Note: Because setting up a new Sedrix instance and configuring it for the very first time is (usually) carried out by {RS-GMBH} or by your system administrator, this topic is not covered here. The same applies to more advanced topics such as Logging, the use of function blocks to calculate derived quantities (from directly measured data), the manual import and export of measurement data, etc. Also, unless explicitly mentioned, the following will not address aspects relating to rights, which have practical importance. This is in order to keep the presentation of information concise.
The explanations mostly cover only the basic ideas, to avoid repeating things! If necessary, please follow the links contained in this description in order to view the details required for the application of the steps.
Important Terms
Some terms are used in this manual which have quite specific meanings in Sedrix. These are introduced and explained in more detail when relevant, but the explanations are not repeated throughout. As such, the terms which are deemed essential for an understanding of everything else will be quickly presented all together, right at the beginning. This creates so to speak a “synopsis” in order to facilitate starting work with Sedrix.
The very first term - "project" - should be particularly emphasized: In Sedrix a project represents the "main administrative unit". This means that everything else like folders, measuring points, devices etc. (mentioned soon) which you create and configure while working with Sedrix, are always assigned to a certain project. Only one project is ever active at a time. The rights of a user that allow (or forbid) them to do all these things (and other things described later) in Sedrix are also bound to the active project. An Sedrix project "bundles" all of its sub-elements together.
Each Sedrix project is also independent from the other Sedrix projects - just as you usually divide your project-related work into different construction or monitoring projects that are then processed separately. With Sedrix projects, this is expressed very practically by the fact that the "components" of a project (measuring points, devices, folders) are bundled together in a project folder.
Sedrix works according to projects.
Project: "Main Administration Unit" in Sedrix. Sedrix works according to projects. This means that everything else like folders, measuring points, devices etc. are always assigned to or subordinate to a project. Depending on the license, several projects can be created within one Sedrix.
Assigned projects: A list of projects per user with which that user can work. A privileged user (see below) can precisely control which projects each user has access to (or not).
Active project: For interactive work with Sedrix, only one project is active at a time for each user. This means that before starting the work on folders, measuring points, devices etc., the desired project has to first be made the active project. The selection of a project as the active project (from the list of assigned projects, see above) is done in the project overview by simply clicking on the name of the desired project in the project list. Sedrix will then remember this selection, so that it is not necessary to reselect it when logging in each time.
Folder: A construction or monitoring project typically consists of sub-projects, which in turn can consist of sub-projects. Sedrix allows this hierarchical project structure to be mapped to a Sedrix project by creating sub-folders and sub-sub-folders etc. Folders can be nested: a folder can itself contain folders etc., similar to the folder structure in the file system of a computer. Folders thus serve to structure a project. In addition to sub-folders, folders can also contain measuring points.
Measuring point: "Administration unit for measuring instruments or their data" in Sedrix. Measuring points are created within folders, i.e. they are bound to folders.
Device: A measuring instrument whose data can be managed in Sedrix.
Device measuring point: Measuring point defined in the device software. A device measuring point and a measuring point in Sedrix are two different things (even if they can be linked, see "Assignments" below).
Device channel (Logger module): Describes a physical quantity measured by a device. Is assigned to a device measuring point.
Geo point (Tachymeter module): Describes a point in three-dimensional space whose coordinates were measured by a tachymeter. Is assigned to a device measuring point.
Assignment: Sedrix object that binds (assigns) a device (or one of its geo points or channels) to an Sedrix measuring point. An assignment creates a (measuring point) channel from a selected geo point (tachymeter module) or from a device channel (logger module).
Channel: A (measuring point) channel defined via an assignment whose data can either be displayed directly by means of an evaluation or which can serve as input of a function block.
Reference measurement: Measurement at a specified time, which serves as a "zero measurement", i.e. as a reference for all subsequent measurements.
Evaluation: Sedrix object, which in particular defines the display of measurement data, either as a table or in graphical form (as a diagram).
