Virtual alarm panels

A virtual alarm panel turns incoming signals into intrusion zones that operators arm, disarm, and bypass. Panels are in Configure > Events & automation, on the Alarm panels tab, under Virtual panels.

What you need

• Configure intrusion panels to build panels. Operators need View intrusion panels, Arm intrusion areas, Disarm intrusion areas, Bypass zones, and Reset alarm memory, which the Operator role template includes, and Operate alarms to acknowledge alarms. The Auditor template can only view panels, and the Technician template cannot see them.
• An email virtual input for each zone. Create one under Inbound email > LAN SMTP receiver > Virtual inputs > Add virtual input, with an Input name, the Allowed sender, and Input mode set to Any accepted message, or select New email input… in the panel editor.

Create a panel

1. Select Add virtual panel. Enter the Panel name and choose the Site Node.
2. Set the Default alarm severity (Information, Warning, or Critical), the Default alarm title, and the Default operator procedure.
3. Under Areas and zones, select Add area. Enter the Area name, the Entry delay (seconds) and Exit delay (seconds), and choose whether to Allow force arming.
4. Select Add zone. Enter the Zone name, and choose its Area, a Zone type, and its Source.
5. Select Save draft.

A zone type fills in the zone's behavior, and you can change each value afterwards:

Setting	Choices
Zone type	Entry/exit door, Interior follower, Perimeter (instant), 24-hour (always active), Fire (24-hour), Panic (24-hour, silent), Tamper (24-hour)
Delay behavior	Instant, Entry / exit, Interior follower
Arming scope	Armed area, Always active
Alarm class	Intrusion, Fire, Medical, Tamper, Auxiliary
Alarm presentation	Audible, Silent

Block arming while active stops the area from arming while the zone is active. Further settings include Allow bypass and Restore behavior: Automatic on source clear or Manual reset after source clear. Each zone can have its own Alarm severity, Alarm title, and Operator procedure, or Use panel defaults.

Activate the panel

Select Activate panel. The checklist needs At least one area, At least one zone, and Every zone has a source. A panel is Draft, Active, or Deactivated. An active panel cannot be changed: deactivate it first. Delete draft… is only offered for a panel that was never activated.

Arm, disarm, and bypass

Operators use the panel's rows in Configure, or the intrusion panel, area, and zone symbols on Operate > Maps. See Maps.

• Arm arms the whole area. Force arm arms it and bypasses the zones that are not ready; it needs both the arm and the bypass permission.
• Disarm disarms the area. Bypass takes a zone out until you select Include.
• Acknowledge acknowledges the alarm, and Reset alarm memory clears the zone's alarm memory.

An area shows Disarmed, Exit delay, Armed, Entry delay, Alarm, Awaiting state, Ready to arm, or Not ready with the zones that block it. A zone shows Normal, Active, Stale, Unknown, Bypassed, or Bypassed by force arm. Each command shows Requested, Pending, Confirmed, Failed, or Unknown.

When a command is refused, the reason is under Technical details, for example This panel is not active. Activate it before you send commands. or This account is not allowed to do this on this panel.

Use panels in rules

A zone in a panel owns its single operator alarm, so a rule for that zone configures actions only. Rules can also act on panels with the Intrusion actions Arm area, Disarm area, Bypass intrusion zone, Unbypass intrusion zone, and Reset intrusion zone alarm memory. See Rules and alarms.

Good to know

• Areas arm fully. There are no stay or night modes, no keypads, and no PIN or confirmation before a command.
• Virtual panels do not drive sirens.
• The areas of a panel are not the areas of Sites, areas, and groups.