning How to Create Behavior Models - How to Use Alarms - How to Create an Alarm - Modifying an Alarm's State Diagram -
Enabling an Alarm      Review and Summary

Modifying an Alarm's State Diagram

There may be times you will want to adjust the icons of the state diagram to make them easier to read.

This next activity will step you through the process of resizing the icons in the state diagram of the 1HighTraffic alarm.

 
  To modify an alarm's state diagram:

1. From the Admin menu, select Alarm Definition List.

   

   NerveCenter displays the Alarm Definition List window.

2. From the Alarm Definition list, select 1HighTraffic. Then select Open.

   The Alarm Definition window for 1HighTraffic appears.

   

3. If the alarm is on, select Off, then select Save.

   Before you can modify an alarm, you must turn it off.

   More than likely, the icons for the states and the transitions will be too small to display the entire names. You will need to resize them.

4. Right-click anywhere within the state diagram. Select Size.

   The State/Transition Size window appears.

   

   The State Size and Transition Size rectangles indicate the current size of the State and Transition icons.

5. Drag the handles of the State Size rectangle to change the height and width of the rectangle. Repeat for the Transition Size rectangle.
6. Select OK.

   The State/Transition Size window closes and the icons in the state diagram are now the size you specified.

   

7. Select Save.

Now that you have made the state diagram for 1HighTraffic easier to read, it is time to add another state to it. The next activity will step you through this process.

Adding Another State to an Alarm

Now that you have resized the icons in your alarm's state diagram, it is easier to read. There is, however, an even bigger problem. Currently, 1HighTraffic notifies you whenever high traffic occurs. But you expect occasional high traffic and don't want to be bothered every time there is an occasional traffic spike.

This next activity steps you through the process of adding another state to the 1HighTraffic alarm so that it will only notify you after a second occurrence of high-traffic conditions.

 
  To add another state to an alarm:

1. In the Alarm Definition window, make sure 1HighTraffic is turned off.

2. From the toolbar at the top of the Alarm Definition window, select Add State.

   NerveCenter displays the State Definition window.

3. In the Name field of the State Definition window, type TooBusy. From the Traffic severity list, select Very High. Then select OK.

   The State Definition window closes. An icon appears in the top left corner with the name of your new state, TooBusy, and a light blue color, indicating a very high severity.

4. In the state diagram, position the icon for the TooBusy state to the right of the icon for the Busy state.

5. From the toolbar at the top of the Alarm Definition window, select Add Transition.

   The Transition Definition window appears.

6. In the From list, select Busy. In the To list, select TooBusy. In the Trigger list, select portTraffic.
7. Select New Action. From the Action Alarm list, select Beep. In the Beep Action window, select OK to keep the default values and close the window.

   Beep is added to the actions list.

8. In the Transition Definition window, select OK.

   The Transition Definition window closes, and an icon for the second portTraffic transition appears between the icons for the Busy state and the TooBusy state.

   

   You may need to adjust the state diagram to make it easier to read.

9. In the state diagram, double-click on the portTraffic transition between the Ground state and the Busy state.

   The Transition Definition window appears. Notice that Beep is still listed in the Actions list. Since you now want 1HighTraffic to notify you only when there have been two occurrences of high traffic, you must delete this action.

10. In the Actions list, select Beep.

    The Delete Action button is enabled.

11. Select Delete Action.

    A warning box appears asking if you want to delete the selected action.

    

12. Select OK.

    The action is deleted from the Actions list.

13. In the Transition Definition window, select OK.
14. In the Alarm Definition window, select Save.

Now, when you enable the 1CheckTraffic poll and the 1HighTraffic alarm, it will only beep after the second occurrence of high traffic.

In future chapters you will explore other ways to check the persistence of a condition on your network. But, first you will need to learn how to use NerveCenter to filter traps in Chapter 5, How to Use Trap Masks.