Hobbit to IPPhone 🔗 link

On 3/3/08, Charles Jones <user-e86b4aeade4e@xymon.invalid> wrote:

 I just cobbled together a script that puts a hobbit display on a Cisco
IPPhone (7960). The display is pretty spartan since we only have half a
dozen lines to put text on :)  The script is run out of cron on my linux
workstation, and requires access to an http server, and knowing your phones
login and password (same as your user login to call manager).

If anyone is interested in this script I will post it here or send it to
the Shire.

I just did it mainly for fun, but with some effort you could easily even
acknowledge alerts right from your phone :)

-Charles

-- 

On Mon, Mar 3, 2008 at 4:52 PM, Charles Jones <user-e86b4aeade4e@xymon.invalid> wrote:

 I just cobbled together a script that puts a hobbit display on a Cisco
IPPhone (7960). The display is pretty spartan since we only have half a
dozen lines to put text on :)  The script is run out of cron on my linux
workstation, and requires access to an http server, and knowing your phones
login and password (same as your user login to call manager).

 If anyone is interested in this script I will post it here or send it to
the Shire.

 I just did it mainly for fun, but with some effort you could easily even
acknowledge alerts right from your phone :)

 -Charles

-- 

 
From: Charles Jones [mailto:user-e86b4aeade4e@xymon.invalid] 
Sent: Montag, 3. März 2008 22:53
To: user-ae9b8668bcde@xymon.invalid
Subject: [hobbit] Hobbit to IPPhone

 
I just cobbled together a script that puts a hobbit display on a Cisco IPPhone (7960). The display is pretty spartan since we only have half a dozen lines to put text on :)  The script is run out of cron on my linux workstation, and requires access to an http server, and knowing your phones login and password (same as your user login to call manager).

If anyone is interested in this script I will post it here or send it to the Shire.

I just did it mainly for fun, but with some effort you could easily even acknowledge alerts right from your phone :)

-Charles

Johann Eggers wrote:

Hi Charles,

 
I'm really interested in your script as we also have Cisco IPPhones (7961) and I really would like to check out what you did!

 
Thanks

-Johann

 
*From:* Charles Jones [mailto:user-e86b4aeade4e@xymon.invalid]
*Sent:* Montag, 3. März 2008 22:53
*To:* user-ae9b8668bcde@xymon.invalid
*Subject:* [hobbit] Hobbit to IPPhone

 
I just cobbled together a script that puts a hobbit display on a Cisco IPPhone (7960). The display is pretty spartan since we only have half a dozen lines to put text on :)  The script is run out of cron on my linux workstation, and requires access to an http server, and knowing your phones login and password (same as your user login to call manager).

If anyone is interested in this script I will post it here or send it to the Shire.

I just did it mainly for fun, but with some effort you could easily even acknowledge alerts right from your phone :)

-Charles

On 3/4/08, Charles Jones <user-e86b4aeade4e@xymon.invalid> wrote:

I have a fellow Hobbiter testing the script on his system, this will let
me shake out any confusion in the self-contained docs I wrote. I will
then post the script to the list and you guys can have at it :)

-Charles

Johann Eggers wrote:

Hi Charles,


I'm really interested in your script as we also have Cisco IPPhones
(7961) and I really would like to check out what you did!


Thanks

-Johann


*From:* Charles Jones [mailto:user-e86b4aeade4e@xymon.invalid]
*Sent:* Montag, 3. März 2008 22:53
*To:* user-ae9b8668bcde@xymon.invalid
*Subject:* [hobbit] Hobbit to IPPhone


I just cobbled together a script that puts a hobbit display on a Cisco
IPPhone (7960). The display is pretty spartan since we only have half
a dozen lines to put text on :)  The script is run out of cron on my
linux workstation, and requires access to an http server, and knowing
your phones login and password (same as your user login to call manager).

If anyone is interested in this script I will post it here or send it
to the Shire.

I just did it mainly for fun, but with some effort you could easily
even acknowledge alerts right from your phone :)

-Charles

-- 
Josh Luthman
Office: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Direct: XXX-XXX-XXXX
XXXX Wayne St
Suite XXXX
Troy, OH XXXXX

Those who don't understand UNIX are condemned to reinvent it, poorly.
--- Henry Spencer

Josh Luthman wrote:

Ahh why must you torture us!!!

Thank you very much for the update, we are all looking forward to it.

Charles Jones wrote:

Just giving an update. I've decided to make it a bit more fancy, in that you can optionally select an alerting host to read its full status message, and removing all of my debug code and making it actually readable for other folks :-) Hopefully I will be done by the end of the week.

-Charles


Josh Luthman wrote:

Ahh why must you torture us!!!

Thank you very much for the update, we are all looking forward to it.

