Setting up Blat to work with ION Enterprise and troubleshooting tips.

Goals and Symptoms

Blat is a simple program that allows a launching module in ION Enterprise to send email alerts. Blat can be downloaded for free at http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=81910. Blat is commonly used to alert on communication losses or event detection.

Facts and Changes

Keywords

• 
  Blat

  Email

  Alert

  Communication Detection

  Communication Loss

  Event Detection

Causes and Fixes

1) Install Blat and register the SMTP server. The Syntax is: Blat -install <server addr> <sender's addr>
2) Create a batch file to run. Here is a sample:

echo This is text in the batch file > "C:\temp\Test.txt
Date /t >> "C:\temp\Test.txt
Time /t >> "C:\temp\Test.txt
echo kW tot= %1 >> "C:\temp\Test.txt
echo kVAR tot= %2 >> "C:\temp\Test.txt
start C:\blat262\full\blat C:\temp\test.txt -s "Email subject line text" -t recipient_email_address@us.schneider-electric.com -f sender_email_address@us.schneider-electric.com

This batch file in the example is labeled Test.bat. It creates and emails the content of the file Test.txt.

3) Setup a launching module to execute the batch file.


4) Test the configuration by setting up a pulse in Vista and executing the launching module.

Troubleshooting tips:
1) Check that the launching module receives and outputs a pulse.
2) Check that the test.bat file creates and writes to test.txt.
3) Check that the email is sent to a user.
4) Too long of a file path to the blat files will prevent blat from working. For example, if test.txt was located in the file C:\Program Files\Schneider Electric\ION Enterprise\blat\test.txt the blat program will not work.
5) If clicking the pulse to execute the launching module does not work, try double clicking on the test.bat file to see if it will execute manually. If this doesn't work there is a problem with the test.bat file or a problem with blat or the way blat was installed.
6) If double clicking the bat file works and the launching module doesn't it is possible that the complete file paths are not in the test.bat file. Blat will work with this configuration however if you do not specify the full paths to everything within the test.bat file the launching module will not work.

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Legacy KB System (APS) Data: RESL185847 V2.0, Originally authored by KBAdPM on 06/30/2007, Last Edited by MiNe on 05/02/2009
Related ranges: ION Enterprise V5.6, ION Enterprise V5.5