Depending on your service provider, you may be able to initiate either one-way or two-way text pages over the Internet. Both processes are described below.
7.7.1 One-Way Internet-Based Paging
One of the one-way Internet protocols supported by TelAlert is SNPP, Simple Network Paging Protocol. Using SNPP, TelAlert can pass a message (along with information identifying the intended destination) to an application the service provider maintains on a machine accessible over the Internet. This application then takes the information and sends the page.
1. To send pages via SNPP, first create an
Internet
entry under [Port
]:Active
means that the port is active and available to be used by TelAlert.Model
andTypes
are keywords that form the association between this [Port
] definition and the [Configurations
] definition(s) in which these values match.2. Next, set up a [
Configurations
] definition that uses the [Port
] definition ofModel=Internet
. Use the information you find for your service provider in the appropriate pagers file. On Windows systems, these files will be in%TELALERTCFG%\Pagers
; on UNIX systems they will be in${TELALERTCFG:-/usr/telalert}/Pagers
. If you cannot find the pagerconfiguration you need in this directory and are having trouble creating one, please contact our Technical Support staff. We may have already written the configuration you want.
The [
Configurations
] definition will look something like this:[Configurations]
Type
andModel
determine which port this [Configurations
] definition uses; both the values assigned here must match the values set in the [Port
] definition for that port to be used. Since this is an Internet transmission for one-way paging, it will useProtocol=SNPP. MaxMessagesPerCall
is a limit determined by the service provider; the number you enter here must not exceed the provider’s limit.Host
is the Internet name or IP address of the machine running the paging application (you may need to contact your service provider to learn the correct value).Service
is the Internet port or service name used by SNPP; the default, as defined by this standard, is444.
TextPagerWait
is the amount of time TelAlert should wait for a response from the paging provider before it considers the connection to be non-functioning and the send to have failed.3. Finally, set up a destination that uses this [
Configurations
] definition. You will need to include some information on the particular pager you are defining.
[Destinations]
...
{RachelOneWayTextPager}
Configuration=PagemartSNPPTextPager PIN=4567890
....
You can send a page by issuing a command that invokes the destination. For example:
telalertc -i RachelOneWayTextPager -m "this is a test"
You can also invoke the [
Configurations
] definition and pass destination-related information (in this case, thePIN
number for the pager) on the command line. For example:telalertc -c PagemartSNPPTextPager -pin 4567890 -m "this is a test"
7.7.2 Two-Way Internet-Based Paging
The setup process for two-way Internet paging is similar to most others. It involves creating a [
Port
] definition, a [Configurations
] definition that is associated with this port via itsType
value, and a destination that specifies this [
Configurations
] definition. It is similar to dial-up two-way paging in particular in that it requires you to enable responses. It differs from all other paging setups in that it uses its own protocol: TMEX, the Telocator Message Entry protocol. This difference will show up in a number of small ways as you proceed with the setup.TelAlert users will find many of the definitions they need already in their
telalert.ini
file.[
Port
] DefinitionThe [
Configurations
] definition you are going to select or create will use theInternet
port represented by the following definition. If this definition is not already in place, it may mean that your license does not support an Internet port. In this case, you should contact your MIR3 sales representative.[Port]
...
{Internet}
Active=True Model=Internet
Types=Email,TextPager,InteractiveTextPager
This [
Port
] definition is associated with particular [Configurations
] definitions by means of theModel
andTypes
lines.Active=True
means that the port is available for use by TelAlert.[
Configurations
] DefinitionNext, choose and set up a [
Configurations
] definition. Use the information you find for your service provider in the appropriate pagers file. On Windows systems, these files are located in%TELALERTCFG%\Pagers
; on UNIX systems they are located in${TELALERTCFG:-/usr/ telalert}/Pagers
. Your configuration will look something like this:[Configurations]
The values assigned to
Type
andModel
tie this [Configurations
] definition to one of your [Port
] definitions (in this case,{Internet}
). The communication protocol isTMEX
.MaxMessagesPerCall
is a limit determined by your service provider; the number you enter here must not exceed this limit.ServerPIN
andAccess
will usually be needed,; contact your service provider if you do not have the correct values for these.Host
is the Internet name or IP address of the machine running the paging application (you may need to contact your service provider to learn the correct value).Service
is the Internet port or service name used by TMEX;the default, as defined by this standard, is
2502
.The last five settings in this entry, beginning with
DialBackup
, are optional. Taken together, they permit pages to be sent via dial-up if TelAlert encounters (in this case) five connect failures in the course of attempting to send a page using this [Configurations
] definition.In the current example, as soon as TelAlert encounters the fifth connection error in attempting to send a page, it dials the number you provide here and, still using the TMEX protocol, transmits the message to the service provider.
Parity=None
is the correct value relating to all dial-up TMEX paging, as is theSpeed
setting presented here.Connecting to BSWD via the Internet
Bell South’s two-way paging service allows you to initiate pages via the Internet. To take advantage of this capability, TelAlert has been modified to support the associated protocol. Thus, in the relevant [Configurations] definition, Protocol should be set to XSOCKET. This [Configurations] definition also requires ServerPIN (DAS account Administrator) and Access(password) values.
[Destinations]
DefinitionUnder [
Destinations
], create an entry for the two-way pager to which you want to send pages:[Destinations]
...
{DavidTwoWayInternetPage}
Configuration=SkyTelInetTwoWayTextPager PIN=3456789
[
Response
] DefinitionTelAlert comes with basic, built-in response functionality that you can take advantage of when sending to two-way destinations. This can be enhanced using an invoked [
Response
] definition.For more information, refer to the discussion of responses in the preceding section on regular (i.e., non-Internet-based) two-way paging.
Connecting to Sprint via the Internet
Sprint no longer allows pre-formatted responses via SNPP. By setting the [Configurations]
keyword AddResponseToMessage to true, TelAlert will add the Response list to the messages that are being sent. The User of the device must reply with the full text of the response, no “menu” will be available. The response could be in the form of: ${SendID}
yes, where ${SendID} is the SendID of the message, if the ${SendID} is 7612, the User would reply with 7612 yes.
The following parameter settings are different than the standard settings:
ProtocolMask=0x0011
AddResponseToMessage=True
An example [Configurations] paragraph for Sprint SNPP follows.
[Configuruations]
{SprintSNPPTwoWay}
Comment=Sprint SNPP service for Two-Way messaging Active=True
Polling
Polling is the means by which TelAlert checks for responses to two-way pages it has sent. When it polls, TelAlert uses the same [
Configurations
] definition that it used to send the original page.If you send a two-way page via the Internet, TelAlert attempts to retrieve a response by the same medium. If
DialBackup
is specified and TelAlert encounters the specified number of connect errors in attempting to poll, it will use theDialBackup
information to poll by dial-up. For more detailed information, refer to the discussion of polling in the preceding section on regular (i.e., non-Internet-based) two-way polling.[
Notifications
] DefinitionAs discussed under “Setting Up Two-Way Paging,” response functionality can be significantly expanded using TelAlert’s “notification” feature, which allows you to pass customized responses to a log file or another application. Thus, you can enable a response that will update a trouble ticket in the controlling application with which you have integrated TelAlert; likewise, you can enable a response that, by triggering a script, will carry out a diagnostic or administrative operation.
Because the notification feature has many uses that are not specifically related to paging, it is covered elsewhere. For detailed instructions, refer to Chapter 15: Processing Events.