On 3/11/08, Charles Jones <user-e86b4aeade4e@xymon.invalid> wrote:

 Just thought I would send another update and a preview. This has been
really fun to work on. I think I am going to officially call it
"Hobbit2IPPhone". I will probably create a sourceforge project and whatnot
for it as well.

Here is some info on Hobbit2IPPhone:
* Hobbit2IPPhone can be run without touching the Call Manger, or having
admin access to the CM. All you need is your normal user login and pass to
the CM (same one you use to set your speed dials, etc).
* Hobbit2IPPhone requires a web server with CGI access (could easily use
your Hobbit server).
* The web server that the CGI is run on, needs bi-directional connectivity
to your IPPhone. If you can telnet to port 80 of your phones IP address, you
should be good to go. The phone also needs to be able to hit port 80 of your
web server.
* The CGI needs connectivity to your Hobbit server, as it uses $BB to
query the hobbitdboard to get the host infos. If you are running the CGI on
your Hobbit server, this is a non-issue as it will just talk to localhost
just like any server-side Hobbit extension script.
* Hobbit2IPPhone can be run as a sever-side Hobbit extension script, or
out of a cron job on another server, provided there is connectivity from the
CGI host to the IPPhone on port 80.

Here's how my phone looks when everything is OK:

* Currently it is optional to display this message if all is green. I
figured some people may only want their screen to change if there is an
alert.
* Hitting "update" updates the display. There is also an automatic refresh
timer.


Heres the view when some alerts have triggered:

As you can see, you get a nice ordered list, with a summary of how many
hosts are alerting.
* You can select either via the up/down rocker on the phone and then
hitting "Select"
* You can also select by pressing the number that is next to the alert.
* To make it look nicely formatted I coded it so that it automatically
truncates the hostname so as not to line wrap.
* Hobbit2IPPhone will override your phones idlescreen/screensaver, so any
alerts will not be hidden :)
* Due to a limitation in the IPPhone, a maximum of 99 alerts can be
selected. I hope you never have this many!


Here's what you get when you select a host, in this case, the first one:

Right now I have it showing the current status message for the alert, as
well as the alert duration. This can easily be configured to display
anything you can get from hobbitdboard.  I still have to reformat the text a
bit so that it compacts better. * Text that doesn't fit on the screen is
accessible by scrolling down.
* When you hit "Exit" you are automatically brought back to the first menu
(an updated version of it, not a stale copy)
* I also have to truncate the hostname in the upper title "Status for ..."
because the IPPhone is picky and if this is too long, it just bombs and
won't accept the rest of the data at all!


That's it for now...I'm going to continue hacking on this and try to make
it as user-friendly as possible before I release it.

Possible future features:
Hobbit2IPPhone 2.0:
* Acknowledge/Enable/Disable alerts from the IPPhone, including text input
of reason.
* Viewing of some reports or log data, like notification log, alert
history, etc.

Hobbit2IPPhone 3.0:
* Full graphics implementation - It's possible to have a mini hobbit-like
display and interface, and even view trends graphs

FAQ:
Q. What model IPPhones will this work on?
A. I am currently developing using a 7960. I assume any 79xx will work.

Q. What about color?
A. Send me a color IP Phone to dev with and I will see what I can do :P
Q. Wha? You work for Cisco, don't you have color IPPhones and routers
coming out of your ears?
A. I actually work for a nonprofit section of Cisco. We don't have any
spare equipment, and even with my "discount" I can't afford to buy an
IPPhone just to play with, otherwise I would run a VOIP network at home :)

Q. Can you make the message light flash, or the phone chirp when there is
an alert?
A. So far, I don't think so. I have not found anything in the HTTP/XML
protocol that gives me access to those functions. I'd like that feature as
well, and I suspect it is possible, so I will keep looking for a way to do
it.

Q. What software prerequisites are there?
A. Any webserver that can run a Perl CGI script. For Apache, this means
mod_perl, which shouldn't be a problem for most linux distros, Solaris folks
may have to jump through some hoops. The script uses the following perl
modules:
CGI;
LWP::UserAgent;
URI;
Time::localtime;
It may also use Cisco::IPPhone, but thusfar I have written most of my own
simple XML functions and may remove that dependancy. With the exception of
Cisco::IPPhone, all of the modules are common ones that should be
installable via your linux distros package manager. For Solaris folks and
anyone else, you can install them via CPAN ie "perl -MCPAN -e 'install
LWP::UserAgent'

-- 
Josh Luthman
Office: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Direct: XXX-XXX-XXXX
XXXX Wayne St
Suite XXXX
Troy, OH XXXXX

Those who don't understand UNIX are condemned to reinvent it, poorly.
--- Henry Spencer

From: Charles Jones [mailto:user-e86b4aeade4e@xymon.invalid]
Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2008 10:54 PM
To: user-ae9b8668bcde@xymon.invalid
Subject: Re: [hobbit] Hobbit to IPPhone

Just thought I would send another update and a preview. This has been really fun to work on. I think I am going to officially call it "Hobbit2IPPhone". I will probably create a sourceforge project and whatnot for it as well.

