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🔔 Data Activator — Real-Time Alerting and Actions¶

Last Updated: 2026-04-21 | Version: 1.0.0

📑 Table of Contents¶

• 🎯 Overview
• 🏗️ Architecture
• ⚙️ Configuration
• 📐 Trigger Patterns
• 🎰 Casino Implementation
• 🏛️ Federal Agency Implementation
• 🔗 Integration Patterns
• 📊 Monitoring and Troubleshooting
• ⚠️ Limitations
• 📚 References

🎯 Overview¶

Data Activator (formerly Reflex) is a no-code alerting and action engine in Microsoft Fabric that monitors data in real-time and triggers automated responses when conditions are met. It connects to Eventstreams, Power BI reports, and Fabric items to detect patterns, threshold breaches, and anomalies — then fires actions such as Teams messages, emails, or Power Automate flows.

Data Activator bridges the gap between seeing data in dashboards and acting on it. Instead of manually watching metrics, you define rules that watch for you and take action automatically.

Where Data Activator Fits¶

flowchart LR
    subgraph Observe["👁️ Observe"]
        PBI["Power BI Reports"]
        ES["Eventstreams"]
        RT["Real-Time Hub"]
    end

    subgraph Decide["🧠 Data Activator"]
        OBJ["Objects &<br/>Properties"]
        RUL["Rules &<br/>Conditions"]
        TRG["Triggers"]
    end

    subgraph Act["⚡ Act"]
        TM["Teams Message"]
        EM["Email Alert"]
        PA["Power Automate"]
    end

    Observe --> Decide --> Act

    style RUL fill:#8E44AD,stroke:#6C3483,color:#fff
    style TRG fill:#E74C3C,stroke:#C0392B,color:#fff

Key Capabilities¶

Data Activator vs. Alternatives¶

🏗️ Architecture¶

Component Architecture¶

flowchart TB
    subgraph Sources["📡 Data Sources"]
        ES["Eventstream<br/>(real-time events)"]
        PBI["Power BI<br/>(report visuals)"]
        RTH["Real-Time Hub<br/>(fabric events)"]
    end

    subgraph DA["🔔 Data Activator"]
        OBJ["Objects<br/>(business entities)"]
        PROP["Properties<br/>(tracked values)"]
        RULE["Rules<br/>(conditions)"]
        TRIG["Triggers<br/>(actions)"]
    end

    subgraph Actions["⚡ Actions"]
        TEAMS["Microsoft Teams"]
        EMAIL["Email"]
        PAUTO["Power Automate"]
    end

    Sources --> OBJ --> PROP --> RULE --> TRIG --> Actions

    style DA fill:#F5EEF8,stroke:#8E44AD,color:#000
    style RULE fill:#8E44AD,stroke:#6C3483,color:#fff
    style TRIG fill:#E74C3C,stroke:#C0392B,color:#fff

Core Concepts¶

⚙️ Configuration¶

Creating a Data Activator (Reflex)¶

1. Open your Fabric workspace
2. Click + New → Reflex (or Data Activator)
3. The visual designer opens with three tabs: Data, Design, Monitor

Connecting to an Eventstream¶

1. In the Data tab, click Get Data → Eventstream
2. Select an existing Eventstream or create a new one
3. Map fields:
4. Object ID: the field that identifies each entity (e.g., machine_id)
5. Timestamp: the event time field
6. Properties: values to track (e.g., coin_in, coin_out, amount)

Connecting to a Power BI Report¶

1. Open any published Power BI report
2. Right-click a visual → Set alert (or Trigger action)
3. Select the measure and condition
4. Choose an action (Teams, email, Power Automate)
5. This creates a Data Activator item in your workspace automatically

Defining a Rule¶

In the Design tab:

1. Select an object (e.g., SlotMachine)
2. Select a property (e.g., coin_in)
3. Add a Detect step:
4. Threshold: value exceeds, drops below, or equals
5. Change: value increases/decreases by amount or percentage
6. Pattern: value enters/exits a range over a time window
7. Add a Summarize step (optional):
8. Sum, average, count, min, max over a time window
9. Add an Act step:
10. Send Teams message, email, or trigger Power Automate flow

Rule Definition Example¶

Object: SlotMachine
Property: hourly_coin_in (summarized from coin_in, Sum, 1 hour)

Rule: HighVolumeAlert
  Detect: When hourly_coin_in > 15000
  Act: Send Teams message to #casino-floor-ops
    "🎰 High volume alert: Machine {machine_id} at casino {casino_id}
     has processed ${hourly_coin_in} in the last hour."

