Enabling SMS/Text alerts in Orion
Orion provides numerous preconfigured alert actions, but in today’s on-the-move world, we want to get text alerts on our mobile phones.
Phone alerts and Pager alerts can be very efficient for getting the real-time updates and alerts, sent as SMS/text messages while you are on the go. Orion can easily trigger alerts using 3rd party phone alert applications such as the popular NotePager Pro and PageGate products.
You can download an evaluation version of NotePager Pro from this link. When you install NotePager Pro on the Orion server, it automatically gets added to the Dial Paging or SMS service option listed under Alert Actions in the Orion Advanced Alerts Tool.
Now, it is time to configure the settings in NotePager Pro. This video tutorial link is a great source for answering questions on setup and shows step-by-step directions on configuring NotePager with different protocols. NotePage also has a dedicated page for “SolarWinds Orion Network Performance Monitor Integration”.
The following diagram shows how an alert is triggered from Orion to mobile phones or pagers via applications like NotePager Pro.
In the diagram above, when an Alert is triggered from Orion, it tries to establish a connection with NotePager application and forward the alert information to it. Next, NotePager goes on to establish a connection with the carrier via one of the following protocols listed below using a Modem or the Internet.
· SMTP
· SNPP
· TAP
· WCTP
The carrier looks up for the SMTP address or SNPP address or WCTP address and validates if it is in the supported list, then directs the actual message to the carrier’s core network before delivering it to phones or pagers as alerts.
Out-of-band SMS alerting is also supported by NotePager Pro, allowing the administrator to employ out-of-band alerting via a modem. Even when the ISP connection or mail server goes down, out-of-band alerts still work. SNPP, SMTP, and WCTP protocols work using two-way communication, sending alerts from Orion to a mobile device and vice versa. However, to get this working, you need to get a PollerID/SenderID(usually the email address) from the carrier, either directly or from their website. Only after entering the PollerID/SenderID will the end user be able to retrieve the alert on their mobile phone and also use the two-way feature.
Here is a list of example PollerID/SenderIDs which can be used while configuring the recipient.
- AT&T – cellnumber@txt.att.net
- Verizon – cellnumber@vtext.com
- T-Mobile – cellnumber@tmomail.net
- Sprint PCS - cellnumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com
- Virgin Mobile – cellnumber@vmobl.com
- US Cellular – cellnumber@email.uscc.net
- Nextel - cellnumber@messaging.nextel.com
- Boost - cellnumber@myboostmobile.com
- Alltel – cellnumber@message.alltel.com
NotePager Pro runs as a desktop Win32 application requiring the administrator to be logged into the console at all times to receive alerts. Another application from NotePage called PageGate can run as a Windows service and offers a more powerful tool for communication.
Click this link to download the evaluation version of PageGate. After installing it on the Orion Server, along with the PageGate Admin and PageGate client, you should see the PageGate action in the list of Alert Actions in the Orion Advanced Alerts tool.
After successful installation, go to Start->PageGate->PageGate Admin and select Help. The help provides details on configuring every aspect of the PageGate tool. This application provides much more than will be utilized by Orion Alerts. Once the recipients and the carrier is setup on PageGate Admin tool, this alert will automatically add an action to the list on the Orion Advanced Alerts Tool. It should look something like the screenshot below.
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