Here is some info on Hobbit2IPPhone:
* Hobbit2IPPhone can be run without touching the Call Manger, or having admin access to the CM. All you need is your normal user login and pass to the CM (same one you use to set your speed dials, etc).
* Hobbit2IPPhone requires a web server with CGI access (could easily use your Hobbit server).
* The web server that the CGI is run on, needs bi-directional connectivity to your IPPhone. If you can telnet to port 80 of your phones IP address, you should be good to go. The phone also needs to be able to hit port 80 of your web server.
* The CGI needs connectivity to your Hobbit server, as it uses $BB to query the hobbitdboard to get the host infos. If you are running the CGI on your Hobbit server, this is a non-issue as it will just talk to localhost just like any server-side Hobbit extension script.
* Hobbit2IPPhone can be run as a sever-side Hobbit extension script, or out of a cron job on another server, provided there is connectivity from the CGI host to the IPPhone on port 80.

Here's how my phone looks when everything is OK:

* Currently it is optional to display this message if all is green. I figured some people may only want their screen to change if there is an alert.
* Hitting "update" updates the display. There is also an automatic refresh timer.


Heres the view when some alerts have triggered:

As you can see, you get a nice ordered list, with a summary of how many hosts are alerting.
* You can select either via the up/down rocker on the phone and then hitting "Select"
* You can also select by pressing the number that is next to the alert.
* To make it look nicely formatted I coded it so that it automatically truncates the hostname so as not to line wrap.
* Hobbit2IPPhone will override your phones idlescreen/screensaver, so any alerts will not be hidden :)
* Due to a limitation in the IPPhone, a maximum of 99 alerts can be selected. I hope you never have this many!


Here's what you get when you select a host, in this case, the first one:

Right now I have it showing the current status message for the alert, as well as the alert duration. This can easily be configured to display anything you can get from hobbitdboard.  I still have to reformat the text a bit so that it compacts better. * Text that doesn't fit on the screen is accessible by scrolling down.
* When you hit "Exit" you are automatically brought back to the first menu (an updated version of it, not a stale copy)
* I also have to truncate the hostname in the upper title "Status for ..." because the IPPhone is picky and if this is too long, it just bombs and won't accept the rest of the data at all!


That's it for now...I'm going to continue hacking on this and try to make it as user-friendly as possible before I release it.

Possible future features:
Hobbit2IPPhone 2.0:
* Acknowledge/Enable/Disable alerts from the IPPhone, including text input of reason.
* Viewing of some reports or log data, like notification log, alert history, etc.

Hobbit2IPPhone 3.0:
* Full graphics implementation - It's possible to have a mini hobbit-like display and interface, and even view trends graphs

FAQ:
Q. What model IPPhones will this work on?
A. I am currently developing using a 7960. I assume any 79xx will work.

Q. What about color?
A. Send me a color IP Phone to dev with and I will see what I can do :P
Q. Wha? You work for Cisco, don't you have color IPPhones and routers coming out of your ears?
A. I actually work for a nonprofit section of Cisco. We don't have any spare equipment, and even with my "discount" I can't afford to buy an IPPhone just to play with, otherwise I would run a VOIP network at home :)

Q. Can you make the message light flash, or the phone chirp when there is an alert?
A. So far, I don't think so. I have not found anything in the HTTP/XML protocol that gives me access to those functions. I'd like that feature as well, and I suspect it is possible, so I will keep looking for a way to do it.

Q. What software prerequisites are there?
A. Any webserver that can run a Perl CGI script. For Apache, this means mod_perl, which shouldn't be a problem for most linux distros, Solaris folks may have to jump through some hoops. The script uses the following perl modules:
CGI;
LWP::UserAgent;
URI;
Time::localtime;
It may also use Cisco::IPPhone, but thusfar I have written most of my own simple XML functions and may remove that dependancy. With the exception of Cisco::IPPhone, all of the modules are common ones that should be installable via your linux distros package manager. For Solaris folks and anyone else, you can install them via CPAN ie "perl -MCPAN -e 'install LWP::UserAgent'

 Q. What software prerequisites are there?
 A. Any webserver that can run a Perl CGI script. For Apache, this means
mod_perl, which shouldn't be a problem for most linux distros, Solaris folks
may have to jump through some hoops. The script uses the following perl

modules:
 CGI;
 LWP::UserAgent;
 URI;
 Time::localtime;
 It may also use Cisco::IPPhone, but thusfar I have written most of my own
simple XML functions and may remove that dependancy. With the exception of
Cisco::IPPhone, all of the modules are common ones that should be
installable via your linux distros package manager. For Solaris folks and
anyone else, you can install them via CPAN ie "perl -MCPAN -e 'install
LWP::UserAgent'

-- 
Asif Iqbal
PGP Key: 0xE62693C5 KeyServer: pgp.mit.edu

On 3/11/08 9:54 PM, "Charles Jones" <user-e86b4aeade4e@xymon.invalid> wrote:

Just thought I would send another update and a preview. This has been really
fun to work on. I think I am going to officially call it "Hobbit2IPPhone". I
will probably create a sourceforge project and whatnot for it as well.

