Configure Application Alarm Rules

Overview

Get notified when a device, an integration or a data converter of an application has a problem, and when it ends. You add an alarm rule to the application in TEKTELIC KONA Core Network Server. The rule names the conditions to watch and where the notification goes: email, SMS or MQTT.

KONA Core records alarms without any rule. A rule only sends notifications about them. For how alarms work, see Events & Alarms. For gateway alarms, see Configure Gateway Group Alarm Rules.

Before you start

• Role: Customer administrator or Sub-Customer administrator. A Customer user and a Sub-Customer user open alarm rules read-only and don't see Add Alarm Rule. See Users, Roles & Permissions.
• Application: the application with the devices and integrations you want to watch. See Manage Applications.
• Recipients: the email addresses or phone numbers that get the notification. For notification options, see Alarm Notifications.
• For an MQTT notification: an MQTT broker that accepts connections from KONA Core. See Events over MQTT.

Steps

Open the application's alarm rules

1. In the side menu, select Applications.

2. Select your application in the list. The application's details panel opens.

3. Select the Alarm Rules tab. It lists the application's rules, or shows No Alarm Rules found. The tab isn't shown in edit mode: if you selected Edit mode (the pencil icon), leave it first.

   

Add the rule and its triggers

1. Select Add Alarm Rule (the + icon). The Add Alarm Rule dialog opens.

2. Enter a Name, for example Device offline email. The name is required.

3. Optional: enter a Description.

4. Select ADD ALARM TRIGGER. A trigger appears with the Type Device is offline.

5. In Type, select the condition to watch. For the list, see Triggers for applications.

6. Select ADD ALARM TRIGGER again and select the paired trigger, for example Device is online. We recommend adding both triggers of a pair: you then know when a problem starts and when it ends.

   

Each trigger of the rule sends the rule's notifications. confirm that a rule notifies on any one of its triggers. To remove a trigger, select its delete icon (the trash can).

Triggers for applications

A rule of an application watches all devices, integrations and data converters of that application. The triggers come in pairs:

Watches	Raise trigger	Clear trigger
Device	Device is offline	Device is online
Device	Downlink Queue size exceeded the recommended threshold	Downlink Queue size is within the recommended range
Device	Downlink Queue is full (new DLs are lost)	Downlink Queue is not full (can accept new DLs)
Device	Large DL dropped	Large DL dropping stopped
Integration	Integration is disconnected	Integration is connected
Data converter	Encoder is banned	Encoder is unbanned
Data converter	Decoder is banned	Decoder is unbanned

• Device is offline: the device stops sending data for its Inactivity timeout (sec). The default is 3600 seconds (1 hour).
• Downlink Queue triggers watch the device's downlink queue. confirm the recommended threshold and the maximum queue size.
• Large DL dropped: KONA Core drops a downlink that is too large to send. confirm when KONA Core drops a large downlink.
• Encoder is banned and Decoder is banned: KONA Core stops running the converter's code after repeated failures. The UI states the limit: if the code exceeds its execution timeout 5 times within 600 seconds, KONA Core bans it for 30 minutes.

For the event names, severities and what to do, see Alarms & Events Reference.

Severity

You don't set a severity in an application rule: the form has no severity field. Each alarm comes with its own severity, for example Critical for Integration is disconnected. Use $eventSeverity in the message to show it, and give a Critical trigger its own rule if it needs other recipients.

Add a notification

1. Select ADD NOTIFICATION. A notification appears with the Type Email.

2. In Type, keep Email, or select SMS or MQTT. We recommend Email for people on call, and MQTT to send alarms to your own system.

3. Fill in the recipients and the message. For the email and SMS fields, see Alarm Notifications. For the MQTT fields, see Events over MQTT.

   

The references you can insert depend on the rule's triggers: see References. If a rule mixes device and integration triggers, the dialog offers only the references they share. We recommend one rule per kind of trigger, so each message can name the device or the integration, for example $eventSeverity: $eventDesc ($eventState) on $deviceName.

Save the rule

1. Select ADD. The button is available once every required field is filled in. The dialog closes, and the rule appears on the Alarm Rules tab. KONA Core saves the rule at once: there is no separate save step.

To change a rule, select its edit icon (the pencil). The Edit Alarm Rule dialog opens with the same fields. Select SAVE to keep your changes.

To remove a rule, select its delete icon (the trash can). KONA Core asks Are you sure you want to delete the Alarm Rule '<name>'? and warns that the rule will be removed.

danger

You can't restore a deleted alarm rule. Its triggers and notifications are removed with it.

Delete Alarm Rule confirmation. Not taken: the live NS is production, and the delete action isn't opened.

Check the result

Test the rule with a TEKTELIC device that you can switch off, before you rely on it:

1. Make sure the rule has Device is offline and Device is online, and an email notification to yourself.
2. Switch off the test device.
3. Wait until the device's Inactivity timeout (sec) has passed without data. KONA Core raises Device is offline when that timeout expires.
4. In the side menu, select Alarms. A row with Entity Device, your device's DevEUI in Label and the state Raised appears. Only users with access to the device can see the row. See Work with Alarms.
5. Check your inbox for the email. The references show the event's values.
6. Switch on the device. After its next uplink, the alarm changes to Clear and a second email arrives.

KONA Core has no button to send a test notification.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause	What to do
ADD stays unavailable.	A required field is empty: Name, To (press enter to add), Subject or Body, or a broker field of an MQTT notification.	Fill in the field under the red message. For To, press Enter after each address.
The alarm appears on the Alarms page, but no email or SMS arrives.	The trigger isn't in the rule, or the address is wrong.	Check the trigger and the address in the rule. Check the spam folder. Then see Alarm Notifications.
The Alarm Rules tab or Add Alarm Rule isn't shown.	The panel is in edit mode, or your role is a user role.	Leave edit mode. If Add Alarm Rule is still missing, ask your administrator for an administrator role.

Still stuck? A Sub-Customer contacts their Customer, a Customer contacts their Provider, and a Provider contacts TEKTELIC Support. Send the application name, the rule name, the DevEUI or integration name, the time in UTC and a screenshot of the rule.

Related

• Manage Applications
• Alarm Notifications
• Events & Alarms
• Work with Alarms
• Alarms & Events Reference
• Events over MQTT
• Configure Gateway Group Alarm Rules
• To set an application's rules from your own system, use Save application alarm rules.