SolarWinds Orion provides network, performance, availability and server monitoring with such platforms as Network Performance Monitor (NPM) and Server & Application Monitor (SAM). Both NPM and SAM allow you to trigger and reset alerts along with applying custom properties to your nodes and applications which can later be referenced in your alerting.
Compatibility
This guide was written and tested on Windows Server 2012 R2 with SolarWinds Orion platform 2016.2.100. Earlier versions may or may not have the same functionality, only requirement is ability to add an action for HTTP Get or Post.
Overview
SolarWinds allows you to create custom properties for nodes and customize alerts and actions to send by HTTP Post. In this guide we will simply customize the HTTP Post Payload before posting it to the Aratis API workflow. Once received you will receive a text message or voice call escalations as soon as the event occurs.
Solar Winds has many native system variables. We recommend creating custom properties to help you identify and trigger alerts based on custom values for different teams, departments or device types. Your goal is to ensure going forward you create the custom properties in a fashion that ensures your standards are followed, we suggest you provide a drop down list to select from, and in most cases make the property required when someone is adding a node. Be sure to add descriptions with examples if manual input is needed.
Here is a description of the information that your alert will send to the Aratis API workflow for processing.
- apptype | sms, call or api
- numberToDial1 | first contact
- numberToDial2 | second contact
- numberToDial3 | third contact
- customerName | name to identify notification source
- message | you create your own sentence using plain words and system variables including any custom properties you created (special format rules apply).
Only the above key /value pairs are required for the standard callpath voice api to work and you can enter these into your action manually. Anything else is optional and would simply fall under the ‘message’ key / value.
What you will need to start
Overview
- Sign up any Standard CallPath paid subscription.
- Note: The free API will support SolarWinds.
- Access to your SolarWinds instance
- Must be familiar with creating custom properties, bulk input and modifying alerts
- Familiar with creating Actions, GET/POST and applying schedules if so desired
- Our Advanced Guide goes over all these steps in detail
How to implement the GET/POST payload & body
If you choose to create individual alerts for departments, we recommend you name your Actions accordingly. Orion allows you to view all of your Actions within the Action Manager.
- Add an action | Select Action HTTP GET or POST option
- Name of Action: TextMeAlert – Network Team
- URL: Provided by ARATIS Support
- Body to Post: &apptype=sms&numberToDial1=+18325106014 &numberToDial2=+12880009999 &numberToDial3=+19998887777&customerName=%CompanyName&message=%department+event+%node,+reporting+-+%ip,+%status,+at+%time.
- Note we are using % to represent where the Solarwinds variable input would be inserted
Note: API variables are case sensitive, you cannot rename them or else the workflow will break. Also, SolarWinds does not like breaks or spaces so needs to be all one line. Also within the message sentence you must use ‘+’ sign instead of spaces between words.