📐 Trigger Patterns¶

Threshold Triggers¶

Monitor when a value crosses a static boundary:

Change Triggers¶

Detect significant changes relative to previous values:

Aggregation + Threshold (Compound)¶

Summarize over a time window, then apply a threshold:

Summarize: Sum of coin_in over 1 hour
Detect: Sum > 15000
Act: Alert

Summarize: Count of events over 15 minutes
Detect: Count == 0
Act: Alert (machine may be offline)

Multi-Rule Patterns¶

Combine rules on the same object for layered alerting:

Object: SlotMachine

Rule 1 (Warning):   hourly_coin_in > 10000  → Teams message
Rule 2 (Critical):  hourly_coin_in > 20000  → Email + Power Automate
Rule 3 (Offline):   event_count (15 min) == 0 → Teams + Email

🎰 Casino Implementation¶

Slot Machine Floor Monitoring¶

flowchart LR
    subgraph Floor["🏢 Casino Floor"]
        SM1["Machine 001"]
        SM2["Machine 002"]
        SM3["Machine ..."]
    end

    subgraph Stream["📡 Eventstream"]
        EVT["slot_events"]
    end

    subgraph DA["🔔 Data Activator"]
        O1["Object: SlotMachine<br/>ID: machine_id"]
        R1["Rule: HighVolume<br/>coin_in > $15K/hr"]
        R2["Rule: Jackpot<br/>event_type = JACKPOT<br/>& amount > $5000"]
        R3["Rule: Offline<br/>no events in 15 min"]
        R4["Rule: TiltAlert<br/>error_code != null"]
    end

    subgraph Actions["⚡ Actions"]
        T1["Teams: #floor-ops"]
        T2["Teams: #vip-services"]
        E1["Email: compliance@"]
        PA1["Power Automate:<br/>Create work order"]
    end

    Floor --> Stream --> O1
    O1 --> R1 --> T1
    O1 --> R2 --> T2
    O1 --> R3 --> PA1
    O1 --> R4 --> E1

    style DA fill:#F5EEF8,stroke:#8E44AD

Rule Definitions¶

1. High-Volume Machine Alert¶

Object: SlotMachine (object_id: machine_id)
Property: hourly_revenue
  Summarize: Sum of coin_in over 1 hour

Rule: HighVolumeAlert
  Detect: hourly_revenue > 15000
  Act: Teams message to #casino-floor-ops
    "🎰 HIGH VOLUME: Machine {machine_id} ({casino_id})
     Revenue: ${hourly_revenue} in last hour
     Action: Verify machine operation and player status"

2. Jackpot Notification¶

Object: SlotMachine (object_id: machine_id)
Property: event_type, amount

Rule: JackpotAlert
  Detect: event_type == "JACKPOT" AND amount > 5000
  Act: Teams message to #vip-services
    "🎉 JACKPOT: Machine {machine_id}
     Amount: ${amount}
     Casino: {casino_id}
     Action: Dispatch attendant for W-2G processing"

3. Machine Offline Detection¶

Object: SlotMachine (object_id: machine_id)
Property: event_count
  Summarize: Count of events over 15 minutes

Rule: OfflineAlert
  Detect: event_count == 0
  Act: Power Automate flow
    → Create work order in maintenance system
    → Teams message to #maintenance
    "⚠️ OFFLINE: Machine {machine_id} — no events in 15 minutes"

4. Compliance Structuring Alert¶

Object: Player (object_id: player_card_id)
Property: rolling_cash_total
  Summarize: Sum of cash_amount over 24 hours

Rule: StructuringAlert
  Detect: rolling_cash_total BETWEEN 8000 AND 9999
    AND transaction_count > 3
  Act: Email to compliance@casino.com
    "🔴 STRUCTURING ALERT: Player {player_card_id}
     24hr cash total: ${rolling_cash_total}
     Transactions: {transaction_count}
     Action: Review for SAR filing"

5. CTR Auto-Flag¶

Object: Player (object_id: player_card_id)
Property: daily_cash_total
  Summarize: Sum of cash_amount over 24 hours

Rule: CTRRequired
  Detect: daily_cash_total >= 10000
  Act: Email to compliance@casino.com + Power Automate
    "📋 CTR REQUIRED: Player {player_card_id}
     24hr total: ${daily_cash_total}
     Threshold: $10,000
     Action: File CTR within 15 days"

🏛️ Federal Agency Implementation¶

NOAA Severe Weather Alerts¶

Object: WeatherStation (object_id: station_id)
Property: wind_speed, temperature, precipitation

