You can get cell modems in a USB thumb drive format. They also used to be
available as PCMCIA cards, and one of those could be plugged into a regular
PC using a carrier that plugs into a PCI slot. I believe either type
appears in the system to be a Hayes-type modem, which gives you the ability
to dial out. I wouldn't be surprised to find the command set extended to
SMS messaging.
Here's a selection of cellular modems in mini-PCI express format:
http://reviews.cnet.com/4566-3004_7-0.html?filter=500284_14401104
I know this type would fit in my laptop. I don't know if desktop
motherboards have suitable slots these days. In either case, I imagine an
external antenna would be desirable.
I don't have one, so that's as much as I know.
Ralph Mitchell
On Tue, Jan 7, 2014 at 10:01 PM, Phil Crooker <user-e8e31cd73303@xymon.invalid>wrote:
We used to have an old nokia phone and used a script driving the gnokii
linux driver and a serial cable. There were a number of issues with this
approach:
- the phone kept filling up with reply SMSs (we also used it for general
business SMS)
- the power supply would become unplugged or the phone would be powered
off, serial cable unplugged, etc
- queue handling was an issue as the local MTA hands the message over to
the sms script
It has been much more reliable using an external SMS service. We have two
separate MTAs on two separate uplinks. I monitor both links for successful
comms, if the primary goes down, I change the local mail server to point to
the other MTA. I also monitor the queue lengths on all MTAs, so we are
notified well before they get too full.
I believe one can send SMSs to an android phone via a USB cable but after
a quick look didn't find any useful programs. Probably looking in the wrong
place.
cheers, Phil
From: Xymon on behalf of John Thurston
Sent: Wednesday, 8 January 2014 11:29 AM
To: xymon at xymon.com
Subject: [Xymon] State of the art SMS alerting?
Can anyone shed light on the current 'state of the art' for alerting by
SMS from Xymon? Are there recommended usb-modem/software combinations to
achieve this?
I'd like to have the option of sending alerts from my Xymon server
without relying on email->SMS gateways. (When I need to announce that
the mail queue has reached critical, it seems foolish to try to dispatch
that alert by mail.)
I'm running Xymon on Solaris which will ultimately limit my options, but
I'm interested in any information you have to share.
--
Do things because you should, not just because you can.
John Thurston XXX-XXX-XXXX
user-ce4d79d99bab@xymon.invalid
Enterprise Technology Services
Department of Administration
State of Alaska