1. How can we buy the program?
2. What steps are required after installing Alarm Front Monitoring?
1. Add the program Alarm Front Monitoring to the list of exceptions of your antivirus program.
2. Add the installation path (Program Files\Alarm Front Monitoring) to the list of exceptions of your antivirus program.
3. Install the license key for each operating system user or copy the license key to the program folder (there must be only one key in the folder).
4. Turn off the Sleep state of the computer that includes switching off the electricity of separate PC elements.
5. Turn off Windows automatic updates (leave only checking for updates).
6. Backup the program's data at least once a week (Settings/Data).
2. Add the installation path (Program Files\Alarm Front Monitoring) to the list of exceptions of your antivirus program.
3. Install the license key for each operating system user or copy the license key to the program folder (there must be only one key in the folder).
4. Turn off the Sleep state of the computer that includes switching off the electricity of separate PC elements.
5. Turn off Windows automatic updates (leave only checking for updates).
6. Backup the program's data at least once a week (Settings/Data).
3. Which modems does the program work with?
The program works with any USB/COM modem or telephone, supporting ETSI GSM 07.05/07.07 standard and the standard set of AT-commands. The program was tested with the recommended modem. We do not sell modems. Our clients reported that modems SonyEricsson GM-22, SonyEricsson GT-47, Siemens MC35, iRZ TU31, Teleofis RX-101 work well with AlarmFront.
4. We're planning to replace the computer, do we need to buy a new license?
You can get a new license for another computer for free in the next 12 months after purchase, the old license then gets canceled and cannot be used anymore.
5. Which security and surveillance systems does the program work with?
The program is compatible with any GSM security system that works on exchanging SMS and using voice calls and DTMF commands. Flexible settings allow the program to work with any system. Besides, the program can receive messages from hardware control panels connected through a COM port. These days more and more different end devices gain the ability to send data to the Internet(TCP/IP protocol). The program supports almost all types of data exchanging by TCP/IP. Thus one our program can serve different GSM systems. radio channel security systems and GPS/GLONASS trackers.
6. Why doesn't the program show the balance of the modem's SIM card?
This can happen either because of the wrong code for getting balance, or wrong encoding. Please consult your provider about the correct code. The program will help you set the correct encoding. Set the code for getting the balance in your modem settings and click "Get modem data". The program will automatically form the types of answers of the modem. You'll only need to choose the correct one. It's advisable to have your operator response in latin characters because the request will be processed much faster in this case. Usually it's enough to replace the first * with a #, for example, #100# or #102#.
7. What's the difference between 1 Year and Unlimited license types? Which one should I choose?
Main differences between the license types:
Therefore, if you have no limits on money at the moment, if you're not planning to update the program (think twice!), if you don't need permanent technical support, it's reasonable to buy an Unlimited version. Otherwise it's better to purchase the 1 Year license, because you can significantly minimize your initial and future expenses.
Technical support includes: consultations, helping with setting up the program, fixing errors, minor revisions.
| Unlimited license | 1 Year license | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | high one-time payments | equal annual payments |
| Technical support | first year free | always free |
| Updates | until the next major version | all updates |
| Upgrades | paying the difference in license prices, significant expenses | paying the price of a yearly subscription, the expiry date is recalculated according to the unused amount. |
| Purchase | Purchase |
Technical support includes: consultations, helping with setting up the program, fixing errors, minor revisions.
8. How many modems does the program support?
There may be as many modems as the operating system allows. For Windows this number is 256. Of course this is abundant and in reality it's unnecessary. For a reliable work of a surveillance station with the communication controls there has to be at least two modems, one of them will be responsible for calling the objects. Total number of modems in use depends on the number of objects and the set of functions of the station. For example, while watching the changes in the object's state with voice calls to different modems and communication control, there has to be 4 modems. 2 of them for altering the state. One for controlling the communication. The fourth is for sending and receiving SMS. AlarmFront doesn't limit you on the number of modems. You can choose the best option for yourself. And of course, the more modems and objects, the more powerful your PC must be.
9. How does the object connection control work?
There are three types of object connection control:
-SMS control:
An SMS is sent to the object using the corresponding command, the program waits for the response SMS with the command keyword, specified in the settings (Keywords - Control) for 5 minutes. If the response is not received, the alarm goes off and the status of the object will be set as "Inactive". The frequency of the SMS is set by the user. Cons: SMS charges for the central station and objects.
- Voice control:
The program gives a voice call to the object with on set periods through the corresponding command, if the object picks up or rejects the call, then the program hangs up immediately. If the object does not respond, the program tries to call three more times on the main number and three on the backup number. If there's no connection, the alarm goes off and the status of the object changes to "Inactive". AlarmFront can be programmed to make an alarm voice call. This is totally free for both sides. This control mode is recommended to have two modems, one of which will be controlling the connection only.
