Alarm Detection (2.2)

Owned by Jenni Wallin
Last updated: Aug 21, 2024 by Felicity Borrelli
8 min read

An Alarm Detection configuration enables you to define criteria for generation of alarm messages. You select a condition, or combine a set of conditions, that within specific limits, generate an alarm message. To monitor the system alarms, you use the Usage Engine Web Interface. Note that Usage Engine enables you to deliver alarm messages to SNMP monitoring systems, as well.

An Alarm can be in one of two states: new or closed. An open Alarm is an indication of a certain occurrence or situation that has not been resolved yet. A closed Alarm is a resolved indication.

Alarm Detection Buttons

The contents of the button panel may change depending on which configuration type has been opened in the currently displayed tab. Alarm Detection uses the standard buttons that are visible for all configurations.

There is one button that is specific for Alarm Detection.

Item

Description

Workflow Alarm Value Names

To define a variable to use in the APL code, see the APL Reference Guide (2.2), and the section below, Workflow Alarm Value for further information.

Defining an Alarm Detection

An Alarm Detection definition is made up of:

  • A condition, or a set of conditions, see the section below, Alarm Conditions

  • An object such as host, pico instance, or workflow, that the alarm should supervise

  • The parameter that you want the alarm to supervise, for example, Statistics value

  • Time and value limits of supervision

To create a valid alarm detection configuration make sure that:

  • The Alarm Detection includes at least one condition.

  • Two conditions within an alarm guard the same object: host, pico instance, or workflow.

  • Two conditions are set to the same time interval criteria.

To define an alarm

  1. Create an Alarm Detection configuration by clicking the  Alarm Detection button from the Configuration menu.
  2. Click on the Edit menu and select the Validate option to check if your configuration is valid.
  3. Click on the Edit menu and select the Workflow Alarm Value Names option to define a variable you can use in the APL code, see the APL Reference Guide (2.2), and in the Workflow Alarm condition, see the section below, Workflow Alarm Value.
  4. Enter a statement that describes the Alarm Detection that you are defining in the Description field.
  5. Select the importance priority that the alarm should have in the Severity drop-down list.
  6. At the bottom of the Alarm Detection configuration, click the Add button.
  7. The Add Alarm Condition dialog box opens.
  8. Select a condition in the Alarm Condition drop-down list.

Alarm Conditions

The Alarm conditions enable you to define specific situations or events for which you want the system to produce an alarm. You configure a condition to produce an alarm whenever a certain behavior occurs, within specific limits.

Note!

  1. An alarm is generated only if ALL conditions in the Alarm Detection are met.
     

  2. The Alarm condition limits are reset:

    • Every time you restart the Platform

    • Every time you save the alarm configuration

    • When you resolve the alarm

The Alarm Conditions that you can choose from are:

  • System Event

  • Workflow Alarm Value

  • Workflow Execution Time

  • Workflow Group Execution Time

  • Workflow Throughput


System Event

The System Event condition enables you to setup an Alarm Detection for the various Usage Engine Event types

ItemDescription

Type

Select an event-related reason for an alarm to be invoked. For a detailed description of every event type, see Event Types (2.2).

Filter

Use this table to define a filter of criteria for the alarm messages that you are interested in.

To define an entry, double-click on the row.

The Edit Match Value dialog box opens. Click the Add button to add a value.

Limits

Specify the condition for the alarm to be triggered. The options are based on the number and frequency of occurrence of the event: Occurred Once, Occurred More Than, Occurred Less Than. In During Last, specify the time frame during which the Limits value should be compared. If a match is detected, an alarm is invoked.

Example - Configuring a System Event condition

Note!

The parameters in the following example do not apply to any specific system and are only presented here to enhance understanding of the alarm condition.


  1. Configure an Alarm Detection that applies the System Event condition.

  2. On the Edit Alarm Condition dialog box, from the Event Type drop-down list, select Workflow State Event.
     

  3. On the Filter table double-click workflowName; the Edit Match Value dialog box opens.
     

  4. Click Add to browse and look for the specific workflow.
     

  5. Enter a limit of occurred more than 3 times during the last 24 hours.

The alarm will be triggered by every 4th occurrence of a "Workflow State Event" during the last 24 hours.

Workflow Alarm Value

The Workflow Alarm Value condition is a customizable alarm condition. It enables you to have the Alarm Detection watch over a variable that you create and assign through the APL code. To apply the Workflow Alarm Condition use the following guidelines:

  1. Create a variable.
     

  2. Assign the variable with a value.
     

  3. Setup the Workflow Alarm Value condition.


To Create a Variable name:

  1. From the Edit menu in the Alarm Detection configuration menu, select Workflow Alarm Value Names.The Workflow Alarm Value dialog box opens.
     