Rule: HighWindAlert
  Detect: wind_speed > 60 (mph)
  Act: Teams to #noaa-ops + Email
    "🌪️ HIGH WIND: Station {station_id} ({location})
     Wind speed: {wind_speed} mph
     Action: Issue wind advisory"

Rule: ExtremeHeatAlert
  Detect: temperature > 110 (°F)
  Act: Teams + Power Automate (notify public health)
    "🌡️ EXTREME HEAT: Station {station_id}
     Temperature: {temperature}°F
     Action: Issue heat advisory"

EPA Air Quality Alerts¶

Object: MonitoringSite (object_id: site_id)
Property: aqi, pm25

Rule: UnhealthyAQI
  Detect: aqi > 150
  Act: Teams to #epa-monitoring + Email
    "⚠️ UNHEALTHY AQI: Site {site_id} ({county}, {state})
     AQI: {aqi} (Unhealthy)
     PM2.5: {pm25} μg/m³
     Action: Issue air quality alert"

Rule: HazardousAQI
  Detect: aqi > 300
  Act: Email + Power Automate (emergency notification)
    "🔴 HAZARDOUS AQI: Site {site_id}
     AQI: {aqi}
     Action: Activate emergency response protocol"

DOI Earthquake Detection¶

Object: SeismicEvent (object_id: event_id)
Property: magnitude, depth

Rule: SignificantQuake
  Detect: magnitude >= 5.0
  Act: Teams to #doi-emergency + Email + Power Automate
    "🌍 EARTHQUAKE: Magnitude {magnitude}
     Location: {latitude}, {longitude}
     Depth: {depth} km
     Action: Activate response protocols"

USDA Commodity Price Alert¶

Object: Commodity (object_id: commodity_code)
Property: price, daily_change_pct

Rule: PriceSwing
  Detect: abs(daily_change_pct) > 5
  Act: Teams to #usda-markets
    "📊 PRICE SWING: {commodity_name}
     Change: {daily_change_pct}%
     Current price: ${price}/bushel
     Action: Review market conditions"

Multi-Agency Alert Summary¶

🔗 Integration Patterns¶

Eventstream → Data Activator¶

The primary real-time pattern:

flowchart LR
    SRC["Source<br/>(IoT, API, DB CDC)"] --> ES["Eventstream"]
    ES --> EH["Eventhouse<br/>(analytics)"]
    ES --> DA["Data Activator<br/>(alerting)"]

    style DA fill:#8E44AD,stroke:#6C3483,color:#fff
    style ES fill:#2E86C1,stroke:#1B4F72,color:#fff

Configure in the Eventstream editor: 1. Add a Destination → Reflex (Data Activator) 2. Select or create a Reflex item 3. Map object ID and properties

Power BI → Data Activator¶

For alerts on scheduled-refresh data:

1. Open a published Power BI report
2. Right-click a visual → Set alert
3. Define condition and action
4. Data Activator monitors the visual's data on each refresh

Power Automate Integration¶

For complex workflows beyond Teams/email:

Data Activator Trigger
  → Power Automate Flow
    → Create ServiceNow ticket
    → Send SMS via Twilio
    → Update SharePoint list
    → Call Azure Function
    → Post to Slack

📊 Monitoring and Troubleshooting¶

Monitoring Tab¶

The Monitor tab in the Data Activator shows:

Rule: HighVolumeAlert
  Status: Active
  Last evaluated: 2026-04-21 14:32:00
  Triggers fired (24h): 7
  Triggers fired (7d): 43

  Recent Triggers:
    2026-04-21 14:32:00  machine_id=SM-0847  hourly_revenue=$17,230  → Teams sent ✅
    2026-04-21 13:15:00  machine_id=SM-0231  hourly_revenue=$16,100  → Teams sent ✅
    2026-04-21 12:45:00  machine_id=SM-1102  hourly_revenue=$21,300  → Teams sent ✅

Common Issues¶

Alert Fatigue Prevention¶

⚠️ Limitations¶

Current Limitations¶

📚 References¶

🔗 Related Documents¶

• Real-Time Intelligence — Eventstreams and Eventhouse for streaming analytics
• Workspace Monitoring — Infrastructure monitoring for Fabric workspaces
• Alerting Best Practices — Alert rule design and fatigue prevention
• Copy Job CDC — Incremental ingestion that feeds Data Activator via Eventstream
• Architecture — System architecture overview

📝 Document Metadata - Author: Documentation Team - Reviewers: Real-Time Intelligence, Operations, Compliance - Classification: Internal - Next Review: 2026-07-21