Very often when there's no connection to the user, the cellphone provider automatically picks up and says the number cannot be reached. In this case the program mistakenly decides the connection to the object is established. Then this technique works: you should set the call transfer on the SIM-card to the surveillance station's that controls the object connection number in case of the inaccessibility of the call.
- By the time of the last message:
In the object's card you can set the time, by the end of which, if there are no incoming messages, the program will give an alarm message and the status of the object will be changed to "Inactive". You must set the non-zero interval and the type of the interval for the connection control. If the set interval is exceeded, the object alarm will go off and the status of the object will be changed to "Inactive". If the alarm goes off, if won't go off again until any new message is received.
-SMS control:
An SMS is sent to the object using the corresponding command, the program waits for the response SMS with the command keyword, specified in the settings (Keywords - Control) for 5 minutes. If the response is not received, the alarm goes off and the status of the object will be set as "Inactive". The frequency of the SMS is set by the user. Cons: SMS charges for the central station and objects.
- Voice control:
The program gives a voice call to the object with on set periods through the corresponding command, if the object picks up or rejects the call, then the program hangs up immediately. If the object does not respond, the program tries to call three more times on the main number and three on the backup number. If there's no connection, the alarm goes off and the status of the object changes to "Inactive". AlarmFront can be programmed to make an alarm voice call. This is totally free for both sides. This control mode is recommended to have two modems, one of which will be controlling the connection only.
Very often when there's no connection to the user, the cellphone provider automatically picks up and says the number cannot be reached. In this case the program mistakenly decides the connection to the object is established. Then this technique works: you should set the call transfer on the SIM-card to the surveillance station's that controls the object connection number in case of the inaccessibility of the call.
- By the time of the last message:
In the object's card you can set the time, by the end of which, if there are no incoming messages, the program will give an alarm message and the status of the object will be changed to "Inactive". You must set the non-zero interval and the type of the interval for the connection control. If the set interval is exceeded, the object alarm will go off and the status of the object will be changed to "Inactive". If the alarm goes off, if won't go off again until any new message is received.
10. When sending SMS messages to the objects, they aren't recognized.
The program supports 2 types of SMS encoding: GSM and UCS2. UCS2 (16 bit) supports sending Cyrillic characters. The object's device might not be able to receive UCS2, so please check the encoding set in the program. Open Settings/Modem.
11. What is Control by the operator (Settings/General)?
This feature allows controlling the operator's work. Every 30 minutes it shows a special message to the operator which he or she has to close. All operator's actions are logged in the messages list. You can analyze the messages to find out how well the operator does his job.
12. What is the Web server for?
The Web server built in AlarmFront allows remote access to the information on your objects, clients or operators. With a simple Internet browser, from any computer, tablet or phone, a user can open the object's card, see the list of messages (including the last photo from the object), by pressing the button Send commands (change the device's working mode, change the temperature, etc), see the statistics and the map which shows the moving objects in real time, receive and process the alarm message. Each user sees only his objects. The access to the server is granted by entering a login and a password. If needed, you may set the SSL for the Web server. Outside access to the server has to be provided by a static IP address and Internet access. A professional administrator should do the setup of the Web server in order to ensure the necessary level of protection of the Web server and the central station from the outside dangers.
13. What is parameter monitoring?
Parameter monitoring shows different parameters from the monitoring system in each object's card. For example: temperature, pressure, the in-s condition, relay, balance etc.
Using the parameters you can build graphs and export data to Excel for further analysis. The ability to work with a random set of parameters for each object is one of a kind in the line of similar products.
Using the parameters you can build graphs and export data to Excel for further analysis. The ability to work with a random set of parameters for each object is one of a kind in the line of similar products.
14. How can we update the program? Do we need to enter the key again after updating?
There are two ways you can update:
1. Automatic update from the program itself (About/Check for update), if there is Internet access.
2. Manual update using the download from the website (section Download), written on the flash drive, for example.
After the update all your data is preserved. Although we strongly recommend making a full backup before the update. If updated automatically, the program makes all the necessary backups itself.
There's no need to enter the license key again after the update.
1. Automatic update from the program itself (About/Check for update), if there is Internet access.
2. Manual update using the download from the website (section Download), written on the flash drive, for example.
After the update all your data is preserved. Although we strongly recommend making a full backup before the update. If updated automatically, the program makes all the necessary backups itself.
There's no need to enter the license key again after the update.