Here is some info on Hobbit2IPPhone:
* Hobbit2IPPhone can be run without touching the Call Manger, or having admin
access to the CM. All you need is your normal user login and pass to the CM
(same one you use to set your speed dials, etc).
* Hobbit2IPPhone requires a web server with CGI access (could easily use your
Hobbit server).
* The web server that the CGI is run on, needs bi-directional connectivity to
your IPPhone. If you can telnet to port 80 of your phones IP address, you
should be good to go. The phone also needs to be able to hit port 80 of your
web server.
* The CGI needs connectivity to your Hobbit server, as it uses $BB to query
the hobbitdboard to get the host infos. If you are running the CGI on your
Hobbit server, this is a non-issue as it will just talk to localhost just like
any server-side Hobbit extension script.
* Hobbit2IPPhone can be run as a sever-side Hobbit extension script, or out of
a cron job on another server, provided there is connectivity from the CGI host
to the IPPhone on port 80.

Here's how my phone looks when everything is OK:

* Currently it is optional to display this message if all is green. I figured
some people may only want their screen to change if there is an alert.
* Hitting "update" updates the display. There is also an automatic refresh
timer.


Heres the view when some alerts have triggered:

As you can see, you get a nice ordered list, with a summary of how many hosts
are alerting.
* You can select either via the up/down rocker on the phone and then hitting
"Select"
* You can also select by pressing the number that is next to the alert.
* To make it look nicely formatted I coded it so that it automatically
truncates the hostname so as not to line wrap.
* Hobbit2IPPhone will override your phones idlescreen/screensaver, so any
alerts will not be hidden :)
* Due to a limitation in the IPPhone, a maximum of 99 alerts can be selected.
I hope you never have this many!


Here's what you get when you select a host, in this case, the first one:

Right now I have it showing the current status message for the alert, as well
as the alert duration. This can easily be configured to display anything you
can get from hobbitdboard.  I still have to reformat the text a bit so that it
compacts better. * Text that doesn't fit on the screen is accessible by
scrolling down.
* When you hit "Exit" you are automatically brought back to the first menu (an
updated version of it, not a stale copy)
* I also have to truncate the hostname in the upper title "Status for ..."
because the IPPhone is picky and if this is too long, it just bombs and won't
accept the rest of the data at all!


That's it for now...I'm going to continue hacking on this and try to make it
as user-friendly as possible before I release it.

Possible future features:
Hobbit2IPPhone 2.0:
* Acknowledge/Enable/Disable alerts from the IPPhone, including text input of
reason.
* Viewing of some reports or log data, like notification log, alert history,
etc.

Hobbit2IPPhone 3.0:
* Full graphics implementation - It's possible to have a mini hobbit-like
display and interface, and even view trends graphs

FAQ: 
Q. What model IPPhones will this work on?
A. I am currently developing using a 7960. I assume any 79xx will work.

Q. What about color?
A. Send me a color IP Phone to dev with and I will see what I can do :P
Q. Wha? You work for Cisco, don't you have color IPPhones and routers coming
out of your ears?
A. I actually work for a nonprofit section of Cisco. We don't have any spare
equipment, and even with my "discount" I can't afford to buy an IPPhone just
to play with, otherwise I would run a VOIP network at home :)

Q. Can you make the message light flash, or the phone chirp when there is an
alert?
A. So far, I don't think so. I have not found anything in the HTTP/XML
protocol that gives me access to those functions. I'd like that feature as
well, and I suspect it is possible, so I will keep looking for a way to do it.

Q. What software prerequisites are there?
A. Any webserver that can run a Perl CGI script. For Apache, this means
mod_perl, which shouldn't be a problem for most linux distros, Solaris folks
may have to jump through some hoops. The script uses the following perl
modules:
CGI;
LWP::UserAgent;
URI;
Time::localtime;
It may also use Cisco::IPPhone, but thusfar I have written most of my own
simple XML functions and may remove that dependancy. With the exception of
Cisco::IPPhone, all of the modules are common ones that should be installable
via your linux distros package manager. For Solaris folks and anyone else, you
can install them via CPAN ie "perl -MCPAN -e 'install LWP::UserAgent'

On 3/18/08, Charles Jones <user-e86b4aeade4e@xymon.invalid> wrote:

Just an update for the folks that are waiting to try this out. I've been
pretty busy this week so havn't had as much time as I would like to get
the code into a releasable format. Right now all of the parameters are
hard coded, so I think I will make it use a config file, which will make
it easier both to configure, and for using different configs for
different phones.

