Devices

The system delivers content to a device. You set up each device with:

  • A name

    For example, My Work E-Mail.

  • A device type

    For example, Email (Unlimited)

  • An optional default template

    The system uses the template if the notification does not contain a template that is appropriate for the device type.

The device type contains information such as which device driver should be used to define and communicate and which formatter should be used to generate content to the device.

Devices may also have muting periods and a cascading device. The muting defines the weekly schedule during which the device is available to receive content. The cascading device is another device to which content should be delivered if, at the time of processing, the device is unavailable due to the muting or is disabled.

Users can use personal settings to:

  • Set up or modify their own devices
  • Set up or modify muting periods
  • Set up or modify cascading devices

Logical and Physical Devices

A physical device is the actual target of delivery. A logical device only references a physical device.

Logical devices are useful in integration scenarios. In a scenario, users can receive an alert from another application without having that application knowing or locating each user's physical device. In this case, you would create logical device and have the user point the logical device to the appropriate physical devices.

When content processing occurs, Smart Notification targets the logical device, but the referenced physical device is used for formatting and delivery. By changing the referenced physical device, users can change the ultimate delivery of content without changing the notifications targeted for a logical device.

System configuration entries saved in the database contain the delivery system configuration, which includes logical devices default, priority, and message.

Device Types

A device type is the named combination of:

  • A device driver which delivers the content to the device
  • A formatter which generates the content for delivery
  • Any deployment-specific configuration settings

No two device types can have the same name; however, the same driver or formatter can be used with more than one device type.

The system includes a default device type and administrative device types. Administrative device types are available for use by system administrators. The default device type is used as the default type for new devices. If a default is not specified, the first non-administrative device type is used.

Each device type can also have an associated template. This template is used only if the notification does not specify a template for the device type and the target device does not have a default template. If the device type does not have a template, the default formatting is used.