Check out our White Paper Series!
A complete library of helpful advice and survival guides for every aspect of system monitoring and control.
1-800-693-0351
Have a specific question? Ask our team of expert engineers and get a specific answer!
Sign up for the next DPS Factory Training!
Whether you're new to our equipment or you've used it for years, DPS factory training is the best way to get more from your monitoring.
Reserve Your Seat Today
Derek Willis, a central office technician at the Paul Bunyan Telephone Cooperative in Bemidji, Minnesota, wanted to improve after-hours remote monitoring but did not yet know how to use his existing T/Mon NOC effectively.
After attending DPS Telecom Factory Training, he left with a clear plan to apply T/Mon features like ASCII processing and SNMP to reduce nuisance alarms and deliver more actionable alarm information to technicians.
| Industry | Telecommunications (telephone cooperative) |
|---|---|
| Company Type | Rural telecom cooperative with central office operations |
| Geography / Coverage | Bemidji, Minnesota (Paul Bunyan Telephone Cooperative) |
| Primary Challenge | T/Mon NOC installed but underutilized; limited after-hours monitoring; nuisance alarms from discrete-only alarming |
| Solution Deployed | Hands-on DPS Factory Training focused on real-world alarm integration (including ASCII alarming and SNMP fundamentals) |
| Key Result | Technicians gained the knowledge to use advanced T/Mon capabilities to improve alarm clarity, filter nuisance events, and strengthen remote monitoring practices |
| Implementation Timeframe | IAM-5 and NetGuardian remotes had been installed for about 2 to 3 months prior to training; Factory Training occurred in April |
| Products Used | T/Mon NOC, IAM-5, NetGuardian remotes |
Paul Bunyan Telephone Cooperative supports telecom services from its central office in Bemidji, Minnesota. Like many operators, the team needed dependable alarm visibility beyond normal staffed hours. Their environment included a mix of traditional discrete alarming and equipment capable of generating more detailed text-based alarm outputs.
Before attending DPS factory training, Derek Willis did not have a clear understanding of what his T/Mon NOC could do, which limited the value the cooperative could realize from the system. Monitoring practices were also heavily influenced by staffing realities: during the day a technician was typically in the central office, but after hours the organization relied on a different approach.
Willis described the prior operating mindset this way: monitoring was primarily an after-hours concern. He explained that, during the day, if something happened a technician at the central office could contact a field tech as needed. For overnight coverage, Paul Bunyan forwarded customer calls to another phone company from midnight to 8 AM, and that company monitored alarms. Willis also noted that some areas had not been included in monitoring plans until he attended factory training.
Before the recent upgrades, the cooperative used Sensaphone dial-up devices, but Willis said they were not actively used as part of a structured monitoring process.
Three months before training, Paul Bunyan took a proactive step by installing an IAM-5 and NetGuardian remotes. However, with limited time to explore the system and without formal training, Willis initially saw the IAM-5 as just another monitoring system and did not yet know how to take advantage of the tools and information DPS Telecom provides.
Willis explained that his initial experience centered on basic configuration steps, including a flow chart created internally for programming the NetGuardian. That approach did not provide him the deeper understanding needed to use T/Mon effectively for alarm presentation, alarm routing, and event management across many points.
For teams in a similar situation, DPS Telecom typically recommends pairing installation with structured enablement: a consistent alarming strategy, clear point naming, escalation rules, and training that covers both fundamentals and advanced features. In this case study, that enablement came through DPS Telecom Factory Training.
Willis learned that not using T/Mon's advanced features can create avoidable issues. One example was how alarming data was being collected. The cooperative used discrete alarms for equipment that could have been better monitored using ASCII alarms.
Many types of telephony equipment provide two classes of alarm outputs:
Equipment that supports ASCII alarms typically outputs text through a read-only printer (ROP) port or a craft port. While ASCII output historically fed printers for alarm logs, T/Mon can monitor this text stream and convert it into standard T/Mon alarms while preserving the detailed description.
