Q. Can InterMapper send a notification that rings a phone?
A. Yes, InterMapper can do notify by ringing a phone. It's a bit of a twist on the numeric pager notification capability.
Basically, this technique uses an analog modem to call a "pager" but instead, it'll be ringing your cell/home number. You can examine the CallerID to see that it's your InterMapper server calling, and you'll know that something has happened.
This is a perfect tool for a "disaster notification" where you lose all connectivity to the outside world, so you're cut off from e-mail, text messaging gateways, etc.
Here's how to do it. You can follow along in the Dev Guide.
1) You'll need to attach a modem to the InterMapper computer's USB or Serial port (as needed), then connect the modem to an analog phone line. Most any modem will work: the data rates are not an issue.
2) Open the Notifier List in the Server Settings, and Add... a notifier (name it "Disaster Notification") and configure its Notifier Type to be "Alpha-numeric Pager (Dialup)".
3) Click Edit Subscriber List - you'll see a window with two tabs.
4) Click on the Paging Services tab and add a "service". Give it a name ("My Cell Phone") and fill in the phone number - you won't need a password. Configure the Modem port for where you plugged in the modem, and set the Connection and Init String settings (the defaults are usually fine).
5) Click on the Paging Subscribers tab, and add a "subscriber". Enter your name and select the name of the service you just created ("My Cell Phone"). You won't need a Pager ID. Click OK.
6) You have now created a Notifier that will force the modem to dial your number. Click Test Notifier to make sure it's working.
7) The last step: add a device to a map (an HTTP probe on www.google.com is a good choice) and set it up to poll every 1 minute. Add a notification so that if it's down for a couple minutes, then fire off the Disaster Notification.
