We are looking to automate testing of OOB modem connections when our NMS detects a site connection failure. Rather than have a live body call a modem number (or even a fax) to see if it answers (to determine if there is a potential site power issue), we'd like to be able to utilize some "Modem as a service" to automate this. I've exhausted my Google skills trying to see if anything like this exists. Anyone have any experience?
We are looking to automate testing of OOB modem connections when our
NMS detects a site connection failure. Rather than have a live body
call a modem number (or even a fax) to see if it answers (to
determine if there is a potential site power issue), we'd like to be
able to utilize some "Modem as a service" to automate this. I've
exhausted my Google skills trying to see if anything like this
exists. Anyone have any experience?
Typically that sort of thing would be implemented as an event handler
driven by the nms
Internet outdial used to be a thing, but probably these days that means
dropping your own modem someplace.
It looks like WarVOX has been rolled into Metasploit…. I guess using SIP trunking could accomplish the same thing – we don’t need to actually connect to the OOB modem on the other side, we just need a NO ANSWER/ANSWER kind of response. I will investigate SIP software to accomplish this, unless someone has quick pointers?
Forget modems - to probe via some kind of analog connection, just get a single instrument wireless telephone with answering capability. For a bonus, put some kind of identifier in the answering message: No power > no answer; power > answer.
I must be thick - how does that solve the problem? The OP wants to know
if a modem at a remote site will answer the phone. Maybe I misunderstood
the problem.
The solution I think we're going to go with is leveraging our existing SIP infrastructure and write scripts to dial out to the OOB Modem / Fax machines at the sites that are disconnected from the network. If they both don’t answer, we'll assume a power outage. If one or the other does answer, it'll queue up for human interaction.
I wrote a script in Perl in about 15 minutes to do this. God, I'm not sure if I'm stuck thinking inside or outside the box anymore!
The equipment you have needs to be able to send the alert, which means
SMS or email-capable equipment needs to stay powered up long enough to
do that.
There might be a product idea here, if no-one's done it already:
Something like a RaspBerry Pi, running off a lithium battery, with a
recharge circuit and something to detect a power outage. Add a 3G/4G
card to send an SMS alert, put it all in a box, plug it into power. Only
configuration needed is setting the SMS target(s)... If you made it
network addressable (on 3G/4G) it could send emails as well.
While you're at it, add IP/serial links to console servers and tunnel in.
I've got this as the only OOB option for sites with no copper. Low
bandwidth 3G plan.
There are already devices that are doing this like PowerTxT, it may be based off another company I may add but we are using them for OOB monitoring of power for remote sites.
They have just enough power in the capacitors to send a text message to a master number or gateway for an NMS.
I'll join the confusion--I thought the OP wanted to test for power availability at the distant site by seeing if a modem there would answer the phone there. That it HAD to be a modem in that case makes no sense to me.
I'm of the line now and have been for a while and maybe y'all don't do things the way we did--we always had an answering machine (two or three in some places*) that always answered on the first ring and gave some kind of status report that was updated hourly on on event). If it did not answer, the power was out.
*at one site we had one that gave general status--what's up, what's down, what's generally interesting (outages scheduled soon, where we are in the daily batch cycle). We had another listing southern region outputs ready for pick-up and one listing northern region stuff.
Presumably, the modems are already there (setup to answer) as a means to access the OOB console servers in the case of a network outage. "Does it answer" is just a simple way to tell "is the power out, and everything's dead, or is there a network problem that's caused us to lose visibility?"
At a client wiring closet, the super-conscientious rack maintainer one day
decided that it was good practice to replace consumer-standard batteries
during his quarterly cleaning rounds.
Answering machines have replaceable batteries. Modems do not.
