What Is the Alarm Notification System (ANS)?

ANS automatically delivers critical alarms and events occurring at power generation facilities to predefined user groups. The system can be configured according to different areas of responsibility, such as operators, maintenance teams, management, the central organization, and special user groups.

The fundamental objective of this approach is to deliver the right alarm to the right person, at the right time, through the appropriate communication channel This helps reduce unnecessary notification traffic and improve response times to critical events.

Basic ANS operating principle: An alarm generated in the SCADA system and selected for ANS is evaluated according to the defined filter and communication rule. The target user group and communication channel specified by the rule are determined, and the alarm message is sent through the appropriate notification channel.

This user guide explains ANS configuration, starting with EOSliveevents.xml starting with its activation through EOSliveevents.xml and continuing AlarmManager.exe with the configuration of communication channels, user groups, alarm filters, communication rules, and network requirements using AlarmManager.exe.

1. EOSliveevents.xml Configuration File and ANS Activation

For the ANS feature to operate, first EOSliveevents.xml the parameter indicating that ANS is active must be correctly configured in the configuration file.

The following line must be present in the configuration file, and its value must be True set as follows:

<ANSAktif>True</ANSAktif>

ANSAktif Parameter

ANSAktif parameter determines whether the Alarm Notification System is enabled. When the parameter True is set to True, the ANS feature becomes active within LIVE EVENTS.

Important: Before proceeding with ANS configuration, make sure this parameter is set correctly. Notification configurations created through AlarmManager will not operate as expected unless ANS has been activated.

2. Starting the AlarmManager Software

The primary tool for configuring ANS is AlarmManager.exe' is AlarmManager.exe. Communication channels, user groups, alarm filters, and notification rules are created through AlarmManager.

Starting from LIVE EVENTS

After opening LIVE EVENTS, QUICK START in the QUICK START menu Alarm Notification System Design Panel clicking the button starts AlarmManager.

Starting Directly

Alternatively, the AlarmManager.exe file can be double-clicked to start the program directly.

Recommended approach: For the initial configuration, starting AlarmManager from the relevant design panel within LIVE EVENTS makes it easier to track which system component is being used for configuration.

3. AlarmManager Panel Structure

The AlarmManager interface consists of three main sub-panels that separate the different configuration requirements of the ANS system . Configuring these panels together forms the foundation for controlled operation of the alarm notification system.

I. Communication Channels and Address/Phone Information Entry Panel

This panel defines the communication infrastructure that ANS will use and the information of users who will receive notifications. Email, SMS, Telegram ve WhatsApp Connection and access information for these channels is configured here.

Within the same panel, 7 different address/phone lists can be created. This allows users with different areas of responsibility to be managed as separate groups.

II. Communication Rules Entry Panel

This panel is where the conditions for sending generated alarms under which conditions, to which user groups, and through which communication channels are defined.

For each alarm group, the Email, SMS, Telegram, and WhatsApp channels to be used can be selected individually. This allows more comprehensive notification scenarios for critical alarms and more limited scenarios for lower-priority alarms.

III. Alarm Selection and Filtering Panel

This panel allows the alarms to be reported by ANS to be selected from the alarm list defined in the SCADA system. Instead of sending all SCADA alarms to users, only the alarms that are required and considered critical can be included in the notification scope.

Relationship between the three panels: First, communication channels and recipients are defined; then rules determine which alarm conditions are sent to which groups and channels; finally, the alarm selection and filtering panel defines the alarm scope to which these rules will apply.

4. General Settings

Communication Channels and Address/Phone Information Entry Panel The General Settings tab on this panel contains the main parameters that determine ANS operating behavior.

These parameters are intended not only to send notifications, but also to retry during temporary communication problems, reduce unnecessary repetitions of the same alarm, detect high alarm volumes, and escalate unresolved critical alarms to higher-level groups.

