Appendix A: Pager Configuration A.1 Overview of Pager Services Configuration The Multimedia Configurator offers a Pager Agent that connects to a wide variety of pager services and supports the most popular paging protocols: • Tele Alphanumeric Protocol (TAP) • Simple Messaging Service (SMS) Other variations are supported as well, such as Paging Entry Terminal (PET), which is basically the same as TAP. The method through which a page is sent depends on the type of pager being used. For example, in the United States the predominant pager type uses TAP and uses a standard modem to communicate. TAP pagers can also use Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) carriers. The Multimedia Configurator user interface calls out the use of “Modem/ISDN Service” (rather than specifying actual protocols used), as this is more straightforward for users to understand. Note: It is the paging service and the Multimedia software that communicate via TAP; it is not something special in the modem itself. Therefore, most “Hayes® compatible” off-the-shelf modems should work for sending TAP messages. SMS pagers offer more sophisticated interaction. For example, they permit two-way paging. In the case of Multimedia, this allows users to send an “Acknowledge” back to the alarm system directly from the pager. SMS paging messages are not sent over a modem, but rather use the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network. Again, rather than calling out the low-level protocols used, the Multimedia Configurator interface refers to the method of communication, and calls this “GSM/PCS Service”. A.1.1 Installation During the installation of M-Alarm Multimedia (MMX), after checking the box to include the Pager Agent, you can select which paging services to include with the installation. There are two separate lists: one for the Modem/ISDN (TAP) pagers, as shown in Figure A.1, and one for GSM/PCS (SMS) pagers. You can select more than one paging service. Simply use Shift-Click to select a sequential set, or Ctrl-Click to select items that are not next to each other. Note: A complete list of paging services supported by M-Alarm MMX (as of this writing) is provided at the end of this appendix in Section A.10. This list is subject to change. © 2002 Johnson Controls, Inc. www.johnsoncontrols.com Code No. LIT-1201406 Software Release 5.1 A-2 M-Alarm Multimedia User’s Guide Figure A.1. Modem / ISDN Services Setup A.1.2 Modem Configuration To configure your modem, use the following procedure: 1. Plug in the modem hardware. 2. In the Windows® Control Panel, select Phone and Modem Options. 3. Create or edit the dialing rules. 4. Add the appropriate drivers for the modem hardware. 5. Test the modem using a Windows modem utility, such as HyperTerminal® software. Note: The actual dialog boxes vary among Windows operating systems. A.2 Creating and Modifying Pager Services If you found your service in the list and have already installed it, you need not read this section. Instead, move on to Pager Configuration Settings Section A.5. If you did not find your service in the list, you can set up a new TAP or SMS pager service. You can also edit the parameters for an existing pager service (for example, in case the access phone number for your service changes). 1. Launch the Multimedia Configurator. 2. Select Alarm Configurations - Multimedia Agents - Pager/SMS/GSM/TAP from the tree control on the left-hand side, as shown in Figure A.2. 3. Launch the services configuration by clicking the General Settings button in the Pager Agent configuration, shown in Figure A.2. Note: The TAP/SMS diagnostics will be displayed, as shown in Figure A.3, giving you the option to view and log ISDN/GSM diagnostic messages during pager testing. Appendix A: Pager Configuration A-3 4. Click the Modem Configuration button to launch the Message Master® configuration. This opens the DERDACK Message-Master Configuration dialog box, as shown in Figure A.4. Here you have two options: Message Master GSM/PCS and Message Master Modem/ISDN. To configure TAP services, select the Message Master Modem/ISDN option, and then click the Config button. To configure SMS services, select the Message Master GSM/PCS option, and then click the Config button (or double-click on the item in the list). Note: Click the Help button at any time to view the Message Master help documentation. Figure A.2. Setting Up Pager Services Figure A.3. TAP/SMS Diagnostic Utilities 5. Click on the Defined Services tab (labeled Services for GSM) and look to see if your service is listed. If it does appear in the list, you can select it. Click the Properties button to modify its parameters. A-4 M-Alarm Multimedia User’s Guide Figure A.4. DERDACK Message Master Configuration Dialog Box A.3 TAP Configuration This section covers the details of creating and modifying a TAP pager service. For details on SMS paging, see Section A.4 in this document. To configure TAP services, select the Message Master Modem/ISDN option (see Figure A.4), and then click the Config button. The TAP Configuration dialog box will appear, as shown in Figure A.5. 