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Alarm Menu

A primary function of the NCM is the handling of alarm messages from the application modules. Alarms are sent to the optional Verilink Node Manager application if it is used. Alarms will be sent to an SNMP manager if the TCP/IP options under the Network Configuration submenu of the Administration Menu are properly configured. See the Network Configuration Menu.

NOTE: The ACP-type application modules have been designed to send messages to an NCM 2000 node controller. Legacy TABS type cards were designed before the NCM and may occasionally report alarms to the NCM but fail to report later when these alarms have cleared. Users should be aware that under some circumstances the NCM alarm indication may fall out of sync with certain TABS based cards.

In addition to reporting alarms to an SNMP Trap Host or Verilink Node Manager, the NCM is also able to display alarm messages in real time on the Craft interface terminal. This is configured through the Alarms Option Menu.

The Alarm command displays the Alarm Options Menu for the currently selected module. If the NCM is currently selected the following menu appears.

Alarm Options Menu

[Alarm Menu]

A shelf/slot matrix display of alarm status appears. Each location is mapped to a slot of a shelf. The meanings of the symbols shown are listed below:

Alarm Menu Symbols

Symbol

Meaning
-

NCM sees no card in this slot
A

Card has some alarm condition at this time, use A) display alarm buffer to view current alarm details
B

The Relay Inhibit option has been configured not to show alarms for a period of time, and this screen has been displayed during this inhibited (blocked) period. Useful if a circuit tends to have frequent but minor alarms of short duration and the user wants to avoid relay trips caused by these conditions.
C

Card has no alarms at this time, any previous alarms have cleared

The following command options are available on the NCM Alarm Options Menu:

Alarm Options Menu Commands

Command

Function
M

Alarm Monitoring. Toggles on/off the display of alarm messages in the Craft interface screen. If ON, messages appear on the Craft interface terminal as alarms occur and again as they clear.
I

Relay Inhibit. Allows the user to enable, disable, or temporarily block the action of the alarm relays. Values range from 0 to 256. Selecting zero enables immediate alarm relay activation. Values from one to 255 block alarm relay operation for an equal number of minutes. Selecting 256 disables the alarm relays. This might be used in a large network to avoid tripping alarm relays when a specific circuit is scheduled for an outage, or to block alarm relay operation on pending or non-critical facilities.
A

Display Alarm Buffer. Presents a history of alarm messages to the Craft interface.

C

Clear Alarm Buffer. Removes all alarm messages from the display buffer referenced above. User is not asked to confirm this selection.
X

Exit. Exits to the NCM Main Menu.

Below is an NCM Alarm Display:

NCM Alarm Display

[Alarm Buffer]

The display indicates date and time for each alarm. The shelf and slot of the module reporting the alarm is shown in brackets [01,06]

Whenever the NCM detects a card for the first time, an alarm is reported, Near-End Plug Present Alarm. This does not indicate a problem.

If a module other than the NCM is the currently selected module, an Alarm Options Menu for that module will appear when Alarm is selected.

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