Security Monitoring over the Internet
Smart is a
Security Monitoring Solutions company based in Colombia. Smart believe that the most appealing benefit of the Internet is to
be able to provide centralized services, such as Security Monitoring, to the mass consumer at very low rates. Smart is targeting a service with a very
low initial hardware investment. For example, a single point for monitoring door entry is satisfactory for an apartment complex, amounting to anything
from 20 to hundreds of points per complex. The target is a very low monthly service cost of typically $5 per point. The idea is that many users share
the cost of the wireless or internet connection.
In this application, the security monitoring equipment generates serial data messages which are centralised and sent to an on-site TelePAD. The TelePAD
runs a script which decides whether the message is a high priority message or not. If it is a high priority message the TelePAD dials a preconfigured
telephone number and establishes a connection to the local ISP. Using the Internet, the TelePAD relays the alarm to the remotely situated EtherPAD,
which in turn notifies the (serial) Security Monitoring system. The script also includes redundancy features to ensure that the TelePAD is always able
to make a connection and deliver the data. Low priority messages are logged on the TelePAD and transmitted to the central system at regular intervals,
or once a high-priority alarm has occurred.
