Activating a remote output using a SensDesk condition

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HWg wins TruePath Cool Tools Award 2017

03/09/2017 - 08:22

HWg wins TruePath Cool Tools Award 2017

SNMPv3 support is here!

05/19/2015 - 19:25

The SNMP v3 is now supported in all the Poseidon2 units. This is a major update that brings many advantages and improvements. The following text will explain...

Activating an output of a remote unit using a SensDesk condition is one of the highest feats in terms of cooperation and communication among multiple devices (M2M mode). It requires cooperation not just among devices of the same family, but also among different devices that do not share a common communication protocol other than HWg-PUSH to communicate with the SensDesk portal.

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Support for controlling outputs using SensDesk conditions

Push protocol	Poseidon2 3268	Poseidon2 4002	Poseidon2 3468	Damocles2 MINI	Damocles2 1208	Damocles2 2404	Ares12	SD-2xOUT	IP WatchDog2 Lite	IP WatchDog2 Industrial
Controling	Poseidon2 3268	Poseidon2 4002	Poseidon2 3468	Damocles2 MINI	Damocles2 1208	Damocles2 2404	Ares12	SD-2xOUT	IP WatchDog2 Lite	IP WatchDog2 Industrial
Poseidon2 3266
Poseidon2 3268
Poseidon2 4002
Poseidon2 3468
Damocles2 MINI
Damocles2 1208
Damocles2 2404
Ares12
SD-2x1Wire
HWg-PWRxx
SD-2xIn
SD-WLD
HWg-STE Plus
STE2
HWg-WLD
WLD2
IP WatchDog Lite
IP WatchDog Industrial

Relay output reaction time

All products connected to the SensDesk portal communicate at least once every 15 minutes. This saves network traffic (and money in case of GSM communication) but means that a relay output needs 0.1 to 15 minutes to react. That's far from convenient, and so we have introduced the CheckPeriod setting (CheckPush function) that can be activated from the SensDesk portal for any product with digital outputs.

The CheckPeriod function shortens the reaction time, in which the relay output at the remote device switches, to 0.1 to 60 seconds.

What outputs can be controlled

Digital outputs (DO) of Poseidon2, Damocles2 or other devices can be linked to a local condition. An output can be controlled by the “Thermostat” local function (e.g. to turn on a fan when the temperature exceeds 30°C). Such a DO cannot be controlled remotely (remains read-only).

Only outputs in the “Manual” mode (with no conditions or triggers) can be controlled from the SensDesk portal.

At this time, the functionality for output control conditions in SensDesk is still being developed. For this reason, it is not very comfortable yet because the user needs to know the SensDesk ID of the controlled output. The easiest way to find it is to look at the URL of the output:

The condition is then created by editing the sensor on which the output should depend. First open the sensor, switch to editing mode, and under Email & SMS alerts find the Simple set output alarm item. There, enter the ID of the output to control in the Recipient field.

The condition becomes active as soon as it is saved by clicking Save:

From this moment on, whenever the sensor goes into the Alarm state, the remote contact is closed. Likewise, when the sensor returns to the Normal state, the remote contact opens. Loss of communication with the sensor is handled as an Alarm state and the remote output is closed.

To delete the condition, go to the Edit Sensor page and check the Delete box next to the rule to delete. Confirm by clicking Save.

Plans for future development include a JavaScript menu to avoid manual entering of the output ID, as well as repeated setting of the output state for as long as the condition is valid.

CheckPeriod: Shortened output reaction time

In order to shorten the time it takes for the outputs of a device to react to SensDesk requests, the CheckPush function was introduced. It is activated with the CheckPeriod option that is set to 60s. This faster communication mode is configured in SensDesk individually for each device. CheckPeriod only applies to outputs. It does not shorten the update period for sensor readings or input states.