1. On the Dial Parameter and Modem Device tab, shown in Figure A.5, configure the following parameters. • Location: This is the location set when configuring the dialing rules (mentioned in the "Modem Configuration" section above.) • Device: Select the device for the modem hardware. Note: We have found that many paging services (which must work with old technology modems for backwards compatibility) generally do not work with the out-of-the-box configurations of modern modems. Most often, the only change needed is to turn off the modem’s Error Control features. This can be done with a Windows setting from the Control Panel. Conversely, some very old modems with maximum Baud rates less than 9600 sometimes do not work well with the new Windows interfaces (TAPI) used by the MMX software. So make sure your modem is TAPI compliant. Test to see if it works with HyperTerminal. • Timeout for modem devices: Select the re-initialization timeout for the modem (in seconds). Appendix A: Pager Configuration A-5 Figure A.5. TAP Configuration: Dial Parameter and Modem Device Tab 2. On the Send options tab, shown in Figure A.6, configure the following parameters: • Attempts for resending messages in error cases: Select the number of times to retry in case of error. • Enable Check messages for invalid characters. • Check Replace invalid characters automatically if desired. A-6 M-Alarm Multimedia User’s Guide Figure A.6. TAP Configuration: Send Options Tab 3. On the Defined services tab, shown in Figure A.7, check for your pager service provider. Verify that the service modem phone number is correct by selecting the service provider and clicking the Properties button. This opens the Services dialog box. The service provider number is located on the Additional tab in the Number for dial-up terminal field. Appendix A: Pager Configuration A-7 Figure A.7. TAP Configuration: Defined Services Tab 4. If you need diagnostic support, check the Write communication log file check box On the Diagnostics tab, shown in Figure A.8. Figure A.8. TAP Configuration: Diagnostics Tab A-8 M-Alarm Multimedia User’s Guide A.3.1 Setting Up a New TAP Service The standard Multimedia pager installation includes many preconfigured TAP services. If your particular service is not listed, you can add it by following a few simple steps. 1. Launch the TAP configuration (as described above), and select the Defined Services tab, shown in Figure A.7. 2. If your service is not listed, click the New button. The General screen appears (Figure A.9). 3. Configure the following parameters: • Enter a name for the new service. • Select Message transmission based on data connections. • Set the Protocol type field to TAP. • Pick a character set. Click the Next button, the Additional screen appears (Figure A.10). Figure A.9. Configuring a New TAP Service: General Tab 4. On the Additional screen, configure the following parameters: • Number for dial-up terminal: Enter the service modem number. This is the phone number your modem will call to connect to the pager service provider. Your service provider will need to inform you of this number, which must be in TAP format. For the United States, the format is +1 (800) 2345678. The international format is +44 (215) 2345678. Appendix A: Pager Configuration A-9 • Max. message length: Choose the maximum number of characters to display per message. • Password: Not necessary • Calling zone: Not necessary • Number of messages the carrier accepts at once: 1 Click the Next button to continue. Note: Find out (or simply test) whether your paging service can accept more than one message at a time. Quite often services do. Entering a number greater than one may result in fewer modem dial-outs when multiple paging messages are queued up. In other words, if five messages have to be sent out over the modem, and this parameter is set to 1, it must dial out five separate times, once for each pager message. However, if this parameter is set to 5 and the paging service permits this, then only one dial-out session takes place, and all five messages are efficiently sent in that one phone call. Figure A.10. Configuring a New TAP Service: Additional Tab A-10 M-Alarm Multimedia User’s Guide 5. On the Type tab, shown in Figure A.11, configure the following parameters: • Select the Type appropriate to the pager.