Hardware Monitoring
The Hardware Monitoring screen provides information on several internal parameters of the Cortex 360. Each parameter has its own setup menu and offers different user-definable settings.
1 – SELECT ALL: Select / unselect all inputs at once.
2 – STATE: Current state of the inputs (normal, active, minor, major).
3 – ID: ID of the inputs.
4 – DESCRIPTION: Description of the inputs. Factory suggested descriptions, but modifiable by user.
5 – VALUE: Shows current value of the inputs.
6 – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION: Select / unselect one or more inputs.
7 – CONFIGURATION: Brings up the configuration menu of the selected inputs. Bulk edition is allowed, see this article for more details. Menu can also be directly accessed by right-clicking anywhere on an input line.
8 – DELETE: Delete selected inputs.
9 – REFRESH / READ: Refresh / read the screen content.
10 – EXIT: Exit menu.
Typical configuration screen of a hardware monitoring input.
1 – ID: ID of the selected input. Select from the drop-down menu (1B1 in this case).
2 – I/O DESCRIPTION RETRIEVAL: Click to retrieve and display the current normal description of that ID. Normally hidden to minimize data transfers on low speed or high fee data connections.
3 – ACTION TYPE: Selects the action type that will happen when an out-of-limit condition occurs. 3 types are available: Major alarm, Minor alarm, and Command (CMD). On CMD, no alarm will be triggered. Use this Action when you want to take actions without triggering any alarms.
4 – QUALIFIER AND QUALIFIER STATE – DATA: Qualifying element (operand) which can be any input, output, flag, timer, SNMP GET, Logic Gate, etc. Essentially any ID in the Cortex can be used to mute or unmute the input to prevent it from taking any action. When the Qualifier is active, the input will be monitored and be able to generate alarms. When the qualifier is non-active (or normal), the input will be muted and it will not be able to generate an alarm. To invert the Qualifier’s level, simply put a ! in front of its ID. For example, use !1D01 to invert it. Leave the Qualifier field blank for a “don’t care” condition.
STATE (default setting): the State (Normal or Active) of the input being qualified can change only when the Qualifier is active. Readings from the input (Current Value) continue to be updated periodically independently from the Qualifier state.
DATA: Same as the STATE mode, but in this case the readings from the input (Current Value) remain frozen at their latest values, as long as the Qualifier is not active. This mode is used like a “Sample-and-Hold” for the readings from the input.
5 – HIGH LIMIT: Voltage value above which the input state will switch from normal to active. Factory-set but changeable by user.
6 – LOW LIMIT: Voltage value below which the input state will switch from normal to active. Factory-set but changeable by user.
7 – CONTROLLED OUTPUT: Outputs to be controlled (on/off) based on the state of this input. The two output types allowed are relays (both physical and virtual) and SNMP SETs. For the relays, adding a P suffix will Pulse the relay (ex: 1R01P), L will Latch it and R will Release it.
8 – DELAY BEFORE ACTION: Delay before the input changes into an active state when an out-of-limit condition occurs. Prevents glitches from setting-off any alarms.
9 – DELAY BEFORE RETURN TO NORMAL: Delay before the input returns to a normal state once an out-of-limit condition is over. Prevents too-brief returns-to-normal from causing multiple repeated alarms.
10 – ENABLE: Enable / disable the input. Useful to deactivate an input, without losing all its settings, when the input is causing intermittent problems or nuisance alarms.
11 – SYSTEM LOG: Log the input’s activity in the System Log. Useful when inputs do not need to be logged, but are required for day-to-day operation.
12 – MEASUREMENT UNIT: Select desired measurement unit, or enter your own. Maximum of 3 characters.
13 – HYSTERESIS – HIGH LIMIT: Gap value which must be exceeded, when the input voltage returns from a high out-of-range state, before the input can actually switch back to a normal state.
14 – HYSTERESIS – LOW LIMIT: Gap value which must be exceeded, when the input voltage returns from a low out-of-range state, before the input can actually switch back to a normal state.
15 – SIGNALLING ON – ALARM: Enables / disables alarming. When checked, any out-of-limit condition will automatically generate an alarm. When unchecked, no alarm will be triggered when an out-of-limit condition occurs.
16 – SIGNALLING ON – RETURN TO NORMAL: Enables / disables Return To Normal signalling. When checked, a notification will be generated when the input changes back to its normal state after an out-of-limit alarm condition. When unchecked, no notification will be sent when the initial alarm condition returns to normal.
17 – REFRESH / READ: Refresh / read the screen content.
18 – SAVE / WRITE: Save the screen content.
19 – EXIT: Exit menu.
