Smartphone UPS Notifications

[packinpennies]

Hi all,

I am running the UPS service with email alerts currently set up to come from my Gmail. However, these emails usually get stuck in Spam until I check for them later and thus do not get notified when a UPS alert comes through.

Has anyone been successful in implementing any remote monitoring of a UPS connected to FreeNAS using a smartphone app that can send push notifications upon power loss?

Bonus points if I could also poll for other UPS data such as power consumption, etc.

Thanks.

 

[m0nkey_]

Take a look at Pushover, they have a e-mail gateway to send push notifications.

 

[danb35]

Has anyone been successful in implementing any remote monitoring of a UPS connected to FreeNAS using a smartphone app that can send push notifications upon power loss?

Trivially--your phone has an email address associated with its phone number (on mine, it's 10digitphonenumber@txt.att.net). Set up the email UPS notifications to go to that number (along with your gmail if desired, separate address with semicolons).

 

[DrKK]

STRONGLY RECOMMEND PUSHOVER as M0nkey says.

*STRONGLY*

 

[danb35]

When you can get text notifications to your phone for free, what does the $5 for Pushover get you?

 

[bollar]

When you can get text notifications to your phone for free, what does the $5 for Pushover get you?

I find the following useful:

- Message notification priority, so urgent alerts can be set to interrupt you in a meeting, or at night. Can even repeat until acknowledged.
- Message retry -- confirms messages are successfully pushed to the remote device.
- App to show all recent notifications and the source.

I'd rather FreeNAS be able to use the Pushover API, which would get more reliable and faster message delivery, but this is a good start for me.

 

[danb35]

Hmmm, yes, those do sound like they could be useful. I still like "completely free with nothing else required", but it probably isn't quite as convenient.

 

[m0nkey_]

It's funny as a people that most of us will not buy a $5 app, but we can go ahead and buy a $5 lattes happily. In both cases if you don't like either, you can request a refund. :)

 

[scrappy]

Thanks to this post I decided to purchase Pushover today. $5 is not much and I've already found some other uses for it.

 

[DrKK]

Excellent.

You can set different email proxies with different alert levels. For example, I have a drkk_emergency@mydomain, which forward to the "emergency" level pushover. And so on, for various levels. So that, if, for example, the UPS backup kicks on, I'll get the emergency alert. If someone is knocking on my ports, I'll get the emergency alert. I something routine happens, I'll get a regular alert. etc.

Also, works like a boss with znc (and the push module), for irc, in the #freenas channel ;)

 

[millst]

Another +1 for Pushover. I use it for all my home automation alerts.

Too bad completely free often means "free" (bad software, tons of ads, invades your privacy, sells all your info, etc.).

-tm

 

[danb35]

Too bad completely free often means "free" (bad software, tons of ads, invades your privacy, sells all your info, etc.).

...except that in this case it means none of those things. I'm convinced that Pushover adds some value. I'm not convinced that the value it adds, to me, outweighs its (modest) cost, but that's an individual decision. But there's a no-cost solution (unless you pay for SMS messages) that's already in place, requires no additional software, involves no adds, sells no info, and invades no privacy.

 

[millst]

Well, that's why I said often, not always. If you don't think your cell service provider is invading your privacy and selling your info, I've got a bridge to sell you. I'm on VZW and they are probably the worst e.g. supercookie.

-tm

 

[packinpennies]

Looks like I'll be setting up Pushover. Thanks for the help!

 

[cobrakiller58]

Trivially--your phone has an email address associated with its phone number (on mine, it's 10digitphonenumber@txt.att.net). Set up the email UPS notifications to go to that number (along with your gmail if desired, separate address with semicolons).

I just noticed my cellular provide offers this service, I had no idea.....

 

[DrKK]

I just noticed my cellular provide offers this service, I had no idea.....

They all offer it. You can even picture text in some cases from the WAN email side.

As this is also a vector for spam, sometimes they restrict number/size of such emails, etc.