An amusing note, I am currently testing a feature where under certain
user-specified conditions, the IP phone can optionally dial a number on
the speakerphone, wait for it to answer, and then play a pre-recorded
sound. I seriously LOL'd the first time my phone called my cell and
looped "Oh No! a few times :)

After laughing for a bit, I realized this could actually be a helpful
feature, if it were triggered in the event that the network was totally
down, or the mail server was down (thus no hobbit alerts can be sent).
It could also be used as a form of escalation, so that if an alert goes
unacked for 60 minutes, it calls up $BOSS and says "Hey your sysadmin is
asleep and the office is on fire!"  :-)

-Charles

-- 
Josh Luthman
Office: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Direct: XXX-XXX-XXXX
XXXX Wayne St
Suite XXXX
Troy, OH XXXXX

Those who don't understand UNIX are condemned to reinvent it, poorly.
--- Henry Spencer

-----Original Message-----
From: Charles Jones [mailto:user-e86b4aeade4e@xymon.invalid]
Sent: Friday, March 21, 2008 3:13 PM
To: user-ae9b8668bcde@xymon.invalid
Subject: [hobbit] Hobbit to IPPhone Beta

I've posted a beta of Hobbit2IPPhone here: http://www.the-ownage.com/?p=620

This is a stable beta, I'm currently using it daily. There is still lots
of work I need to do to make a real portable release, and a "services"
version as well.

Enjoy!

-Charles

Galen Johnson wrote:

Is this the url that the stable version will always live at?
  

=G=

-----Original Message-----
From: Charles Jones [mailto:user-e86b4aeade4e@xymon.invalid]
Sent: Friday, March 21, 2008 3:33 PM
To: user-ae9b8668bcde@xymon.invalid
Subject: Re: [hobbit] Hobbit to IPPhone Beta

Galen Johnson wrote:

Is this the url that the stable version will always live at?

Once I get setup on SourceForge I will post v1.00 and further versions
there (and will probably have links posted on TheShire)

-Charles

-----Original Message-----
From: Galen Johnson [mailto:user-87f955643e3d@xymon.invalid] 
Sent: Friday, March 21, 2008 2:53 PM
To: user-ae9b8668bcde@xymon.invalid
Subject: RE: [hobbit] Hobbit to IPPhone Beta

Way ahead of me, I see :-).

=G=

-----Original Message-----
From: Charles Jones [mailto:user-e86b4aeade4e@xymon.invalid]
Sent: Friday, March 21, 2008 3:33 PM
To: user-ae9b8668bcde@xymon.invalid
Subject: Re: [hobbit] Hobbit to IPPhone Beta

Galen Johnson wrote:

Is this the url that the stable version will always live at?

Once I get setup on SourceForge I will post v1.00 and further versions
there (and will probably have links posted on TheShire)

-Charles

Rafal Roginela wrote:

Hi,

Cool!! We don't run Call manager but we do run the same phones with
FreePBX. Would this still work for me?
  

Charles Jones wrote:

I've posted a beta of Hobbit2IPPhone here: http://www.the-ownage.com/?p=620

This is a stable beta, I'm currently using it daily. There is still lots of work I need to do to make a real portable release, and a "services" version as well.

Enjoy!

-Charles

On 3/21/08, Charles Jones <user-e86b4aeade4e@xymon.invalid> wrote:

Just thought I would mention that I just got it working as a full
service as well, so the release version should work as a Call Manager
service (and hopefully with others like asterisk etc), as well as being
able to run as an unprivileged user who can only authenticate to their
own associated phone.


-Charles

-- 
Josh Luthman
Office: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Direct: XXX-XXX-XXXX
XXXX Wayne St
Suite XXXX
Troy, OH XXXXX

Those who don't understand UNIX are condemned to reinvent it, poorly.
--- Henry Spencer

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: Charles Jones [mailto:user-e86b4aeade4e@xymon.invalid] Gesendet: Freitag, 21. März 2008 22:29
An: user-ae9b8668bcde@xymon.invalid
Betreff: Re: [hobbit] Hobbit to IPPhone Beta

Charles Jones wrote:

I've posted a beta of Hobbit2IPPhone here: http://www.the-ownage.com/?p=620

This is a stable beta, I'm currently using it daily. There is still lots of work I need to do to make a real portable release, and a "services" version as well.

Enjoy!

-Charles

I just realized that I forgot to mention in the "docs" at the top of the program that for this to work properly, you should run it out of cron every minute, ie:

$ crontab -l
* * * * * /var/www/perl/hobbit.cgi

You can run it from command-line manually for testing purposes. Explanation of why it is run this way...You cannot just "push" XML to an IPPhone to create menus and such. However, you can push a bit of XML that instructs the phone to fetch a remote CGI, and that remote CGI can have the XML for menus and such. In other words, the phone will only act on code that IT fetches itself. The only thing you can push to it in one action is the command to execute a remote CGI.

