Usage

Ignition 8.1 build

This page documents the Ignition 8.1 build of the Octopush Alarm Notification module. For the latest release, see the current (8.3) documentation.

Alarm Pipeline

Add a Notification Block that uses an Octopush profile in your Alarm Pipeline.

Notification Block Parameters

The 8.1 build exposes exactly the following properties on the notification block:

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
Message	Expression	See below	Content of the message to send
Throttled Message	Expression	See below	Message used when multiple alarm events are batched together
Voice	Boolean	false	Send via the Octopush voice channel instead of sms
With Reply	Boolean	false	Enable acknowledgement via a reply code
Test Mode	Boolean	false	Use Octopush simulation mode (no actual delivery)

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Message Templates

Expression Syntax

The Message and Throttled Message fields support Ignition's expression syntax, allowing dynamic content based on alarm properties.

Default Message:

At {eventTime|hh:mm:ss}, alarm "{name}" at "{displayPath}" transitioned to {eventState}.

Default Throttled Message:

{alarmEvents.Count} alarm events have occurred.

Available Variables

Variable	Description	Example
{name}	Alarm name	High Temperature
{displayPath}	Alarm source path	Furnace/Zone1/TempSensor
{eventTime|format}	Event timestamp with format	{eventTime|hh:mm:ss}
{eventState}	Alarm state	Active, Cleared, Acknowledged
{alarmEvents.Count}	Number of throttled events	5
{priority}	Alarm priority	High, Medium, Low
{label}	Alarm label	Temperature Alarm

Message Examples

Simple notification:

ALARM: {name} is {eventState} at {eventTime|HH:mm}

Detailed notification:

[{priority}] {name} at {displayPath} - State: {eventState} - Time: {eventTime|yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss}

Throttled events:

ATTENTION: {alarmEvents.Count} alarms require your attention.

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SMS Text Notifications

By default the module sends notifications on the Octopush sms channel to every SMS contact in the alarm roster.

Characteristics:

• Maximum message length depends on your Octopush plan
• The sender ID is fixed as OperaMetrix in the 8.1 build (not configurable)
• Requests are sent with purpose set to alert

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Voice Notifications

When Voice is enabled, the module uses the Octopush voice channel to place an automated text-to-speech call instead of sending a text message.

Characteristics (fixed in the 8.1 build):

• Language: English (en-GB)
• Voice gender: male
• These voice settings are hardcoded; there are no voice gender, language, or repeat-count properties in this build.

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Acknowledgement Flow

When With Reply is enabled, the module generates a random numeric code (0–99999) and associates it with the alarm event. The code is appended to the outgoing message and, when the operator sends it back, the callback servlet acknowledges the alarm.

SMS Acknowledgement

1. The recipient receives an SMS containing the alarm message plus Send <code> to acknowledge
2. The recipient replies to the SMS with the code
3. Octopush forwards the reply to the callback endpoint (text field)
4. The alarm is acknowledged in Ignition

The outgoing message adds the suffix (with replies enabled on the request):

<your message> Send 48271 to acknowledge

Voice Acknowledgement

1. The recipient receives a call reading the alarm message
2. The message repeats the code three times, spelled out digit by digit, e.g. Send 4 8 2 7 1 to acknowledge
3. The recipient enters the code on their phone keypad (the request enables get_back_pressed_keys)
4. Octopush sends the keypad input to the callback endpoint (meta_data.pressed_keys_code field)
5. The alarm is acknowledged in Ignition

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Test Mode

Enable Test Mode to use Octopush's simulation mode. The request is sent with simulation_mode enabled, so the API validates and returns a ticket but no SMS or call is delivered.

Use cases:

• Testing alarm pipeline configuration
• Verifying API credentials are correct
• Development and debugging

Simulation Mode

In test mode, the Octopush API validates the request and returns a ticket number, but no SMS or call is made. Check the gateway logs (debug level) for the request details and returned ticket.

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Audit Logging

When an Audit Profile is configured on the notification profile (see Configuration), each notification send attempt is written to the audit system.

Logged information:

• Action: Octopush Message
• Action value: SUCCESS or FAILURE
• Actor: the notified user's path
• Actor host: the notification profile name
• Action target: the alarm source / event id

If no audit profile is selected, no audit records are written. There are no scripting functions provided by this build.

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Troubleshooting

Issue	Possible Cause	Solution
Notifications not sent	Invalid API credentials	Verify API Login and API Key in profile settings
Notifications not sent	Network issue	Check connectivity to api.octopush.com
Notifications not sent	Trial expired	Activate a license — see Licensing
Acknowledgement not working	Callback not configured	Configure the callback URL in Octopush
Acknowledgement not working	Firewall blocking inbound POST	Allow inbound traffic to /system/octopush

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Best Practices

1. Test first - Enable Test Mode before going live to validate credentials and the pipeline
2. Use throttling - Provide a meaningful Throttled Message and set an appropriate time between notifications to avoid message floods
3. Enable auditing - Configure an audit profile for troubleshooting and compliance
4. International format - Ensure all SMS phone numbers include country codes
5. Message length - Keep messages concise, especially for SMS