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Glossary

Plain-English definitions of the terms you'll come across in the platform and in this guide.

Acknowledge​

To tell the platform you've seen an alert. Acknowledging marks the matching notification as read and clears the alert state on the device. It does not fix whatever caused the alert. See Responding to alerts.

Alert state​

The current condition flag on a device, one of Info, Warning, or Alert (also shown as "Critical"). Set by a rule and cleared by an acknowledgement, an expiry, or a change to the rule.

Analytics (Beta)​

The module where you build visualizations of your history across many devices: aggregate a reading over days, weeks, or months, group it by site, device, or hour of day, and save the chart to a library. Available when your plan includes it. See Analytics (Beta).

Chart widget​

A dashboard widget that plots one or more readings over time as a line, bar, or area chart. See Reading your dashboards.

Claim​

To add a device or gateway you physically hold to your workspace, by entering its ID and serial number from the label. Available only when your provider has switched it on for your workspace. See Claiming a device or gateway.

Command​

A message sent from the platform to a device, asking it to do something (turn an output on, change a setting, report a value). Some devices and plans support commands; some don't. Also called a downlink.

Dashboard​

A page made of widgets that shows your data at a glance. Dashboards are built by your provider and viewed by you.

Derived value​

A value computed from a reading rather than sent by the device: a formula, a mapping, or a reading corrected by a calibration. It is computed when the reading arrives and stored with it, so every chart, tile and download shows the same number. A derived value that could not be computed is listed on the device's Events tab.

Device​

A physical thing in the field that sends readings to the platform. A device might be a sensor, a tracker, a meter, or a controller, depending on what you have deployed.

Device ID​

A unique 16-character code that identifies a single device. Also shown on the device label, sometimes called a "DevEUI" by hardware manufacturers.

Device profile​

A type, applied to similar devices, that tells the platform how to interpret the readings each one sends. Set by your provider.

See Command.

Field​

A single named reading from a device, with units. A temperature sensor might have fields named Temperature and Humidity; each is a field.

Gauge widget​

A dashboard widget showing where a current reading sits between a minimum and a maximum. May look like a dial, a bar, a battery, a signal-strength indicator, or a compass.

Health chip​

A colored label on a device row in the device list, showing its status at a glance: online, offline, alert, warning, quota, certification status. See Finding your devices.

Last seen​

The timestamp of the most recent reading the platform received from a device. Drives the online/offline status.

MFA (Multi-factor authentication)​

A second step at sign-in (after your password), usually a six-digit code from an app on your phone. See Account settings.

Notification​

A message the platform raises for you when something needs attention. Notifications appear in the bell icon dropdown and the inbox, and may also be sent by email. See Responding to alerts.

Notification group​

A named list of people (email addresses and, on some plans, phone numbers) that a workflow's Send email or Send SMS action notifies when it fires. Workspace Admins create and maintain them under Administration -> Notification Groups; see Notification groups.

Offline threshold​

The amount of time (default 30 minutes) the platform waits before deciding a device is offline. Set per device.

Operator​

A role in your workspace. Operators can read everything a Viewer can read, plus acknowledge alerts and press action buttons on dashboards.

Primary / Secondary​

The two readings from a device that are most important to surface at a glance. Shown as columns on the device list and used as defaults in some widgets.

Provider​

The company that gives you access to the platform and looks after the devices, dashboards, and rules behind the scenes. Your account, devices, and workspace are all set up by your provider.

Reading​

A single value sent by a device at a moment in time, for one of its fields.

Recompute history​

An action on a device profile that rebuilds its derived values over a range of readings, either filling in readings that have none or replacing every value. Progress shows on the profile's Fields tab.

Retained value (last known value)​

A value that represents a state which only changes occasionally, like a valve open or closed, kept on display until the device reports a change. The device sends the new state when it changes and then stays quiet, so the dashboard keeps showing the last reported value rather than going blank between updates. See Reading your dashboards.

Rule​

A condition that, when it becomes true (for example, "Temperature above 80°C"), raises an alert and may also send an email or run another action. Rules are built by your provider, or by you if your plan includes workflow editing. Also called a workflow. See Creating workflows.

Serial number​

A code printed on a device or gateway label, separate from its ID. Used together with the ID to claim hardware you hold. Case-sensitive. See Claiming a device or gateway.

Severity​

The urgency of a notification: Info, Warning, or Critical. Set when the rule was built.

Status widget​

A dashboard widget showing a single colored pill: online/offline, a yes/no condition on a reading, or the current alert state. Some status widgets also include an Acknowledge button. See Reading your dashboards.

Tab (on a dashboard)​

A section within a dashboard. A dashboard can have several tabs, each with its own widgets.

Time range​

The window of time the active dashboard tab is showing. Set with the picker at the top-right of the dashboard.

Value widget​

A dashboard widget showing a single number with units. May change color if the reading is outside a normal range.

Viewer​

The most basic role in your workspace. Viewers can read dashboards, devices, and notifications, but cannot acknowledge alerts or press action buttons.

Visualization​

A saved chart built in Analytics: a chart type, the devices and values it measures, a period, and its settings. Lives in your workspace's library and can be placed on any dashboard as a tile. See Analytics (Beta).

Widget​

One panel on a dashboard. Comes in several shapes: value, gauge, chart, status, count, table, history, map, image, text, button.

Workflow​

Another name for a rule: a small flow that watches your devices and reacts when a reading crosses a line you set. Built by your provider, or by you if your plan includes workflow editing. See Creating workflows.

Workspace​

Your space on the platform: your devices, your dashboards, your notifications, and your colleagues. Your provider may run several workspaces; you usually only see yours.

Workspace Admin​

The senior role in a workspace. Workspace Admins can do everything an Operator can do, plus invite and manage colleagues and (where your provider allows) edit dashboards.