# Channel Properties

Channels have properties that include:

Channel Number – An ordinal number that identifies the channel.

Source Network Address (SNA, Required) – Specifies a net address location from which the channel obtains (reads) its Raw Value at the scan speed of the RTU. The SNA also defines the data type of the channel (analog or discrete).

Destination Network Address (DNA, Optional) – Specifies a net address location to which the Raw Value of the channel is continuously written at the scan speed of the RTU. Not to be confused with destinations, which receive reports only under certain conditions such as Unacknowledged Alarms.

Raw Value – The value as directly read from the SNA, without any transformation.

Report (scaled) Value – The displayed or reported value of the transformed data.

Reporting Format or Direct Reading format – This determines the way in which the Raw Value is transformed into the Transformed Value.

Alarm Violation Criteria – Determines what constitutes a violation.

Physical Input Point Configuration – Determines how the Physical Input channels are formatted. PIO may be configured for either DISCRETE or ANALOG data types.

Alarm Trip Delay – Determines how long a violating value must persist before an Unacknowledged Alarm is created.

Messages – The method for announcing the channel's status.

Destination Channel Grouping (Optional) – If configured, determines which destinations the channel will report to. If not configured, a channel reports to all destinations.