Rights: Distinguishable in Sedrix between "folder access rights" and "other rights":
Folder access rights: The right to navigate to a specific folder/to display its contents
Other rights: Specifies which activity may be executed with a particular object or resource, e.g. whether a user can only read a measurement point - here the resource - or if they may also edit it - here an activity: Right = combination of object / resource and activity. For details, especially regarding the assignment of these rights, see User Group Properties.
Privileged user: User with the special Rolle "Super-Administrator" or "Administrator". A user in the role of "Super-Administrator" has more or less unlimited rights.
Log In and Log Off
To log in to your Sedrix, you need
the name or internet address of your Sedrix - a string like
<company>.smartdata.center
the access data of a user, consisting of username and password.
This information was sent to you by your sales partner/system administrator.
Logging In
Open a browser on your computer (or tablet/smartphone).
Enter the name of your Sedrix in the address bar of the browser and request the website.
The login screen of Sedrix will open in the browser window.
Now enter your username and your password to authenticate yourself to the site.
Click on "Log in".
If these credentials are known to Sedrix, you will be logged in to the Sedrix, and instead of the login screen, the start view of your Sedrix will be displayed in the browser.
You can also see by the (display) name of the user displayed in the top right-hand corner of the horizontal menu bar that you are now successfully logged in.
Important: Passwords are case sensitive in Sedrix (like they usually are everywhere else!) When entering the password, pay attention to the correct spelling, and in particular to whether the caps lock is on. If necessary, contact your sales partner or system administrator to find out your login details!
Note: The very first login from a particular computer always takes somewhat longer than all subsequent logins, as some resources of the Sedrix website need to be loaded from your browser the first time - they then remain in the browser cache (a kind of buffer for Internet pages that is used to minimize the amount of data to be transferred when a page is opened). The same applies to logging in after having cleared the browser cache, or after an update of Sedrix, because in that case the cached files will be replaced by newer versions.
Logging Off
Click on the (display) name of the user in the upper right corner of the horizontal menu bar
Select the "Log out" command in the now opened context menu
Set Up Project
As pointed out in the introduction, Sedrix works according to projects, which means that the first thing to do when working with Sedrix is to create a project. Usually your sales partner/system administrator will have already created at least one initial project for you and assigned it to your user(s), so that others have access to it. See Assigned Projects.
In order to set up this project, you can now adjust the name of the project however you wish, add a company logo, adjust the language and time zone, etc., if necessary and if you have the appropriate rights (see Project Properties).
Proceed as follows to enter the Edit mode of the project:
First open the project overview by clicking on the projects icon
in the menu (or use the "Projects" link in the main menu).
Then click on the edit button
at the end of the line containing the project you want to edit.
In the Edit view of the project that opens, enter the required information.
In the Create dialog that opens, enter a name for the new project in the "General" tab under Project name - this is the only mandatory entry here. This name must be unique (i.e. it must not have previously been assigned as the name of a project).
If necessary, enter further information or make further changes.
Finally click on "Save" to create the project.
You can also change or set the project properties at any time by re-opening the Edit mode.
Important: Don't forget to assign the newly created project to the users who should work with it by selecting the corresponding checkbox in the user properties of these users under "Assigned Projects". See Create Users!
Further essential steps for setting up a project, especially the creation of sub-folders to map the structure of your (construction or monitoring) project in Sedrix and the definition of measuring points within this folder structure are outlined in the following.
Create Folder Structure and Project Tree
The project setup also includes the creation of a suitable folder structure, a hierarchy of folders. This works to map the construction or monitoring project that is to be represented by the Sedrix project, and allows the subsequent creation of measuring points within these subfolders. Of course, measuring points can also be created directly in the project folder, which can be a satisfying approach for smaller projects, but which may sooner or later turn out to be inadequate for more complex projects.
In order to set up this folder structure, you first need to switch to the project you want to work with – i.e. make it the “current project”, if it is not already. To do this, click on the desired project in the project overview so that it is highlighted in blue. If you have just created your (first) project, it will already be selected as the current project.