15. We need to plug in a GPS-трекер through a GPRS/TCP protocol, how can we do this?
There are two ways to process GPRS/TCP traffic. If the end device (for example, Ksytal system) send the data in a simple ASCII text format, the program can process such data without any additional modules (more information available in Help). An internal text TCP/IP processor is used for this. If the data is sent in a complex binary way, you'll need an additional module. To get it, you'll need to select the option "Processing data through TCP/IP" when installing the program. Then GPS Tracker Data Logger will be installed along with AlarmFront. After setting up AlarmFront, if will work with GPRS/TCP traffic from any GPS tracker or security system. The list of supported systems can be found here here. The list is updating, and you can also contact the company AGG Software for support if the system is not on the list. To be able to process complex binary GPRS/TCP traffic you'll need to purchase an add-on to AlarmFront: "GPRS/TCP traffic processing" (see Purchase).
16. We need to plug in the hardware console/basic station through a COM port (RS-232/RS-485), how can we do that?
To process the data from COM port, turn on the option "Processing COM port data" when installing AlarmFront. Advanced Serial Data Logger will be installed on your computer along with AlarmFront. This program is universal and it will be working with any device, plugged in through a COM port (RS-232/RS-485), for example with a hardware console or a basic station. At the moment the following protocols of exchanging data between external devices and AlarmFront are available: Ademco 685, SurGard, Egida, Altonica RS202 and Altonica RS202PN. For constant processing data from COM port you'll need to purchase "Processing data from RS-232/RS-485" add-on for AlarmFront (see Purchase).
For processing Ademco Contact ID messages by AlarmFront, you'll need to upload the file ContactID_ru.csv/ContactID_en.csvto, which contains the description of all Contact ID codes (if the codes haven't been uploaded yet) to the list of global parameters (Settings/Global Parameters/Import).
For processing Ademco Contact ID messages by AlarmFront, you'll need to upload the file ContactID_ru.csv/ContactID_en.csvto, which contains the description of all Contact ID codes (if the codes haven't been uploaded yet) to the list of global parameters (Settings/Global Parameters/Import).
17. How can we set up AlarmFront to work with MySQL/PostgreSQL?
1. Transfer the Database section from the file config.cfg.mysql (config.cfg.postgresql) to config.cfg instead of the current one.
2. Set up the database server .MySQL/PostgreSQL (UTF8 encoding), the DBMS server can be placed on any computer in the local network.
3. In MySQL/PostgreSQL create a database and name it gsmguard(UTF8).
4. In MySQL/PostgreSQL add a user "Admin" or another Administrator name from .AlarmFront) with full access to gsmguard Database.
5. Launch AlarmFront for the first time under the "Admin" name, and the program in gsmguard Database will create all necessary objects.
6. If needed, add other users to MySQL/PostgreSQL with the access to GSM Guard Database (the access rights can be minimal: reading/writing to database tables).
7. All MySQL/PostgreSQL usernames have to match the names in AlarmFront, the passwords in AlarmFront do not matter (the authorization is made on DBSM level).
8. If you need to transfer data from SQLite (current Database) into MySQL, download the program DBConverter, save it to AlarmFront folder and launch.
MySQL and PostgreSQL are free.
Download here:
PostgreSQL (recommended for big volumes of data):
http://www.enterprisedb.com/products-services-training/pgdownload#windows
MySQL:
http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/
2. Set up the database server .MySQL/PostgreSQL (UTF8 encoding), the DBMS server can be placed on any computer in the local network.
3. In MySQL/PostgreSQL create a database and name it gsmguard(UTF8).
4. In MySQL/PostgreSQL add a user "Admin" or another Administrator name from .AlarmFront) with full access to gsmguard Database.
5. Launch AlarmFront for the first time under the "Admin" name, and the program in gsmguard Database will create all necessary objects.
6. If needed, add other users to MySQL/PostgreSQL with the access to GSM Guard Database (the access rights can be minimal: reading/writing to database tables).
7. All MySQL/PostgreSQL usernames have to match the names in AlarmFront, the passwords in AlarmFront do not matter (the authorization is made on DBSM level).
8. If you need to transfer data from SQLite (current Database) into MySQL, download the program DBConverter, save it to AlarmFront folder and launch.
MySQL and PostgreSQL are free.
Download here:
PostgreSQL (recommended for big volumes of data):
http://www.enterprisedb.com/products-services-training/pgdownload#windows
MySQL:
http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/
18. What is centralized monitoring software?
In computing, a centralised logging system refers to a logging architecture in which log data is sent from individual devices or machines to a centralised location, usually a server, for storage and analysis. The advantage of this approach is that it allows for easy aggregation and analysis of log data from multiple sources in one place. There are many different types of centralized monitoring software available on the market, each with its own set of features and capabilities. Some common features include the ability to collect and store logs from multiple sources in one place, support for various messaging formats (e.g. syslog, JSON), search and analytics functionality, alerts/notifications, and commenting/annotations.