Codima Inc FAQs

Yes - there is a tutorial to assist you in learning how to use the Global Alarm System. It is accessible from the Help facility and from the Codima Website.

Click here to access the sign in page for the Tutorials:-

http://www.codimatech.com/support_tutorials.php

The tutorial is titled :-

How to use Codima Toolbox Alarm System

Applications, Scope and Operations

What are the Benefits of using the Global Alarm System?

You can be proactive : Automatic notification of threshold breaches, bottlenecks and device failures - see Note 1
You have multiple alarm reporting methods.
- Ensuring that you can integrate the tool with your operating practices, for example if you have an SNMP Management system, the alarms can be reported to it as SNMP Traps or if your engineers prefer email notifications or SMS text messages, then alarms can be reported that way.
You have controlled Alarm Reporting
- Flood control ensures you are not overloaded with alarm reports - can avoid generating an alarm report for very short lived events and stop the same alarm condition being logged too many times.
- Email and SMS Alarm report frequency is controlled - multiple alarms reports are included in single Emails/SMS Messages.
You have predefined alarm thresholds on key events - ensuring system works out of the box.
You have an embedded email client – independent of the Networks own email facilities, so will be able to report on any failures associated with the platform hosting the Networks email client.

Note 1 - The range of alarms will be subject to the Toolbox being used.

For more information review the Features and Benefits Video Tutorials

Click here to access the sign in page for the Tutorials:-

http://www.codimatech.com/support_tutorials.php

or click here to obtain a copy of the Codima Toolbox Features and Benefits list.

Can the Toolbox automatically send Alarms reports as Emails and SMS text messages.

Yes - you just need to configure the Email client provided in the Toolbox. See Help entry titled:-

How to configure Email Client

Can the Toolbox automatically send Alarm reports as SNMP Traps?

Yes, the SNMP Manager they are being sent too will need to compile the Codima MIB to ensure the traps can be read.

Does the Global Alarm System provide alarm reports when statistical values drop below a preset threshold as well as go above the threshold?

Yes, reports when:-

A threshold value is breached (goes above threshold setting) or when a value drops (goes below threshold setting). The Toolbox has several methods available to set the thresholds:-
- Via History Charts
- Via the Alarm & Events/Browse Alarm Thresholds tree branch

Does Global Alarm System provide alarm reports when devices stop working?

Yes, the Global Alarm System tracks Echo test (Ping) failures, and if persist long enough to merit producing an alarm report, then it will log the failure and provide the alarm notification.

Does Global Alarm System have flood control facilities to ensure that I am not overloaded with the alarm reports or emails?

Flood Control - Alarms

The Global Alarm System has Alarm Flood control system to stop the system generating an alarm report for very short lived events and to stop the same alarm condition being logged too many times. The following options can be configured to ensure ping failures and threshold breaches are only logged when relevant:-

Create Alarm After ...... Minutes - this input filed is used to set how many minutes the alarm conditions must persist for before a report is included in the Alarm Logs, for example if alarm applies to a ping failure if you set it to create an Alarm after 1 minute, and the ping frequency is set to every 4 seconds, then the ping failure is logged when 15 ICMP Echo Requests fail to receive a ICMP Echo Response (4 x 15seconds = 1 minute).
Repeat after ....... Minutes - this input field is used to set the time period that has to pass before the system reports a failure again for the same IP address.

Flood Control - email issue

There is also a minimum time between alarm emails, 10 minutes is shortest time period allowed. The email lists all the alarms that occurred in the time period. This is to avoid users receiving too many email reports in situations where there are excessive alarm reports. The time interval between emails can be changed to a longer gap in the Set up Global Alarm Actions dialog.

Does the toolbox have its own Email Client?

Yes, This client is used by:-

The Alarm system to issue reports.
The SNMP Record Discovery facilities and the SNMP SIM Generator - used to provide Codima with SNMP Agents recordings.

See Help entry titled:-

How to configure Email Client

What is the Global Alarm system?

The Global Alarm System is used to log alarm reports, send out SNMP Traps, notification emails and SMS text messages. The alarms can be activated when:-

A device fails to respond to pings/echo tests
A threshold value is breached (goes above threshold setting) or when a value drops (goes below threshold setting). The Toolbox has several methods available to set the thresholds:-
- Via History Charts
- Via the Alarm & Events/Browse Alarm Thresholds tree branch

For detailed information on this tool, see Help entries titled

How to email alarm reports
How to set SNMP Traps
How to set alarm thresholds
How to configure Email Client

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