So, when hobbit.cgi is run from command-line (or cron), it does the initial authentication to the IPPhone, and tells it to execute a remote CGI, which happens to be the same hobbit.cgi program, except it passes along some parameters that tell it to do the Hobbit stuff.

I know that is kind of confusing...its basically a cgi and command-line program all in one.  If run from the command-line, it tells the phone to fetch it via http along with parameters that make it act like a web CGI instead.

Anyhow running it out of cron every minute is the best way to keep it running. I am experimenting with using meta-refresh instead, but so far I don't like that, because if you exit the hobbit menu, it stops refreshing and you have to kick it off again manually.

Ahh..the fun of beta software :)

<user-89dde35a4903@xymon.invalid> wrote:

 Hi Charles,

 if I execute "execute_push", then I get this Error:

 <CiscoIPPhoneError Number="6" />

 Authorization seems to be ok.


 -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
 Von: Charles Jones [mailto:user-e86b4aeade4e@xymon.invalid]
 Gesendet: Freitag, 21. März 2008 22:29
 An: user-ae9b8668bcde@xymon.invalid
 Betreff: Re: [hobbit] Hobbit to IPPhone Beta


 Charles Jones wrote:

I've posted a beta of Hobbit2IPPhone here:
http://www.the-ownage.com/?p=620

This is a stable beta, I'm currently using it daily. There is still
lots of work I need to do to make a real portable release, and a
"services" version as well.

Enjoy!

-Charles

 I just realized that I forgot to mention in the "docs" at the top of the
 program that for this to work properly, you should run it out of cron
 every minute, ie:

 $ crontab -l
 * * * * * /var/www/perl/hobbit.cgi

 You can run it from command-line manually for testing purposes.
 Explanation of why it is run this way...You cannot just "push" XML to an
 IPPhone to create menus and such. However, you can push a bit of XML
 that instructs the phone to fetch a remote CGI, and that remote CGI can
 have the XML for menus and such. In other words, the phone will only act
 on code that IT fetches itself. The only thing you can push to it in one
 action is the command to execute a remote CGI.

 So, when hobbit.cgi is run from command-line (or cron), it does the
 initial authentication to the IPPhone, and tells it to execute a remote
 CGI, which happens to be the same hobbit.cgi program, except it passes
 along some parameters that tell it to do the Hobbit stuff.

 I know that is kind of confusing...its basically a cgi and command-line
 program all in one.  If run from the command-line, it tells the phone to
 fetch it via http along with parameters that make it act like a web CGI
 instead.

 Anyhow running it out of cron every minute is the best way to keep it
 running. I am experimenting with using meta-refresh instead, but so far
 I don't like that, because if you exit the hobbit menu, it stops
 refreshing and you have to kick it off again manually.

 Ahh..the fun of beta software :)

 

-- 
Asif Iqbal
PGP Key: 0xE62693C5 KeyServer: pgp.mit.edu

On Wed, Mar 26, 2008 at 5:35 PM, Asif Iqbal <user-6f4b51ac2a40@xymon.invalid> wrote:

On Wed, Mar 26, 2008 at 6:27 AM, Detlef Stracke
<user-89dde35a4903@xymon.invalid> wrote:

 Hi Charles,

 if I execute "execute_push", then I get this Error:

 <CiscoIPPhoneError Number="6" />

I am getting the exact same error too

 Authorization seems to be ok.


 -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
 Von: Charles Jones [mailto:user-e86b4aeade4e@xymon.invalid]
 Gesendet: Freitag, 21. März 2008 22:29
 An: user-ae9b8668bcde@xymon.invalid
 Betreff: Re: [hobbit] Hobbit to IPPhone Beta


 Charles Jones wrote:

I've posted a beta of Hobbit2IPPhone here:
http://www.the-ownage.com/?p=620

This is a stable beta, I'm currently using it daily. There is still
lots of work I need to do to make a real portable release, and a
"services" version as well.

Enjoy!

-Charles

 I just realized that I forgot to mention in the "docs" at the top of
the
 program that for this to work properly, you should run it out of cron
 every minute, ie:

 $ crontab -l
 * * * * * /var/www/perl/hobbit.cgi

 You can run it from command-line manually for testing purposes.
 Explanation of why it is run this way...You cannot just "push" XML to
an
 IPPhone to create menus and such. However, you can push a bit of XML
 that instructs the phone to fetch a remote CGI, and that remote CGI can
 have the XML for menus and such. In other words, the phone will only
act
 on code that IT fetches itself. The only thing you can push to it in
one
 action is the command to execute a remote CGI.

