Introduction to the Alarms Module 
The Alarms Module monitors and manages real-time alarm events, alerts, notifications, and Audit Trail information. It provides alerts for critical events and stores data for future analysis. Key functions include:
Real-time alarm states processing
Storage on any database provider
Hierarchical organization of alarms
System AuditTrail events and operator actions tracking
On this page:
Key Concepts and Terms
AlarmItem
A tag monitored by the Alarm Module, containing information such as tag name, alarm condition, AlarmGroup, Limit, Deadband, and Message.
AlarmGroup
Collection of AlarmItems sharing properties such as AckRequired and LogEvents.
AlarmArea
Hierarchical grouping of AlarmGroups for better organization.
Audit Trail
Logs changes and events when executing the solution, tracking who made changes and when. Useful for troubleshooting, analysis, and compliance.
Understanding the Alarms Module
Module Features
- AlarmViewer Control and AlarmAreas Control for displays.
- Real-time alarm processing
- Hierarchical alarm management
- Dynamic language localization for messages
- High-precision timestamps
- Custom notifications (e.g., SMS, email)
- Store and Forward archiving
- Automated replication in hot-standby scenarios
Monitoring Tags and Evaluating Conditions
When the Module Alarm is execution, all tags defined on AlarmItems are subscribed, so the alarm conditions are evaluated every time the tag as new value.
If a condition is reached, the alarm is issued, according to the behavior defined by its AlarmGroup. Notifications are sent if enabled to that group.
Pre-Defined AlarmGroups
The Alarms module provides a predefined AlarmGroup to quickly configure alarms for common applications. These groups have pre-configured properties that make it easier to create and configure alarms for standard purposes.
To use a predefined AlarmGroup, you simply need to select it from the list of available groups and configure additional properties as needed.
The pre-defined AlarmGroups are:
- Critical: High Priority Alarms that requires acknowledgement and History logging.
- Warning: Medium Priority Alarms and Low Priority Alarms, which don't require acknowledgment, but are logged.
- Audit Trail: Alarms and Events that don't show on Operator Displays, but are records on the History log.
AlarmHistorian Database on Datasets
The Alarm Historian database is where the Alarms module stores all alarm events and audit trail information. The AlarmHistorian database can be defined using datasets, which allows for easy configuration and modification of the database properties. The datasets can define the database connection settings, the schema of the database tables, and the properties of the alarm events and audit trail entries.