Contacting operators as soon as an alarm is triggered is the main function of ALERT. However, it is preferable to follow a configuration process to simplify the software setup.
Operating principle versus Configuration process
The operating principle starts from the alarm and ends with the operators to be notified for this alarm. Configuration process is done the opposite direction.
There are two advantages to following this method:
- Wonder what operating mode you want and respond to it before starting ALERT programing.
- Simplify the setup: each step of the configuration process uses the previous one.
Let's start with the first step:
Communication channels
In order to call the on-duty operators and transmit them the alarm information, it is necessary to define and configure the software and hardware devices ALERT will use.
In most cases (vocal call, SMS and fax sending), it will be necessary to use a modem, either connected on a serial or USB port (external device) or plugged inside the PC (PCI or PCI-express card), and to configure the connection with this equipment.
We are going to configure a GSM Vocal modem to be able to make voice calls and send SMS. We will also configure a SIP connection to make voice over IP calls (VoIP).