The UADP (Universal Alarm Distribution Protocol) developed by United Technology Alliance is a uniform protocol for the secure and dynamic distribution of signals. Since in earlier times the alarm- and remote signaling systems were only able to transmit signals primarily over telephone lines or other not continuously available transmission lines, they did not have such a standardized procedure that would have allowed for this type of next generational signal transmission.

A further problem is that although the alarm signal or transmitting panels manufacturing companies support some standard signal formats, they only design the forwarding of these signals exclusively to their own receiver. In doing so, they force the dispatcher centers or surveillance stations to use their own solutions, taking away the possibility of interoperability and expansion from the users.

The basic conceptual requirements of the UADP design

• Each data link must be connected over IP, so that the single stations would be location independent;
• Each data link must be secured, so each link must be encrypted;
• The malfunctioning of a given participant (remote signal, dispatcher, etc.) should not endanger or slow down the operation of the rest of the system;
• The signal distribution should be able to happen in real time and at the occurrence of the event (action-triggered).

Detailed description of the UADP components

1. The UADP/CommSock is responsible for accepting the connections from the communicators, so here connect the serial and IP level Communicator units of the UniAlarm and also here connect the autonomous signal exchanger UniAlarm systems by the help of the UniAlarm Interconnection system. It is required during the implementation of the CommSock that after the TCP/IP connection, the communication with the single systems could occur as a separate process, and the single threads could forward the accompanying alarm signals to the receiving stations via IPC.
   
   
2. The UADP/MonSock is responsible for the connection of the receiving stations, including the distribution of alarm signals according to internal logic, and also the service of the applications of clients for information. The single clients can receive the signals and send their own remote control applications, which are forwarded by the server to the appropriate Communicator via IPC for the implementation of remote signal-side programming.
   
   
3. With the help of the UADP/MngSock – the management platform of the server – it is possible, from a simple command client to the graphical one, to query the operational parameters, to complete the basic management tasks and to manage the connections of the sockets. This interface creates the real-time connection with the web-based interface of the UniAlarm system as well.

What are the advantages of using the UADP for the users of UniAlarm Dispatcher?

The application of the standard protocol not only allows the users and integrators to extend and modify the single elements of the system, but also to interconnect with internal systems (eg. it can be a deployment-control or a management system).

The modular design of the system guarantees exceptional scalability, so it is capable of reliable operation from small (even a single PC) surveillance to nation-wide integrated clusters. Additionally, this design allows a great cloud-based model for systems that require it.