Proceed as follows to create a new folder:
Click on the "hamburger button" in the menu to reach the main menu, and then click on the project folder (the folder symbol with the name of the project). The folder view of the project folder is displayed.
Here in the data area, click on the "Folder" tab and then on "Click here to create a new folder" (only displayed if the folder does not yet contain any sub-folders ), or click on the "+" icon.
In the Create view that appears, enter the desired information. In particular, enter a name for the folder being created. Important: This name must be unique within the folder in which the folder is to be created - the parent folder! It is not possible to create two folders with the same name on one hierarchy level. However, it is possible (although rarely useful/helpful) to assign the same name to folders on different hierarchy levels.
Finally click on "Save" to actually create the folder.
In order to create (sub-) folders within the folder created in this way, first click on the name of this folder to reach its folder view and then repeat the steps described above until the desired folder hierarchy has been created. You can of course add more folders later. It is also possible to subsequently move a folder to another parent folder (see Project Properties for the corresponding project setting).
Within the project structure formed in this way, the measuring points are then created in Sedrix as the actual "management unit for measuring instruments or their data". See the following section.
Folders and sub-folders as well as the measuring points created within them form the project tree, which is graphically visualized in the main menu.
Create Measuring Points
Measuring points are created within folders. This means that they are bound to folders. The following is based on the assumption that you have already set up a suitable folder hierarchy for your project, as explained in the previous section, and that suitable locations are therefore available to position your measurement points being created within that structure.
Proceed as follows to create a new measuring point:
In the project tree, select the folder or sub-folder in which you want to create a measuring point.
In the data area of the folder view click on the "Add" icon
. A small dropdown menu with the available measuring point types is displayed (the selection depends on the Sedrix modules licensed for your Sedrix).
Select the desired type here. The "New measuring point" view for the selected type is displayed.
Under "General" in the "Settings" tab, assign a name for the measuring point to be created. *Important: This name must be unique within the project.
Finally click on "Save" to actually create the measuring point.
Then enter the desired properties in the remaining tabs.
Click on "Save" again to save your changes.
Important: If you are creating a new measuring point, you can initially only enter data in the "Settings" tab. Entering information in the other tabs is only possible after saving the measuring point for the first time, as changing the settings there requires a pre-existing measuring point. This is also indicated by an information message.
Since the respective properties to be entered depend on the selected measuring point type, refer to the corresponding detailed descriptions in the subsections of Measuring Point Properties for more details.
Create User Account
At least one user has already been created for you by your sales partner/system administrator. User accounts will also need to be made for any other colleagues who also work with the Sedrix. With the login data of such an account – the username and password – they are able to log in to Sedrix as explained above.
The following information must be provided for a new user:
Display Name and Account Data
Name: Text field to enter the (display) name of the user. This can contain spaces, so it is possible to assign the user’s first and last name, for example. This name is displayed in the upper right corner of the Sedrix interface while the user is logged in.
Account data:
Username: Text field to enter the name of the user. This is the name that the user must enter into the login mask in order to log in. The name specified here cannot be changed later (but the display name can be, see above).
Password: Text field to enter the password. Please assign a sufficiently long character string. We recommend using a password generator to create a strong password!
Once these details have been saved and the user has been created, further information such as email address (required), company name, mobile phone number, etc. can be added. These details can also be filled in or changed at a later time, if necessary.
Furthermore, the projects with which the user is required to work must be made accessible to the user:
Assigned Projects
Assigned projects: List of projects created in the Sedrix. Check the boxes of the projects to select those that the user should be able to access.
For further details, see User Management. However, two points about users essential for working with Sedrix should be emphasized in this quick introduction – namely user roles and rights. See the following two sub-sections.
User Roles
As recognizable from many multi-user operating systems, Sedrix has “normal” users with defined or even restricted rights (as explained later). There are also privileged users with extended rights, the so-called Super-Administrators and Administrators. The former are intended for actually working with Sedrix, the latter for configuration tasks.