 So, when hobbit.cgi is run from command-line (or cron), it does the
 initial authentication to the IPPhone, and tells it to execute a remote
 CGI, which happens to be the same hobbit.cgi program, except it passes
 along some parameters that tell it to do the Hobbit stuff.

 I know that is kind of confusing...its basically a cgi and command-line
 program all in one.  If run from the command-line, it tells the phone
to
 fetch it via http along with parameters that make it act like a web CGI
 instead.

 Anyhow running it out of cron every minute is the best way to keep it
 running. I am experimenting with using meta-refresh instead, but so far
 I don't like that, because if you exit the hobbit menu, it stops
 refreshing and you have to kick it off again manually.

 Ahh..the fun of beta software :)

 

--
Asif Iqbal
PGP Key: 0xE62693C5 KeyServer: pgp.mit.edu

-- 
Josh Luthman
Office: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Direct: XXX-XXX-XXXX
XXXX Wayne St
Suite XXXX
Troy, OH XXXXX

Those who don't understand UNIX are condemned to reinvent it, poorly.
--- Henry Spencer

Detlef Stracke wrote:

 Hi Charles,

if I execute "execute_push", then I get this Error:

<CiscoIPPhoneError Number="6" />

Authorization seems to be ok. 

our $BB="/home/shire/server/bin/bb";
our $CGI_HOST="74.218.x.x";
our $CGI_URL="http://$CGI_HOST/perl/hobbit.cgi";;
our $refresh_timer=0;
our $alert_sound="ring6.raw";
our $play_alert=1;

Does this configuration look right?  I execute it at the prompt as the cron job would and I don't get anything on my phone =(

 * See if you can telnet from your bb server to port 80 of your phone (in
this case 172.16.0.152)

* Make sure that the apache user can execute the bb command (in this case
/home/shire/server/bin/bb)

* Make sure that the hobbit.cgi is accessible, and that its working properly
(from your browser go to http://74.218.x.x/perl/hobbit.cgi and you should
get some XML code back in your browser window)

* do a tail -f of your apache access_log, and see if you get a hit from the
IPPhone when you run hobbit.cgi, you should see something like this:
10.216.100.54 - - [23/Mar/2008:04:21:36 -0700] "GET
/perl/hobbit.cgi?action=execute_push HTTP/1.1" 200 260 "-"
"Allegro-Software-WebClient/3.12"

On Thu, Mar 27, 2008 at 3:40 PM, Charles Jones <user-e86b4aeade4e@xymon.invalid> wrote:

 Josh Luthman wrote:

our $IPPHONE = "172.16.0.152";
our $USER = '9375522343';
our $PASSWORD = 'joshisthebestpersonintheworld';
our $display_colors="yellow,red";
our $showgreen=1;
our $BBDISPLAY="bbserver.imaginenetworksllc.com";
our $BB="/home/shire/server/bin/bb";
our $CGI_HOST="74.218.x.x";

;
our $refresh_timer=0;
our $alert_sound="ring6.raw";
our $play_alert=1;

Does this configuration look right?  I execute it at the prompt as the
cron job would and I don't get anything on my phone =(

That looks fine to me. Things you should double-check:
* See if you can telnet from your bb server to port 80 of your phone (in
this case 172.16.0.152)
* Make sure that the apache user can execute the bb command (in this case
/home/shire/server/bin/bb)
* Make sure that the hobbit.cgi is accessible, and that its working
properly (from your browser go to http://74.218.x.x/perl/hobbit.cgi and
you should get some XML code back in your browser window)
* do a tail -f of your apache access_log, and see if you get a hit from
the IPPhone when you run hobbit.cgi, you should see something like this:
10.216.100.54 - - [23/Mar/2008:04:21:36 -0700] "GET
/perl/hobbit.cgi?action=execute_push HTTP/1.1" 200 260 "-"
"Allegro-Software-WebClient/3.12"

-Charles

-- 
Josh Luthman
Office: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Direct: XXX-XXX-XXXX
XXXX Wayne St
Suite XXXX
Troy, OH XXXXX

Those who don't understand UNIX are condemned to reinvent it, poorly.
--- Henry Spencer

* Make sure that the apache user can execute the bb command (in this case /home/shire/server/bin/bb)
-rwxrwxrwx 1 hobbuzer hobbituzer 216177 Nov 23 09:56 bb

* Make sure that the hobbit.cgi is accessible, and that its working properly (from your browser go to http://74.218.x.x/perl/hobbit.cgi and you should get some XML code back in your browser window)
Here is probably my problem, all I get is a white page.  

-> /var/www/perl/hobbit.cgi && grep 172\.16\.0\.152 access_log
->
Is empty =(

From what I can understand is that the hobbit.cgi is not telling the phone to access the page.  Is this right?

