T/Mon SNMP Master Update Video: Top 5 New Functions...

Hello again, this is Andrew from DPS TV. Today I'm outside the headquarters of DPS Telecom in Fresno, California, US.

This is an important time for DPS, when the annual software updates go out for the T/Mon master station.

Even though it was late and almost dark outside, there were still a lot of DPS employees inside. That worked out well for me, as I was able to interview DPS Telecom President Eric Storm. He shared with me the Top 5 Most Important Features of this alarm master update:

1. Root Alarm Processing
   T/Mon has always put a lot of emphasis on nuisance alarm reduction, so T/Mon terminal operators can be really efficient and avoid distractions from unimportant alarms. We added this feature for situations where, for example, you have something big like a DS3 fail. If this happens, you're going to get a lot of alarms from T1s coming in. There's really nothing you can directly do about those T1 alarms, because the "root alarm" is the DS3. With the new "Root Alarm Processing" feature, you can configure T/Mon to automatically filter extra alarms (like the T1 alarms in the example) when you have a known root alarm (like a DS3 failure). If the DS3 isn't failing, however, you'll still see any T1 alarms that come in.
2. SiteDialer Support
   T/Mon is really focused on support for after-hours notifications (so you don't need a 24/7 NOC center to have 24/7 monitoring). You could already send emails and pages from T/Mon. We've now added one more dimension with voice notifications. With the T/Mon LNX platform and the right software modules, you can now have T/Mon call your cell phone (or any other landline/mobile phone) and tell you about important alarms in plain English. Right from your phone, you can acknowledge the alarm.
3. T/GFX Docking Mode
   T/GFX is the geographic-map-based GUI interface to the T/Mon server. Now, instead of having many different windows floating around your screen as you use T/GFX, you can activate "Docking Mode." You'll still see one graphic screen at a time, but it's more easily navigated because all of the component T/GFX windows will be "docked" together. At any one time, you can easily see the alarm map, any active alarms, text messages describing how to fix the problem, and trouble logs showing the work that's been done on this alarm so far.
   
   As part of the Docking Mode update, we also improved the Site Tree on the lefthand side of the screen. You can now navigate between sites much faster. With just a single click of a site in the left pane, the right map will automatically load and you'll also receive a summary of any critical, major, and other alarms at that site.
4. New T/GFX Monitoring Capabilities
   We've also expanded the number of things you can do from the graphical T/GFX interface, including functions that have traditionally been part of the T/Windows software. Now, T/GFX really can be your main interface for monitoring your network. We added building access support so you can see who's in your buildings if you're using the DPS proximity card access system. We added dial-up stat screens so you can manually initiate modem dials to get alarms from your remotes. Finally, if you're using SNMP or inbound ASCII, you manually clear those events as well, which is different than acknowledging them.
5. Improved NRI Synchronization Time (5x faster)
   In T/Mon, you can have a primary master and a secondary master. The secondary will take over if the primary fails, and they stay synchronized so the secondary is always ready to take over. On the secondary, you can also make database changes while the primary is still monitoring alarms. Whenever you make those changes, you electronically push them over to the primary. Now that we've updated T/Mon, your NRI synchronizations will now be 5 times faster.

The T/Mon Gold Plan ensures that you get the most recent version of T/Mon. It gives you software updates, extends your hardware warranties, gives you priority tech support, and it also has one really neat feature: the ability to upgrade your T/Mon every three years to the latest and greatest hardware platform at a substantial discount.

T/Mon Gold Plan members should expect their software updates to arrive in the mail soon. If you're not a Gold Plan member, review this full PDF summary of the new features in the T/Mon 6.7A software update:

Download Full T/Mon 6.7A Update PDF Summary