Designing and Managing Behavior Models - Alarm Actions - Paging -
Notes      Perl Subroutine

Paging

The Paging action dials a pager using a modem attached to the machine running the NerveCenter server. The Paging action then relays to the pager a numeric code that corresponds to the alarm that initiated the action. If you want to send a text message to an alphanumeric pager, you must use one of the mail alarm actions (Microsoft Mail or SMTP Mail) with third-party software that includes a mail spool monitoring function. In this case, the mail spool monitor detects a message, calls the pager on a special line, and downloads the mail message.

Before you can use the Paging action, someone must have configured NerveCenter to handle paging actions correctly. This configuration is done from the NerveCenter Administrator and is documented in Managing NerveCenter.

 
  To add a Paging action to a transition:

1. From the Transition Definition window, select the New Action button.

   A pop-up menu listing all alarm actions is displayed.

2. Select Paging from the pop-up menu.

   The Paging Action dialog is displayed.

   

3. Type the pager's phone number in the Pager Number field.

   The pager number is the sequence of digits and special Hayes AT commands needed by the Paging action to reach the pager. Special Hayes commands include the comma or p, which causes a pause (while the Paging action waits for a secondary dial tone) and many others. For a list of valid commands, see your modem manual.

4. Type in the Alarm Code field a number that identifies the network situation being reported.

   The alarm code is a sequence of digits that is displayed on the pager. The maximum number of digits that a pager can display varies from pager to pager. If you don't supply an alarm code, a default value of 911 is used.

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      If most of your transitions that include Paging actions also include Inform actions, you might consider using each Inform's specific trap number as the alarm code for the corresponding Paging action.

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5. Type the character that terminates the paging connection in the Terminate String field.

   This character is a key used by the paging system to terminate the connection and send the page. It differs from system to system, but is usually # (pound sign) or * (asterisk). Consult your paging system manual to determine the correct key for your system. If you don't specify a key, the Paging action uses the default value #.

6. Select the OK button in the Paging Action dialog.

   The new action appears in the Actions list in the Transition Definition window.

7. Select the OK button in the Transition Definition window.
8. Select the Save button in the Alarm Definition window.