How To: Use Smart Notifications

What are Smart Notifications

Smart Notifications address instances where a single event triggers hundreds of legitimate alert messages.

For example, when a network switch reboots and subsequently causes dozens or hundreds of cameras to go offline simultaneously, you need to be aware of the event, but receiving hundreds of individual email notifications is overwhelming. This is where Smart Notifications help.

Each Smart Notification delivers a comprehensive snapshot of your system's health at a specific point in time. The system bundles related events into a single, actionable notification using customizable threshold and debounce timing controls. When issues are resolved, you'll receive a follow-up notification showing the restored status. This provides all the information you need to address problems without having to correlate events across multiple alerts manually.

What do Smart Notifications do?

Smart Notifications reduces alert fatigue by bundling related camera and server issues into a comprehensive alert instead of flooding your inbox. The system uses customizable timing controls to filter out false alarms while ensuring you only receive actionable information. When issues are resolved, you'll get a follow-up notification, giving you complete visibility of your system's health without the stress of managing endless alerts.

Along with managing events, it will also provide additional information about the event, such as:

• Offline since
• Offline duration
•  Sleep/Alert mode

Why should you use Smart Notifications?

Smart notifications will reduce the number of notifications received during unexpected incidents while providing cleaner, more valuable notifications during standard health events.

Examples of Smart Notifications

Scenario 1: New cameras stop providing video

1. The alert type (camera or recording server)
2. Which managed site is this notification for
3. Whether Boring Live Monitoring is in alert mode (sending notification) or in sleep mode (muting notification)
4. Overview of system health
   • Yellow = Total number of cameras/recorders not functioning properly
   • Red = Number of new cameras/recorders not functioning properly
   • Green = Number of cameras/recorders that were down but have been restored to regular operation
5. Details on the cameras/recorders restored to normal operation
6. Details of the new cameras/recorders not functioning properly
7. Details of the total number of cameras/recorders not functioning properly across the site
   • Newly added cameras/recorders are highlighted in red  

Scenario 2: Cameras restored

When cameras are restored you will again receive a notification giving you the status of the system as a whole.  This notification will show you what was restored as well as what remains down and additional value added details.

1. Again, you can see the overall health of the VMS.  Note that in this case, four cameras were restored.
2. In this case, the detail of the four cameras, which were restored
3. Once restored, this number represents the time these cameras or recorders were not functioning correctly. 
   • Shown in either seconds, minutes, or hours
4. The time and date the cameras/recorders stopped functioning properly

How to enable Smart Notifications

Smart Notifications are enabled on a per-site basis via the managed sites section of the application.

• In the left navigation, click on "Managed sites."
• Create or edit an existing managed site (see below)

• Flip the switch to enable "Smart Notifications" (on by default)
• Set your custom SMTP server (optional)
  • This is necessary for our fully offline customers without internet access.
• Set the emails from which you want to send notifications and those to which you wish to receive them.
• Send a test email

How it works

Threshold Time: The initial waiting period (in seconds) that the system waits before sending a notification about an event. This ensures minor glitches don't trigger unnecessary alerts.

Debounce Time: After detecting an issue that meets the threshold, the system waits this additional time period to collect any similar events that might occur. This helps bundle related issues into a single notification rather than sending multiple separate alerts.

Debounce Count: If the system detects too many events during the debounce period (exceeding this count), it recognizes a potential system-wide issue rather than isolated incidents.

Sleep Duration: When the debounce count is exceeded, the system enters a "sleep mode" for this defined period, during which it mutes further notifications. This prevents your inbox from being flooded during major outages or system maintenance.

Let's take an example

I only want to receive emails if at least 10 cameras are no longer providing video and I do not want to receive an email more than once every 10 min.  Your settings will look like this.

• Camera not providing video threshold = 90
• Minimum cameras not providing video = 10
• Max Notifications within time period = 1
• Time between max notifications (seconds) = 600

What if 10 cameras stop providing video in the first 5 min will I get an email if additional cameras stop providing video?

• You will receive an email as soon as the 10th camera stops providing video for at least 90s
• Cameras that stop providing video for longer than 90s after the first notification will be held in a queue until the time between notifications resets (600s)
• When the notification timer resets at 600s, LMS will wait until there are 10 new cameras not providing video for at least 90s, and will then send an additional notification with all cameras in the queue

Summary email on startup

When the Live Monitoring Service you will receive a summary email with the state of the system at that time.  This will be important if the management server reboots unexpectedly and the service restarts or if the service crashes and restarts.  

What happens when sleep mode is activated?

Sleep mode is when there are so many notifications coming into the system that Boring decides it needs to take a break from messaging you.  When this happens, Boring Live Monitoring will send one final notification when sleep mode is activated, letting you know the current state of the Milestone VMS and that sleep mode has been activated.

1. Sleep mode has been activated.
2. The date and time sleep mode will be deactivated, and notifications will resume.