I see that the DCR100 has a configuration feature called Operating Mode, What does this mean?

DCR100 channels have two possible operating modes: “Normal”, in which the DCR100 channel responds to standard NMEA 2000 switching commands, and “Annunciator”, in which the channel may be connected to a power source for a sounder or a light to be activated in the case of an alert generated by a DSM150, DSM410, or DSM250 display, or by N2KView software.