  2. Click the Add button and enter a variable name, e g CountBillingFiles.
     

  3. Click OK and then close the Workflow Alarm Value dialog box.


To Assign a value to the Value Name:

In the APL code, include the command DispatchAlarmValue. For example:

consume { dispatchAlarmValue
("CountBillingFiles",1);
udrRoute(input);
}

To Configure the Workflow Alarm Value Condition:

  1. At the bottom of the Alarm Detection configuration, click  Add ; the Add Alarm Condition dialog box opens.

  2.  From the Alarm Condition drop-down list select  Workflow Alarm Value .

  3.  From the Value  drop-down list, select the name of the variable that you created.

  4.  Click  Browse... to select the Workflow that the Alarm Detection should guard.

  5.  Configure the Limits according to the description of The Workflow Alarm Value and click  OK .


ItemDescription

Value

Select an alarm value from the drop-down list.

Workflow

Click Browse... to enter the workflow(s) that you want to apply the alarm to.

Limits

Summation: Select this check box to add up the dispatchAlarmValue variable (countBillingFiles in the figure above, The Workflow Alarm Value configuration) whenever it is invoked. Alarm Detector compares this total value with the alarm limit (exceeds or falls below), and generates an alarm message accordingly.

Note: Selecting Summation means that the During Last entry refers to the time period during which a sum is added up. Once the set period has ended, that sum is compared with the limit value.

For All Workflows: Select this check box to add up the values (see Summation above) of all the workflows that the alarm supervises. Alarm Detector compares this total value with the alarm limit (exceeds or falls below), and generates an alarm message accordingly. Note: This check box can only be selected when Workflow is set to Any.

For further information about Limits see the section above, Host Statistic Value.

Workflow Execution Time

The Workflow Execution Time condition enables you to generate an alarm whenever the execution time of a particular, or all workflows, exceed or fall below the time limit that you specify.

ItemDescription
WorkflowThe default workflow value is Any . Use this value when you want to apply the condition to all the Workflows. Otherwise, click Browse to select a Workflow that you apply the condition to.

Example - Configuring a Workflow Execution Time condition

Note!

The parameters in the following example do not apply to any specific system and are only presented here to enhance understanding of the alarm condition.

A telecom provider wants the system to identify a workflow that has recently run out of input, and to generate an alarm that warns about a processing time that is too short.

  1. Configure an Alarm Detection to use the Workflow Execution Time condition


  2. Click Browse...; the Workflow Selection dialog box opens.
     

  3. At the bottom of the dialog box click Any.
     

  4. Set a limit of Falls below 2 seconds

An alarm is generated whenever an active workflow seems to process data too fast (in less than 2 seconds).

Workflow Group Execution Time

The Workflow Group Execution Time alarm condition enables you to generate an alarm whenever the execution time of a workflow group exceeds or falls below the time limit that you specify.

ItemDescription

Workflow Group

Click Browse... to enter the address of the workflow group to which you want to apply the alarm.


Example - Configuring a Workflow Group Execution Time condition

Note!

The parameters in the following example do not apply to any specific system and are only presented here to enhance understanding of the alarm condition.

You want the system to generate an alarm if a billing workflow group has been active longer than 3 hours.

  1. Configure an Alarm Detection that uses the Workflow Group Execution Time condition

  2. On the Edit Alarm Condition dialog box click Browse... to enter the workflow group you want the alarm detection to supervise.

  3. Enter a limit of Exceeds 3 hours.

The alarm will be triggered if the workflow group has been active longer than 3 hours.

Workflow Throughput

The Workflow Throughput alarm condition enables you to create an alarm if the volume-per-time processing rate of a particular workflow exceeds, or falls below, the throughput limit that you specify.

ItemDescription

Workflow

Select a workflow with the throughput value, the processing speed, that you want to supervise. For further information about the throughput value calculation, see Throughput Calculation in Workflow Properties (2.2). An alarm is generated if the throughput value is not within the condition limits.

Limits

For information about Limits see the section above, Host Statistic Value.

Example - Configuring a Workflow Throughput condition

Note!

The parameters in the following example do not apply to any specific system and are only presented here to enhance understanding of the alarm condition.

You want the system to warn you on detection of decreased processing rate.

  1. Configure an Alarm Detection to use the workflow throughput condition

  2. On the Edit Alarm Condition dialog box click Browse... to select the workflow with the processing rate that you want to supervise.
     

  3. Enter a limit of Falls Below 50000 (batches, UDRs, Bytearray).

The alarm will be triggered by every occurrence of a workflow slowing down its processing rate to a throughput that is lower than 50000 units per second.

Activating an Alarm Detection

For a configured alarm detection to become active it needs to be activated using a toggle button which is present both in the Usage Engine desktop and in the web interface UI.

Activation mode is independent of the rest of the profile configuration and you do not need to press Save after enabling or disabling the alarm detection.


In Usage Engine Desktop 

In the desktop, this toggle button is greyed out if there are no alarms present. You can see this button only after an alarm detection is saved.

The toggle button for the alarm detection is available on top of the alarm configuration details and this is how it looks like:


Note!

When you use the toggle button to enable or disable an alarm detection, you are notified to confirm the operation.


In Web Interface UI

The alarm detection enable/disable toggle button in the web interface looks like:


You can enable or disable individual alarms using the toggle button available next to the name of the alarm or you can also enable or disable all available alarms at one go.


Note!

When importing an alarm detection profile using system import or as part of workflow packages, the profile is disabled.