In addition to the "right" to be able to log in to Sedrix, a normal, i.e. non-privileged user initially has very limited rights. Further rights can, however, be granted to the user as required. This is done in a finely-tuned manner by defining a so-called user group, to which the user is assigned (see User Group Properties for details on assigning rights).
Add and Assign Devices
Add a Device to Sedrix
Adding devices to Sedrix or configuring them further is done via Device Management (or automatically). Due to the variety of device types supported by Sedrix, each with different configurations, please refer to the detailed passages in the Add Devices section.
Assign a Device to a Measuring Point
In order to analyze, process and display the measured values of a device (graphically and/or in tabular form), the device must first be linked to a measuring point. This is done by creating a so-called assignment.
In order to display measurement data collected by measuring devices created in Sedrix, you will need to create so-called evaluations within the measuring point with which the instrument is associated, i.e. for which assignments were created. Sedrix allows data to be displayed in various forms, in particular in tables and graphics, that is as diagrams. These data representations are displayed in the respective measuring point view.
For example, to display the data of a logger device as a time-value diagram, proceed as follows:
Open the edit mode of the measuring point by executing the "Edit" command in the context menu (reached by clicking on the name of the measuring point below the measuring point symbol
in the top right).
Switch here to the "Evaluations" tab and click on the "Add" button
in the bottom left.
In the context menu that appears, select the type of the new evaluation. In this example, this is "Diagram".
An input mask is now displayed for the new diagram evaluation being created, where you can configure it according to your requirements:
Assign a suitable name for the evaluation in "Heading". This name will be displayed in the measuring point view _above_ the new diagram when the data is displayed.
In "Title y-axis", assign a suitable name for the y-axis (optional; for time-value diagrams, the title of the x-axis (or more precisely: the time-axis) is automatically set, so that there is no input element for that), for example the name of the quantity(s) displayed here.
In the dropdown menus "Channel 1" to "Channel 10", select one of the available measuring point channels (see Assignments). For each of the channels selected here, a curve is drawn when the diagram is displayed (a different color for each curve).
For further options, see the detailed descriptions in the Time-Value Diagram section.
Finally, click on "Save" in the bottom left corner to save your settings.
Now switch back to the display mode, i.e. to the measuring point view of the measuring point in order to display the diagram with the curves per channel.
If necessary, adjust the period to be displayed using the SmartFilter function.
You can also define a "Table" evaluation in a similar way.
Further details on the display of measurement data can be found in Evaluations.
Configure Alerting
The “ Alerting” functionality allows alerts to be generated in the case of certain critical states, for example when measured values exceed previously defined limits "Measured Values" alert trigger), or when the time period since the last reception of measured data from a device is too long (“device is offline”; "Online Status" alert trigger), and, if desired, automatically send corresponding alert messages to previously defined users or user groupsby email and/or SMS. It is possible to define up to three alert levels per alert definition. This classifies the alert criteria according to “severity” to produce so-called pre-alerts, alerts and main alerts:
Pre-alerts are intended to define critical states that are still more or less harmless
Alerts are used for critical conditions
Main alarms are used for very critical conditions
See the corresponding subsections in the Alerting chapter for more details on the criteria that can be used to define these critical states, as well as details on possible reactions by the user (e.g. acknowledgement) and by Sedrix (e.g. sending escalation notifications if an acknowledgement is not made).
In order to set up alerts on measured values, for example, a so-called “measured values alert trigger” alert definition must first be created. Here, the conditions according to which the alert should be triggered must be defined, as well as whether alert messages should be sent, and if so, to which receiver group.
This alert definition must then be applied to the measuring point channel whose measured values are to be monitored.
If the most recently received measured values in the monitored channel exceed the limits defined in the alert definition at a certain time during operation, Sedrix automatically detects this and triggers an alert. If alert messages are to be sent, the respective users are automatically informed of the critical state that has just occurred.
In addition, alerts can be viewed at any time in various places in Sedrix. In the case of measured value alerts in particular, alerts can also be viewed directly in a chart evaluation, along with the measured data. For more details, see View Triggered Alerts.