Parametre Function
Plant Name Specifies the facility name to be used as the source information in notifications.
Retry Count Determines how many times a failed notification delivery will be retried.
Retry Delay Determines the waiting time between failed delivery attempts.
Notification Suppression Period Prevents the same alarm from being unnecessarily sent again within a short period.
Alarm Storm Threshold Defines the threshold at which the number of alarms generated within a specified time period is considered an alarm storm.
Alarm Storm Time Window Defines the time interval over which alarm intensity is evaluated.
Alarm Escalation Period Defines the time after which an unresolved or unacknowledged alarm is forwarded to higher-level user groups.
Balance is important: Retry, notification suppression, alarm storm, and escalation parameters should be evaluated together. Overly aggressive notification settings can create unnecessary traffic, while excessively restrictive settings can delay critical events.

5. Email, SMS, Telegram, and WhatsApp Settings

ANS supports multiple communication channels, allowing notification scenarios to be created according to the facility's communication infrastructure. Connection and authentication information for each channel is configured on its respective tab.

Email Settings

For email notifications, the SMTP connection must be configured correctly. The main parameters are SMTP Server, SMTP Port, Email Username, Email Password, Use SSL ve Timeout and

If required by the email service, provider-specific authentication methods such as an application password should be used. ANS also provides quick configuration options for GMAIL, HOTMAIL, YAHOO, YANDEX, and OUTLOOK.

SMS Settings

SMS delivery is performed using the API information of the selected service provider. SMS API Address, SMS API Key, SMS Access Token, SMS Username ve SMS Password can be configured according to the provider's requirements.

You can choose whether API key, access token, and password information will be used and, if so, whether they will be sent query parametresi veya message header in the selected location. This structure provides flexibility for compatibility with different SMS API standards.

Telegram Settings

Telegram integration is performed through a bot. The main parameters are Telegram API Address, Telegram Bot Access Key (Bot Token) ve Telegram Chat ID bilgileridir.

The Chat ID identifies the target user, group, or channel to which notifications will be sent.

WhatsApp Settings

WhatsApp notifications are configured through an API service. The main parameters are WhatsApp API Address, WhatsApp Access Key ve WhatsApp Phone ID and

Communication channel selection: Multiple communication channels can be used for the same alarm. When selecting channels, the alarm criticality, the responsibility of the user group, and the facility's communication infrastructure should be considered together.

6. Creating Communication Groups

After the communication channels are defined, the user groups that will receive notifications are created. A total of 7 separate communication groups can be defined in ANS.

  • Operators
  • Maintenance Team
  • Management
  • Central Organization
  • Special Group 1
  • Special Group 2
  • Special Group 3

For each group, email addresses and telephone numbers can be managed in the relevant list using the ADD ve DELETE buttons.

This structure ensures that notifications are directed to the appropriate user group according to its area of responsibility instead of being sent to all personnel.

Example organizational approach: A mechanical equipment alarm can be directed to the maintenance team and operators, while certain management-related alarms can be directed to the Management or Central Organization group. This creates a direct relationship between the alarm content and the responsible personnel.

7. Creating Communication Rules

The Communication Rules Panel forms the core of the ANS decision mechanism. Here, the user defines under which conditions an alarm is sent, which user groups receive it, and which communication channels are used.

  1. Create a new rule. below the communication rules table. ADD button.
  2. Set the rule's active status.Make sure the rule is active when it is intended to be used.
  3. Define the alarm scope.Select the relevant alarm criteria through the Alarm Selection and Filtering Panel.
  4. Apply the criteria to the rule. After making the required selections, use the ADD / EDIT operation to apply the criteria to the relevant rule row.
  5. Select the user groups.Select one or more user groups to which the rule will apply.
  6. Select the notification channels.Select the Email, SMS, Telegram, and WhatsApp channels to be used.
Thus, instead of sending every alarm received from SCADA in the same way, ANS evaluates each alarm according to the defined rules and determines the target users and communication channels.

8. Alarm Selection and Filtering

Large SCADA projects may contain hundreds or even thousands of alarms. Sending all of them as notifications to mobile devices or communication channels can overwhelm users with unnecessary messages and cause critical alarms to be lost among other notifications.

Therefore, the basic approach in ANS is to select alarms that require notification and filter out unnecessary notifications.

