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GC SurgeDocsCMS Forwarding
2 min read

CMS Forwarding

CMS forwarding sends verified alarms from GC Surge to an external Central Monitoring Station (CMS) once the event meets criteria you define. Use it to escalate confirmed real alarms into your downstream monitoring workflow. Covers: Supported Protocols, When Forwarding Triggers, Forwarding Failures.

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How to Configure

CMS forwarding is configured per site from the Configuration page.

  1. Go to Configuration in the left sidebar.
  2. Find the site you want to configure forwarding for in the sites list.
  3. Click the (three-dot) menu on that site’s row and select Forward alarms.
  4. The Forward Alarms modal opens. It shows any existing forwarding entries and the option to add new ones.
  5. Click + ADD FORWARD ALARM to add an entry. Fill in the four fields for SIA-DC09:IP Address — the IP address of your CMS receiver.Port — the port your CMS receiver listens on.Account — the account identifier your CMS uses to route this site’s signals.Key — the encryption key shared with the CMS receiver for authenticated signal delivery.
  6. Click + ADD FORWARD ALARM again to add forwarding to additional receivers. Each entry is independent — alarms are sent to all configured destinations.
  7. Click Save to commit. Click the red delete icon on any entry to remove it. Click Cancel to discard changes.

Supported Protocols

  • SIA-DC09 — the standard signaling protocol used by alarm receiving centers. It transmits structured alarm signals (zone, account, event code) over IP to a CMS receiver. Most professional monitoring centers support DC09 natively.
  • Email — alarm notification sent to a configured CMS email address.
  • Webhook — alarm payload posted to a CMS HTTP endpoint.

When Forwarding Triggers

Forwarding is designed for events that have passed classification and any additional confirmation criteria. The goal is to send confirmed, relevant events to the CMS — not mirror every event GC Surge received.

  • Only verified real alarms are eligible for forwarding.
  • Event metadata is included with every handoff — alarm type, timestamp, camera ID, and site — so the CMS can act immediately.

Forwarding Failures

Forwarding failures are logged and visible in the audit trail. A CMS handoff issue is distinct from a classification issue — both are recorded separately so the correct layer can be diagnosed quickly.