Device alert disconnected from HWg-Cloud - Reliable long-term monitoring system

A remote monitoring device is useful when it is working. There may be a power failure at the remote site or a connection error, which means that alerts will not be sent.
To alert you in such cases, all portals (including even the free service HWg-cloud.com) can alert you when the remote monitoring device is disconnected.

HW group, through the portals HWg-Cloud and SensDesk, sells an alert message delivery service, so they want to alert customers of the service not only in case of deviation of a parameter from the security values, but also in case there is a problem in the external environment (e.g., power failure or loss of remote system connectivity).

To provide a reliable long-term monitoring system, we also offer the "Disconnected Device Alert" feature in the free version of the portal based on SensDesk - HWg-Cloud technology.

Possible alarm situations:

1. The measured value of the sensor is higher/lower than the defined limit.
   Standard warning.
2. Measured sensor disconnected (e.g., sensor port disconnected).
   Standard warning.
3. The monitoring device to which the sensor is connected is not powered.
   Disconnected device warning.
4. The monitoring device does not have an Internet connection.
   Disconnected device warning.

All in all, this is a very good protection of the environmental situation at your remote site. To achieve reliable long-term and easy-to-use monitoring, the portal is used, since scenarios (3) and (4) cannot be realized without a higher-level system.

What happens if one or more sensors connected to the monitor are disconnected, torn or damaged in any way preventing normal operation?

Standard alerts from the device

They can be managed by the portal, but also by the monitoring device e.g., Poseidon2 or STE2.

You will see something similar in the device interface:

For alarm situation 2. (Sensor disconnected), you can also define an alert, -999.9 degrees Celsius means sensor not found and the device can alert you of this situation.

The alert from the device must be converted to e-mail. You can use your company's SMTP server, but HW group does not recommend using public SMTP servers.
There is a specific article on this subject at this link.

Alternatively, HW group recommends using their portal, including the free version HWg-Cloud.

Standard alerts from the portal

You can also view graphs of values over time in the portal. If you receive the status "Invalid sensor:

This type of warning is different from the temperature deviation warning and could be sent to the recipient as a different type of warning message. It indicates a sensor failure rather than a temperature fluctuation, and should be handled differently.

A cable may have accidentally detached or been damaged in some way, thus preventing the sensor from sending the monitored value to the device. The alarm receiver can distinguish such a situation from a true temperature alarm. The former indicates a sensor malfunction, the latter a change in the monitored environment.

Portal reaction to disconnected device

What happened there? There is really no way to know. It could be the whole monitored system that failed, or just the specific power distribution unit, or a specific plug pulled out. Things happen. You just need to know exactly what happened so you can take the appropriate action.

If the HWg monitoring device loses power, the portal-in this case HWg-cloud.com-will display the following message:

How quickly do I get the information that the device is not connected?

In the case of the HWg-cloud.com portal, it takes less than an hour to definitively determine that the device itself is not functioning properly, thus changing the status of the device in the account:

And it triggers an alert sent directly from the portal. Understandably, if the power goes out, no SMTP destination would be able to receive an alert because it cannot be sent. When the device turns back on, its status in the portal changes within a minute of the initial sending of data.

Disconnected devices on the sensor graph:

Summary

Using an SMTP server to send e-mail alerts from the device is a common method.
It is advisable, however, rather than using a public SMTP server, to use a HW group portal service (HWg-Cloud or SensDesk), it is more reliable in the long run and free.
The value graphs shown above and a central location to handle e-mail alerts are another plus you get in addition to the disconnected device alert. This is an alert that is sent when the monitoring device (STE2, Poseidon, Ares, ..) is turned off or disconnected from the network.

The portal service checks whether the monitoring device is connected and functioning properly. It increases the reliability of the entire remote monitoring ecosystem.