3.4. Paths
Paths are used by the SysOrb Network Monitoring System to alert users of problems with the nodes being monitored. In order for SysOrb to send an alert to a specific user, that user must have at least one Path configured.
A path has the following properties:
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Alert method: specifies how the user should be alerted: by e-mail, with an SMS message or through a numerical pager.
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Send to: a string holding the destination of the alert. The interpretation depends on the alert method. For the 'HTML e-mail', 'SMS via. e-mail gateway' and 'Plaintext e-mail' methods this field should contain the e-mail addresses to send to. For 'Num. Pager' and 'Direct SMS' it should contain the number of the pager/phone to send to. For 'Custom' method the content of this field is made available to the script through an environment variable.
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Suspend interval: defines the minimum time in second, that must pass between two alerts to this path regarding the same node/check. You should choose a minimum interval that will avoid spamming of e-mail accounts, cellular phones and pagers.
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Suspend: The possible values are 'Per Node' or 'Per Check'. If you choose 'Per Node', then the suspend interval must pass between any two alerts concerning the same node, even though they concern different checks on that node. If you choose 'Per Check', then the suspend interval will only have effect on alerts about the exact same check.
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Initial delay: When this value is set to anything other than zero, SysOrb will delay alerts and warnings using this path. Only when the check has been in warning or alert state for more than the specified period, will the first alert or warning be sent out.
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Initial delay for ? notification: When this value is set to anything other than zero, SysOrb will delay notifications about checks for which no result is available using this path. Only when the check result has been unknown for more than the specified period will the first notification be sent.
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Repeat every: If a check stays in the same (warning or alert) state for this period with no improvement, SysOrb will repeat the alert notification. If you choose 'No repetition' the SysOrb will only send alert notifications when a check changes state (for better or worse.)
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Use this path for alerts: When this is selected this path can be used to notify an administrator about red alerts, you almost always want to enable this setting.
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Use this path for warnings: When this is selected this path can be used to notify an administrator about yellow warnings, you may want to disable this setting for e.g. your SMS path, in order to have only the most severe events reported that way.
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Use this path for ? notification: When this is selected this path can be used to notify an administrator about checks in an unknown state.
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Use this path for ok notification: When this is selected this path can be used to notify an administrator about checks returning to the green OK state.
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Use this path for forecasts: When this is selected this path can be used to send notifications based on statistical calculation, indications that something may go wrong in the near future.
If Alert method is Html e-mail, Plaintext e-mail or SMS the Destination field must be the e-mail address of a mailbox or a SMS gateway. If Alert method is Direct-SMS, the Destination is the cellphone number to receive the SMS-message. If Alert method is Numerical pager the field not only contains the number of the pager but also information on how long the delay is from a connection is made to the SysOrb can begin sending numbers to the pager. Consult Section 3.4.5 below for further information on how to accurately specify the Destination field.
Please note: In order to use Numerical pager a modem must be attached to the SysOrb Server, and the server must be configured to use it. In order to use Direct-SMS a GSM-modem must be attached to the server.
3.4.1. Adding paths to a user
To add a path to a user, do the following:
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Select from the navigation buttons at the left.
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Go to the domain where the user you wish to edit paths for is located.
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Select the option for the user.
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Press the button just below the list of paths.
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Select the desired Alert method.
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Specify the Destination of alerts sent to this path.
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Define the Min. delay. The default value of 1800 should be appropriate in most situations and means that a specific check can only send alert messages every 1800 sec (= 30 minutes). This is to prevent the user from being flooded with alert messages.
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Choose which types of alerts the path can be used to send.
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Press the button to accept the new path or the button to cancel.
3.4.2. Testing paths
To test that alerts can be sent to a specified path, do the following:
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Select from the navigation buttons at the left.
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Go to the domain where the user you wish to test paths for is located.
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Select the option for the user.
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Select the option for the path to be tested.
A test message will now have been sent to the path and you should verify that it is received at the desired destination.
Please note: The time before the message arrives varies a lot. Especially with SMS-messages via. email-relays, the delivery time depends on your cellular network operator.
3.4.3. Editing paths
To edit a path, do the following:
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Select from the navigation buttons at the left.
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Go to the domain where the user you wish to edit paths for is located.
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Select the option for the user.
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Select the option for the path to be changed.
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Make the needed changes.
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Press the button to accept the changes or the button to cancel.
3.4.4. Deleting paths
To delete a path, do the following:
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Select from the navigation buttons at the left.
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Go to the domain where the user you wish to delete paths for is located.
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Select the option for the user.
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Select the option for the path you wish to delete.
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You will be asked to confirm the deletion of the path. Press the button to delete the path and to keep the path.
3.4.5. Using Numerical Pagers
When configuring a path to notify a numerical pager, the string entered in the Destination field will be sent directly to a modem connected to the SysOrb Server. This means that you can use modem commands to bypass outgoing switchboards, wait if a message is being played by the machine answering the call and the like.
Some of the most common commands to use are:
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w: tells the modem to wait for a dial tone before proceeding with the rest of the string. This is useful if you need to press a specific series of numbers to get an outside line.
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, (comma): tells the modem to wait for two seconds before proceeding with the rest of the string. This is useful if the machine relaying the message to the numerical pager plays a voice message, eg. "Please dial your telephone number followed by a # sign after the beep". Several commas in a row will create a longer delay, two seconds per comma.
If, for example, you want the SysOrb to send the message
42 to a numerical pager with the
telephone number 12345678 and know
that you have to wait approximately 7 seconds before you can send
the actual message you would use the destination (assuming you
terminate the message with a #
sign):
12345678,,,,42#
Note: When using a numerical pager as a path you should first check how to dial the pager's number and the length of any needed pause between dialing the number and being allowed to leave a message. Also, you should check how the receiving machine expects the message to be ended.