Still Using local SMS Modems for Notifications
When monitoring tools like Zabbix fail to transmit alerts due to internet or infrastructure issues, critical incidents can be missed. For on-prem installations you want alerting to work independently from network, internet connection and infrastructure issues. An SMS modem with a SIM card might be a solution. However, it comes with some downsides:
1. Website Monitoring
Configure an external alerting tool to check a URL (e.g. the Zabbix URL) at regular intervals. If the URL is unreachable or errors occur, an alert is triggered. This monitors your tool’s availability and internet connectivity.
2. Heartbeat Monitor
Set up periodic HTTP requests (GET/POST) to a cloud-based alerting service. If requests stop arriving within a defined interval, the alerting tool raises an alert. You can use a cron job and curl or an actual check in Zabbix. Useful for verifying consistent internet or tool uptime.
3. Round-Trip Check
Combine website monitoring and heartbeat checks. A request (external or internal) triggers a backend response and as a result the heartbeat is sent to the alerting service. This round-trip helps to check additional end-to-end system functionality.
These options ensure you’re alerted even if Zabbix cannot connect to the internet. The above is extracted from an article about heartbeat and website check functionalities of the mobile alerting service SIGN4.
No doubt, there are still use cases where SMS text messages are very useful. If you still want to use alerting services you might want to check the SMS-to-email gateways of the carriers or service providers and then do something like this: Zabbix -> SMS -> SMS-to-Email -> Alerting Service -> Real alerting including different channels, escalation, duty planning, etc.
- Use of extra hardware.
- Can fail without recognition, especially if rarely used, e.g. running out of pre-paid credits, weak network coverage, etc.
- SMS text is not reliable alerting, e.g. just a beep, no escalation, just one channel, no acknowledgement or team collaboration, etc.
1. Website Monitoring
Configure an external alerting tool to check a URL (e.g. the Zabbix URL) at regular intervals. If the URL is unreachable or errors occur, an alert is triggered. This monitors your tool’s availability and internet connectivity.
2. Heartbeat Monitor
Set up periodic HTTP requests (GET/POST) to a cloud-based alerting service. If requests stop arriving within a defined interval, the alerting tool raises an alert. You can use a cron job and curl or an actual check in Zabbix. Useful for verifying consistent internet or tool uptime.
3. Round-Trip Check
Combine website monitoring and heartbeat checks. A request (external or internal) triggers a backend response and as a result the heartbeat is sent to the alerting service. This round-trip helps to check additional end-to-end system functionality.
These options ensure you’re alerted even if Zabbix cannot connect to the internet. The above is extracted from an article about heartbeat and website check functionalities of the mobile alerting service SIGN4.
No doubt, there are still use cases where SMS text messages are very useful. If you still want to use alerting services you might want to check the SMS-to-email gateways of the carriers or service providers and then do something like this: Zabbix -> SMS -> SMS-to-Email -> Alerting Service -> Real alerting including different channels, escalation, duty planning, etc.