Individual Alarm Selection

A specific alarm can be selected directly from the alarm list. Text filtering by alarm name or description makes it easier to find the required record among hundreds of alarms.

Filtering by Alarm Location

Alarms can be filtered according to location information in the SCADA project. For example, Unit 1, Unit 2, or Switchyard can be selected so that only alarms belonging to a specific area are included in the notification scope.

Filtering by Alarm Type, Group, and Level

Include and exclude expressions can be used for alarm type, group, or level.

  • inc_ prefix: Includes the relevant alarm type, group, or level.
  • exc_ prefix: Excludes the relevant alarm type, group, or level.
Example filter:

Konum: Unit 1
Alarm Grubu: Mechanical
Alarm Seviyesi: inc_Critical, inc_Warning, exc_Info

With this configuration, only critical or warning-level alarms belonging to Unit 1 and the Mechanical group are intended to be included in the notification scope.

Operational Benefits of Filtering

  • Reduces unnecessary alarm notifications.
  • Allows users to focus only on important alarms.
  • Keeps notification traffic under control.
  • Makes it easier to adapt alarm management to operational and managerial processes.
  • Reduces the risk of critical alarms being overlooked among a high volume of notifications.

9. Network, Firewall, and Port Requirements

For ANS to send notifications through Email, SMS, WhatsApp, and Telegram, the ANS server must be able to communicate with the relevant external services. Therefore, firewall, proxy, and network security policies must be configured with ANS operating requirements in mind.

Hizmet Contact Temel Gereksinim
Email SMTP Outbound access to port 587 for TLS or port 465 for SSL, for example.
SMS HTTP / HTTPS API Outbound access to the provider's API; for example, port 443 or 80.
WhatsApp API / HTTPS API access, typically through TCP 443.
Telegram Bot API / HTTPS API access, typically through TCP 443.

Web Management Interface

If access to the web interface from an external network is planned, the web port in use must be forwarded to the ANS server on the firewall or modem. If the default HTTP port is 80, the interface can be accessed using the IP address; if a different port is used, :port eklenmelidir.

Outbound Connections

For Email, SMS, WhatsApp, and Telegram notifications, the ANS server must be able to establish an outbound connection to external services. It is particularly important that ports such as TCP 443, 587, and 465 are not blocked by security policies.

Security note: NAT and port forwarding should be used only for services that genuinely require them. Incoming connections from external networks and notification connections initiated by the server to external services should be evaluated separately. Opening unnecessary ports to the Internet is not recommended.

10. End-to-End ANS Commissioning Sequence

For ANS to operate reliably, completing the configuration on a single screen is not sufficient. The system should be checked end to end, from activation and alarm selection to user groups and communication channels.

  1. EOSliveevents.xml in ANSAktif=True setting.
  2. AlarmManager.exe' and start it.
  3. Configure the Email, SMS, Telegram, and WhatsApp communication infrastructure.
  4. Create the Operators, Maintenance Team, Management, Central Organization, and required Special Groups.
  5. Define the email addresses and telephone numbers for each group.
  6. Set the retry, notification suppression, alarm storm, and escalation parameters in General Settings according to the facility's requirements.
  7. Define the alarm scope for notifications using filters.
  8. Create communication rules according to alarm types.
  9. Select the user groups and communication channels for each rule.
  10. Check the firewall, proxy, and external service access.
  11. Generate a real test alarm and verify that the notification reaches the correct user through the correct communication channel.
End-to-end example: When a critical alarm occurs in the Mechanical group of an HPP unit, ANS first determines whether the alarm is within the selected scope. It then identifies the relevant user group and channels according to the communication rule. For example, different notification scenarios can be created so that the Operators group receives SMS and Telegram, while the Maintenance group receives Email and WhatsApp. If the alarm is not resolved or acknowledged, a notification can be escalated to a higher-level group according to the escalation period.

Thus, instead of directly and uncontrollably sending every SCADA alarm to all users, ANS considers the alarm's priority, location, type, target group, and communication channel and operates as a controlled notification system.

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