For further details on the alert function as a whole, see Alerting.
The outline given above is illustrated by the following three examples.
It is assumed that the alerting function is licensed for your Sedrix and that the user you are logged in has been granted the necessary rights to set up the alerting etc. These requirements will not be treated individually. For details, see Alerting.
Example 1: Set Up Alerting for Measured Values
Proceed as follows to set up (as an example) the alerting functionality for alerting on measured values for one of the measuring point channels selected for diagram evaluation in show measured data.
Create Alert Definition
Click in the menu on the button
(or click on the “Alert Definitions” entry in the main menu) to display an overview of all alert definitions.
Click on the “Add” icon
) . to the right of the table.
In the context menu that now appears, select the type of alert definition. In this example, this is “Measured value alerting”.
Under “Unit”, select a unit compatible with the channel to be monitored.
Then click “Save” for the first time to create the alert definition.
Re-open the alert definition you just created to edit it, in particular to define the alert criteria.
If desired, change the label for the respective alert level (or leave it at the default labels: Name of the tab, i.e. the alert level).
Define a lower or upper limit value under Lower or Upper.
Mark the respective checkboxes to activate the respective limit values (by unchecking the box, a limit value can be temporarily deactivated without having to delete this setting immediately).
Set a value for hysteresis and minimum required number of limit violations, if necessary.
Finally, click on “Save” to save your changes.
Important: If you want to assign lower and upper limits for more than one alert level (“Pre-alert”, “Alert” or “Main alert”), make sure to nest these limits correctly: The pre-alert limits “bracket” the “good readings” area, the alert limits represent the “middle bracket” around the pre-alert limits, and finally the main alert limits represent the “outer bracket” around the alert limits.
In the “Input channels” or “Output channels” tab open the edit mode of the channel whose measured values should be monitored.
In the double column “ Alert” select in the subordinated column “Measured value” the desired alert definition in the dropdown menu displayed here.
Click
to exit the channel’s edit mode. The setting has been saved, the name of the selected alert definition is now displayed instead of the dropdown menu. If you want to discard your changes, you can exit the channel’s edit mode by clicking
The view that opens contains the alert table for this measuring point. This displays a line for each alert, along with the alert level, the start and end times as well as any notifications that have been sent and their confirmations, if applicable.
Setting up the alerting functionality to monitor a device is very similar to Example 1, except that you must create an “Online state alerting” alerting definition.
Create alert definition
Under Name in the the “General” tab, enter a name for the new alert definition and select a suitable unit for the “Offline period” under Unit. Then save the alarm definition for the first time and re-open it to edit it. Enter the “Offline period” under Limit. This is the period of time after which a device should be considered as “offline” if it has not sent any data during that period. Use the previously selected unit, and save it again.
Alternatively, you can also use the alert definition that is automatically created with each new project. This is named “ Default device monitoring”. Adjust its configuration accordingly if necessary.
Open the Edit mode of the device whose online status you want to monitor
In the “Device Monitoring” tab, select the desired alert definition of this type from the dropdown menu “Alert definition for determining online state”.
at the end of the line of the device whose alerts you want to view. If necessary, scroll horizontally to see the end of the lines. If you have already opened the Device View of the device whose alerts you want to view (logger; for the same views of the other device types see the corresponding subsections under Device Types, you can alternatively execute the “Alerts” command in the context menu.
The view now opened displays the alert table for this device. This contains a line for each alert along with the alert level, the start and end times, as well as sent notifications and their confirmations, if applicable.
The alerting functionality for vibration events is set up in a similar way as described in Example 1, except that you must create a “vibration event alerting” alert definition.
Create alert definition
Under Name in the “General” tab, enter a name for the new alert definition. Then save the alert definition for the first time and open it again to edit it. Under Limit, enter the underlying vibration standard as a percentage value.
The view that now opens displays the alert table for this measuring point. This contains a line for each alert along with the alert level, the start and end times, as well as any notifications that have been sent and their confirmations, if applicable.
