A ping alarm is an alert that is automatically sent to you when one of your connected devices fails to send a response after a series of pings. Powerful RTUs, like the NetGuardian 832A G5, support ping alarming to many different IP addresses simultaneously (the 832A supports 32 ping targets).

Take a look at a list of our powerful RTUs.

If a device doesn't respond to a ping alarm, it's assumed that this particular unit is having an issue that needs to be addressed. So, the objective of a ping alarm is to make sure that your equipment is working as expected.

Do you have a NetGuardian 832A G5? If so, it might be beneficial to learn how to configure your RTU so it will power cycle every 30 minutes when a failed ping attempt happens. This type of setup will be helpful if you:

• Would like to power-cycle your NetGuardian on a time interval
• Would like to conditionally trigger a relay on a time interval

So, let's get started.

Troubleshooting Checklist

Hardware: This guide will use ALARM 25, ALARM 26, CONTROL 1, and CONTROL 2. If you use different alarms or controls remember to substitute the correct alarms and controls in the firmware setup of this guide.

Firmware: This guide will demonstrate the configuration using Ping Target 1, a ping Fail Timer of 5 minutes, and a power cycle time of 30 minutes. You can set up the firmware with whatever timers or targets you would like.

Resources needed:

• 2 relays
• 2 alarms
• 2 qualifiers
• 1 ping target

Hardware Setup

Step 1: Wire CONTROL A

Wiring CONTROL A so that closing the relay will trigger both ALARM A and ALARM B.

• Connect CONTROL A CO to ALM A and ALM B.
• Connect CONTROL A NO to RTN A and RTN B.

Step 2: Verify CONTROL A will trigger ALARM A and ALARM B

• From the web interface navigate to "Monitor>Controls".
• Verify that when CONTROL A state is switched to "Opr" both ALARM A and ALARM B are triggered.
• Verify that when CONTROL A state is switched to "Rls" both ALARM A and ALARM B are cleared.

Step 3: Set CONTROL B to Normally Latched

• Attach a shunt to CONTROL B so that is normally in the latched state.

Firmware Setup

Step 1: Set Ping Target

• Open the NetGuardian 832A G5 web interface.
• Navigate to the "Edit>Ping Target" page.
• Change the IP Address of Ping Target ID A to the IP Address of the device you would like to ping.

Step 2: Set Ping Fail Timer

• Navigate to the "Edit>Timers" page.
• Set the "Fail (1-120)" field to the time you would like to wait from a failed ping until the first power cycle. In this example I have set the time to 5 minutes.

Step 3: Add Event Qualifiers

• Navigate to the "Edit>Event Qual" page.
• Add event qualifiers for ALARM A and ALARM B.
• Set Cycle Interval Qualifier - time between power cycles.
  
  • Set Display to 1
  • Set Point to the ID of ALARM A (in this example, ALARM 25)
  • Set Value to the time interval between power cycles (in this example, 30 min)
• Set Toggle Qualifier - toggle the power on and off
  
  • Set Display to 1
  • Set Point to the ID of ALARM B (in this example, ALARM 26)
  • Set Value to 2 sec

Step 4: Add Derived Controls

• Navigate to "Edit>Controls"
• Add "_NO D1.* _AN D2.1" (where * is the ID of ALARM A)
• Add "_NO D1.* _AN D2.1" (where * is the ID of ALARM B)

Step 5: Verify Power Cycling is Working

• Navigate to "Monitor>Event Log"
• Disconnect power from ping target so ping fail alarm is triggered
• Verify ping alarm triggered
• Wait for desired time interval
• Verify that the Toggle Qualifier from Firmware Step 3 is unlatched and latched at desired time interval

The Bottom Line

The power cycling capability is only one of the multiple efficient features the NetGuardian 832A G5 has. Being one of our most powerful RTUs, the 832A G5 was designed to give you the most efficient and modern features, allowing you to have a cost-effective monitoring solution. It allows you to monitor 32 discrete alarm points, 8 analogs, 32 network devices and gives you 8 control relays.

Take a look at a list of our powerful RTUs.

But, if you need a special capability in your RTU, let us know. We are a vertically integrated company, and being able to do everything in-house (from design to manufacturing) means that we can build custom solutions to fit whatever requirements you have.

So, to know more about the NetGuardian 832A G5, or if you want to know what we can do for you, or even if you have questions about the power cycling setup, simply reach out to us. We'll be glad to help you.