On Thu, Mar 27, 2008 at 7:46 PM, Charles Jones <user-e86b4aeade4e@xymon.invalid> wrote:

 Josh Luthman wrote:

* See if you can telnet from your bb server to port 80 of your phone (in
this case 172.16.0.152)
-> telnet 172.16.0.152 80
Does this look the same as yours?

Yep


* Make sure that the apache user can execute the bb command (in this case
/home/shire/server/bin/bb)
-rwxrwxrwx 1 hobbuzer hobbituzer 216177 Nov 23 09:56 bb

 More perms than needed, but that definitely should work (next version
won't need bb binary at all).

* Make sure that the hobbit.cgi is accessible, and that its working
properly (from your browser go to http://74.218.x.x/perl/hobbit.cgi and
you should get some XML code back in your browser window)
Here is probably my problem, all I get is a white page.

Sorry, I should have specified the full URL to try as
http://72.218.x.x/perl/hobbit.cgi?action=execute_push
That should give you some XML.  without that action parameter you will
indeed get a blank page.

I have nothing in error_log but I get a (I believe it to be) normal
access_log entry:
172.16.0.153 - - [27/Mar/2008:18:21:25 -0400] "GET /perl/hobbit.cgi
HTTP/1.1" 200 - "-" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:
1.8.1.13) Gecko/20080311 Firefox/2.0.0.13"

Yep, that's normal for hitting it from your browser.


* do a tail -f of your apache access_log, and see if you get a hit from
the IPPhone when you run hobbit.cgi, you should see something like this:
10.216.100.54 - - [23/Mar/2008:04:21:36 -0700] "GET
/perl/hobbit.cgi?action=execute_push HTTP/1.1" 200 260 "-"
"Allegro-Software-WebClient/3.12"
-> /var/www/perl/hobbit.cgi && grep 172\.16\.0\.152 access_log
->
Is empty =(

From what I can understand is that the hobbit.cgi is not telling the phone
to access the page.  Is this right?

Right, so there is either something in the script breaking, a CGI issue,
or possibly you can connect to IPPhone, but some network acl prevents the
IPPhone from connecting to your cgi host. Once you do the test above and get
XML back or not, that will tell us where to look next.

You may want to make a helloworld.cgi that just has:
print "Hello World!\n";

and see if you can hit http://72.218.x.x/perl/helloworld.cgi and see the
message in your browser...this will tell us if your mod_perl is configured
properly.

-Charles

-- 
Josh Luthman
Office: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Direct: XXX-XXX-XXXX
XXXX Wayne St
Suite XXXX
Troy, OH XXXXX

Those who don't understand UNIX are condemned to reinvent it, poorly.
--- Henry Spencer

Now I did a helloworld.cgi that looks like:
#!/usr/bin/perl
print "Hello World!\n";

and I get an HTTP 500 error

[Thu Mar 27 19:57:35 2008] [warn] /perl/hellowworld.cgi did not send an HTTP header

So either my helloworld.cgi is wrong or mod_perl is confused, I think.

On Fri, Mar 28, 2008 at 5:54 AM, Charles Jones <user-e86b4aeade4e@xymon.invalid> wrote:

 Josh Luthman wrote:

I did get XML from that full URL, among other things I learned that
<Prompt>It's not easy being green :-)</Prompt>

Heh, okay that's good as it seems the code is working properly.

Now I did a helloworld.cgi that looks like:
#!/usr/bin/perl
print "Hello World!\n";

and I get an HTTP 500 error
[Thu Mar 27 19:57:35 2008] [error] [client 172.16.0.153] malformed header
from script. Bad header=Hello World!: hellowworld.cgi
[Thu Mar 27 19:57:35 2008] [warn] /perl/hellowworld.cgi did not send an
HTTP header

So either my helloworld.cgi is wrong or mod_perl is confused, I think.

Oh yeah sorry....for it to work properly it should be:

print "Content-type: text/plain\n\n";
print "Hello World!\n";

... But I think your mod_perl is already working, otherwise you wouldn't
have gotten any XML back from your previous test.
Tell me more about this Error Number=6.  Where is it being displayed? I
have gone through all the Cisco docs, and according to them there are only
errors 1,2,3, & 4.  What model phone do you have?

-Charles

-- 
Josh Luthman
Office: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Direct: XXX-XXX-XXXX
XXXX Wayne St
Suite XXXX
Troy, OH XXXXX

Those who don't understand UNIX are condemned to reinvent it, poorly.
--- Henry Spencer

Charles Jones wrote:

Here is some info on Hobbit2IPPhone:
* Hobbit2IPPhone can be run without touching the Call Manger, or having
admin access to the CM. All you need is your normal user login and pass
to the CM (same one you use to set your speed dials, etc).

[SNIP]

Adam Goryachev wrote:

BTW, I don't know about
the cisco phones, but personally the stuff I did do for my polycom I
gave up on it, since it was too difficult to read anyway (screen
size/font size/personal blindness/lack of backlight/contrast/etc...)