UPS Sentinel

Operation Alarm Capabilities

When the UPS detects an alarm, the unit sends a message to the ENS via an RS-232 connection. The ENS is configured to monitor these messages and send an alarm to the SAM system. This pathway can either be via IP connection, by using a modem in the ENS, or by IP connection with the modem as a “Dual Path” backup should the IP connection be unavailable.
The unit supports alarming to the ENS for the following events:

• AC Power Lost
• AC Power Restored
• Battery at 50%
• Battery at 25%
• Battery at 10%

Telephone Line Surge Protection The UPS Sentinel provides surge protection for a POTS1 line into the ENS.

Cables and Accessories

OutPost offers a full complement of cables. Custom configurations available. Contact us for more information on our products offerings.

• Environmental Sensors, Cables and Accessories
  STP-1 Sentinel Temperature Probe
  STP-2 Sentinel Temperature & Humidity Probe
  TCM Total Climate Monitoring including: Temperature, Humidty, AirFlow and Light Sensor
  SCC Sentinel Contact Closure to monitor power to specified devices
  Standard and Custom Cables and Adapters are also Available.
• MR12MR45 - (ENS-8 Serial)
• MR45MR45 – (Cat-5e network cable)
• FR45F9T – (9 pin serial console cable)

Features, Advantages, and Benefits

• Integrates with all popular NMS Packages such as HP OpenView, IBM Netcool / Tivoli, and Alcatel – Lucent's OmniVista
• Provides guaranteed delivery of SNMP Traps and console data
• Provides integrated out of band management to remote sites
• Provides integrated remote power management
• Provides remote atmospheric monitoring

Traditional NMS Solutions

Legacy NMS solutions have many inherent problems. To understand these and how OutPost Sentinel can resolve them, consider the "traditional model" of NMS deployment. In a "typical" NMS installation, the MSP deploys an NMS Server behind their firewall (see graphic below). The NMS system relies on SNMP traps being delivered from the remote location in order to create alarms. This forces the staff to be granted access when needed by the remote location customer. More importantly it exclusively relies upon the data network to notify and provide access to troubled equipment. When the network is down or there is a router issue the traditional NMS solution will not alarm or grant access. That is where the OutPost solution is different. It continues to provide notification collect data and provide persistent secure access without exclusively relying on the network it is monitoring to provide that access

The Challenge of SNMP

The problem with Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is that it relies on the NETWORK to deliver the message. What if the TCP / IP network is the problem? SNMP Traps are transmitted through the network using Universal Data Protocol (UDP). Unlike other network transmission protocols, UDP does not require an acknowledgement from system that was to receive the information. This type of transmission is frequently called "fire and forget". The problem with this scheme is that if your transportation network is down (like a router), your critical alarm may never be delivered to the management system to let anyone know that there is a problem. The second major challenge is that a Traditional NMS system doesn't facilitate any connectivity to the remote site for maintenance.

NMS and Site Connectivity

In a traditional NMS deployment, the NMS feeds alarm data to the CRM system that creates trouble tickets for your staff. The technical staff must then figure out how to reach the customer site. On some systems (such as the Mitel 5000) this would just be "I have an alarm". No console data, no way of knowing who last did what on the system, what is installed at the customer's location, or even customer contact information. The result is an inefficient process to provide service to the customer and meet your service level agreement commitments.

How adding the OutPost Sentinel Solution improves the operation of your NMS

The OutPost Sentinel solution consists of two components. A Web Server that runs the Sentinel Alarm Manager software, and a small, Customer Premises appliance that is called an ENS or a CS.

The ENS and CS

The solution starts with a small, solid state appliance that is placed at each customer site. This device is called the ENS or a CS. ENS units are sized by the number of console ports they support (4, 8, RS-232 ports). Additionally, each unit can monitor up to 16 IP devices via SNMP. The CS typically provides only 1 serial connection port and is sized by the number of targets (devices) it will support. There is a CS-10 and a CS-100 which will monitor 10 or 100 devices respectively. Theses units may support a modem to provide an out-of-band mechanism to reach the customer's site should the network be down. The ENS contains the logic and connectivity to reach and maintain connections with equipment at the customer's site. The ENS also offers a local presence to permit the monitoring of temperature and water, and gives you a remote power cycling ability.

Sentinel Alarm Manager -SAM

The other component of the OutPost Sentinel solution is the SAM Server. SAM is a web server that provides:

• services the secure tunnels to the remote locations
• monitoring of the remote locations – Console and SNMP Traps
• access to the remote locations
• storage of console and audit information
• notification and escalation of events
• Remote Power Management and Atmospheric monitoring

Secure Tunnels

Once the ENS has been installed, it will immediately establish a Point to Point connection to the centralized SAM Server. This tunnel is maintained by a bidirectional heartbeat. If either end of the tunnel goes down, both units will attempt to reestablish connectivity. Meanwhile, an alarm is raised to inform service personnel that the location is not reachable. Data on this tunnel is encrypted with blowfish data encryption that offers rock solid operational security. By using the tunnel capabilities the MSP has an open door to the devices that they monitor that is totally secure. Additional security can be provided using port screening, access control lists, and external security servers such as Radius.