Once ASCII alarms are managed in T/Mon, they can be used with additional T/Mon capabilities such as event routing, escalation, derived alarms, controls, and nuisance alarm filtering. This matters to operators who need an alarm to be both accurate and actionable, especially during nights and weekends when staffing is limited.
Willis described a nuisance alarm scenario involving their UWSE switch: system operator checks produced major alarms several times a night. Because of that, monitoring was not enabled at night. He summarized the risk: if a major outage occurred, someone could reasonably ask why the alarm monitoring was turned off.
Willis also stated that there were 175 to 200 digital loop circuits reporting to the IAM-5 through discrete alarms only. In that configuration, an after-hours alarm could lack the context needed to decide whether to roll a truck. He compared the limited actionable detail to what they previously received from older dial-up devices.
Willis attended one of the DPS Telecom Factory Training Events in April. He said the training provided an in-depth understanding of what T/Mon can do, including topics he had not been comfortable with before, such as SNMP.
"I'm totally happy with how the training went. I would have loved another couple days on ASCII or SNMP. I had heard of SNMP, but I never knew what SNMP was until I learned it here. I'm not at all scared about SNMP now," Willis said.
He also praised DPS instructors Chris Hower and Jason Schmuck for explaining concepts in terms that telephone technicians could apply, and he valued being able to speak with team members involved in designing the alarm system.
From a practical monitoring architecture perspective, training is where many teams connect the dots between:
This is also where DPS Telecom customers often learn how to better align NetGuardian remote telemetry units (RTUs) with T/Mon alarm workflows - using clean point maps, consistent labeling, and escalation rules that match operational realities.
After training, Willis left with a new mission: return to Paul Bunyan Telephone and improve monitoring effectiveness by applying what he learned about ASCII processing and related T/Mon features.
"I can't wait to get back and work on monitoring now," Willis said on the last day of the Factory Training Event. "We'll really be able to neaten up our alarm network. I'm really looking forward to getting back to work."
He identified ASCII alarming as the biggest area for improvement. In his view, using ASCII alarms for the UWSE switch could enable filtering of nuisance alarm events that were triggering repeated major alarms.
Willis also wanted more detailed alarm descriptions delivered directly to technicians. He stated that detailed pager notifications would help technicians understand exactly where they were going and what they would be doing when responding to an alarm, reducing uncertainty during off-hours response.
What is the difference between discrete alarms and ASCII alarms?
Discrete alarms are on/off contacts (often major/minor) that indicate a condition but provide limited context. ASCII alarms are text messages that can include detailed descriptions, making alarms more actionable.
Where do ASCII alarms come from in telecom equipment?
ASCII output often appears on a read-only printer (ROP) port or craft port, originally intended for printing an alarm log. T/Mon can monitor that text stream and convert it into alarm points while preserving the description.
How does nuisance alarm filtering help after-hours monitoring?
Repeated, predictable events (such as periodic checks) can generate alarms that do not require action. Filtering and alarm rules help reduce noise so on-call staff only receive alarms that matter.
Why does SNMP training matter for telecom operations teams?
SNMP is commonly used by networked devices to report status and alarms. Understanding SNMP makes it easier to bring more IP-based equipment into a unified alarm view, alongside discrete and serial inputs.
What is the fastest way to get more value from T/Mon and NetGuardian deployments?
Hands-on enablement - including DPS Telecom Factory Training - helps teams learn best practices for point mapping, alarm normalization, escalation, and advanced features like ASCII integration.
Get the most from T/Mon - take advantage of DPS Factory Training
Like Derek Willis, you can learn how to improve network monitoring at a DPS Factory Training Event. DPS factory training is a practical, hands-on course where you learn directly from the engineers and technicians who designed and built your network reliability management system.
Get a Free Consultation or call 1-800-693-0351 to speak with a DPS Telecom expert about your own alarm monitoring and integration goals.
