This Callcentric system failure is a good lesson for everyone who depends on voip for 911 and alarm systems. As if we need this, once again we have another example that Voip service is not as dependable as POTS, or even cellular service. When was the last time anyone ever hear that your cell service was down?
If 911 or alarm systems are important to you, it seems that a fallback plan is necessary. A fallback strategy involving another voip account, gsm, or POTS line needs to be considered.
An early warning system would also be interesting, as I can see that a few people were surprised to read on this forum that CC was down and didn't realize the implications of 911 availability.
Early warning system can be anything in house if you a have a server running 24/7 or cloud based solutions. An interesting one since everyone here has a gmail account is to consider using a little know feature of Google called "Google Alerts Monitor". (
http://www.google.com/alerts ) In the Search query we can type a
1) search criteria something like: Callcentric down OR Callcentric Network down OR OBiTALK down OR obitalk service down OR voipms down ("OR" adds another search term, you get the idea)
2) Result type: Everything
3) How often: As it happens
4) How many: Only the best results
5) Your email:
yourname@gmail.com (An email will be sent to your attention alerting you of a potential problem)In house solutions can be found by searching for Network Monitoring Tools. Some of these in house are overkill, however I have seen a few light weight free solutions that sit in your tray.
10 Free Server & Network Monitoring Tools that Kick Ass
http://sixrevisions.com/tools/10-free-server-network-monitoring-tools-that-kick-ass/I found this free app which can send emails, when a server is down. The basic idea is to ping any or all of the following services offered by your OBi unit, the sip provider, OBiTALK server, and receive an email when there is a problem. If anyone finds another app which can notify via email or SMS please let me know.
Serio IT Service View, a free network monitoring tool
http://www.seriosoft.com/service-view/main.htmhttp://www.seriosoft.com/service-view/feature-matrix.htmCloud based test. This site can be scripted to deliver emails.
http://www.upordown.net/callcentric.com.html