Alarm Gen Service

Overview

The Alarm Gen (AlGen) Service turns incoming signals into alarms in SBN. On a fixed timer it calls the SBN alarm-generation routine, which reads queued signal activity and processes it into the alarms and events that appear on the operator screens. The service runs continuously, picking up new signal activity each cycle so that alarms are generated as signals arrive.

Each AlGen instance is numbered, and its number identifies the Immediate Queue it processes — AlGen 3 reads from Immediate Queue 3, AlGen 5 from Immediate Queue 5, and so on. Run one AlGen instance per immediate queue in use, so the processing load is spread across queues. Each instance writes to its own log file.

AlGen 0 is an outlier. Instead of reading from an immediate queue, it generates and processes system-generated signals — for example missing-test events and open/close (O/C) violations — turning those into alarms.

The service requires a working SBN data-server connection; if the connection cannot be established at start-up, the service logs the reason and stops.

Service Manager

Instructions for installing and interacting with this service is found here.

Service Properties

Only properties specific to this service are listed here. Common service properties (SBN Server connection, Logging, SMTP) are found here.

Timer (In Seconds)

How often the service runs an alarm-generation pass. The service waits this many seconds between cycles, then processes any new signals waiting in its immediate queue (for AlGen 0, the system-generated checks).

Stored Procedure Debug

When enabled, runs the alarm-generation stored procedure in debug mode, which produces additional diagnostic output in the log. Normally left off — turn it on only when troubleshooting.

Verbose Logging

When enabled, the service writes extra detail to its log, including [PERF] performance-timing entries. Normally left off to keep the log concise.