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 <Phil.Crooker at orix.com.au>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 907-465-8591 John.Thurston at alaska.gov Enterprise Technology Services Department of Administration State of Alaska
Xymon mailing list Xymon at xymon.com http://lists.xymon.com/mailman/listinfo/xymon
Xymon mailing list Xymon at xymon.com http://lists.xymon.com/mailman/listinfo/xymon