Unified, Standards-Based Alarm Management at the Edge
Author: Andrew Foster, IOTech Product Director
We’re excited to announce the preview release of IOTech’s new Edge Alarm Service, a powerful solution designed to transform how organizations monitor and manage alarms across their edge computing environments.
As edge systems grow more complex - spanning diverse industrial devices, protocols, and operational technologies - managing alarms consistently and effectively has become a major challenge. That’s where our Alarm Service comes in: offering a unified, technology-agnostic, standards-based approach to alarm normalization, routing, and management.
The Alarm Service is built for seamless integration with IOTech’s Edge Central platform but is also fully compatible with open-source EdgeX Foundry. Thanks to its technology-agnostic design, it can also easily integrate into your own custom frameworks.
Built on Industry Standards
At its core, the Alarm Service is based on the OPC UA Alarms & Conditions standard, which itself aligns with IEC 62682, ensuring compatibility across a broad range of industrial systems. Whether working with Modbus devices, BACnet controllers, industrial PLCs, or other operational technologies, the Alarm Service can seamlessly integrate and unify your alarm management workflows.
Watch the Demo Video
Our demo video showcases the Alarm Service monitoring data from a controller device, in this case, capturing both:
- deviation alarms (e.g., abnormal temperature readings)
- discrete alarms (e.g., a safety door opening unexpectedly)
As you’ll see, what makes this service truly powerful is its rich alarm state model — alarms can be active or inactive, acknowledged or unacknowledged, confirmed or unconfirmed, shelved, suppressed, latched, and so on.
These states allow operators to interact with alarms in a detailed, traceable way, ensuring that no critical events slip through the cracks.
Seamless API Integration
The Alarm Service is designed with integration flexibility in mind. Whether you’re building your own application or planning to use IOTech’s upcoming Alarms User Interface, you can access all alarm data and operations via a comprehensive REST API.
In the demo, we show:
- Listing all current alarms
- Acknowledging alarms with comments
- Confirming resolved conditions
- Retrieving full alarm histories
This programmatic access makes it easy to embed alarm management into your existing systems or custom dashboards.
Smart Alarm Routing to External Systems
Effective alarm management isn’t just about detection — it’s about getting the right alerts to the right people at the right time. The Alarm Service supports configurable alarm routing to various different endpoints or systems that need to be notified.
Our demo shows sending automatic Slack notifications when specific alarm conditions are met, such as:
- A moderate temperature rise triggering a medium-level alert
- A sharp, critical temperature spike triggering a high-priority alert
This flexibility ensures your team is always in the loop — whether on the shop floor, in the control room, or monitoring remotely from HQ.
Easy Configuration and Extensibility
Setting up alarms is as simple as defining them in a configuration file — from basic thresholds to complex multi-level alarm models like “high-high” critical events. With support for multiple devices and a scalable architecture, the Alarm Service is ready to grow alongside your edge deployment.
Learn More
We believe the Alarm Service is a game-changer for edge alarm management — simplifying operations, improving responsiveness, and giving organizations the confidence to scale their edge systems securely.
To explore the Alarm Service in more detail, visit our Alarm Service page or schedule a one-on-one session with our team. We’re happy to walk you through use cases, integrations, and custom demos tailored to your needs.
Thanks for reading — and stay tuned for updates on the upcoming Alarms UI and even more features!