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User Guide

Simple 3CX, website and server monitoring — how to register, add monitors, set alarms, publish a status page and manage incidents.

1Introduction

This is a comprehensive guide on how users can effectively utilise the CommsAlert monitoring system. It covers server monitoring, webpage monitoring and 3CX system monitoring, along with public status pages and incident management.

Everything described here happens in the CommsAlert portal. Nothing is installed on the systems you monitor.

2User Registration

You must be logged in to use the system. New users register with an email address, a password and their contact details. The registration link is at the top right of the home page. Complete the required fields and press Register.

Fig 2.1 — The registration form

A verification email is sent to the address you registered with. Open it and click Verify Email Address. The page redirects to your dashboard automatically once verified, and from then on you can log in with your credentials.

Fig 2.2 — The login screen

2.1 Reset your password

  • Click the forgot password link below the login fields.
  • Enter the email address you registered with.
  • A password reset link is emailed to you.
  • Open the email and click the password reset button.
  • Enter your new password on the page that appears.
Fig 2.3 — Requesting a password reset
Fig 2.4 — The reset link email

3Subscription

3.1 Add a subscription

The available plans are listed in the plans section and on the home page. You need an active subscription to use the monitoring features. Your active plan and its expiry date are shown in your profile and on the dashboard.

A free 3 month trial is available with full access to every feature, covering 15 servers, 15 webpages, 15 SSL certificates and 10 3CX systems. The trial can only be used once, and is not available if you have already purchased a paid plan.

Fig 3.1 — Choosing a plan
  • Select a plan to be taken to the order confirmation page.
  • Review the invoice details.
  • Choose a payment gateway.
  • Click the confirm order button to check out.
Fig 3.2 — Order confirmation
Important

Please wait while the transaction is processing. Do not close the page or navigate back after the pay button is pressed.

3.2 Update or upgrade a plan

You can update or upgrade before or after your current plan expires. Selecting the same plan extends its validity. Upgrading to a higher plan removes the current plan and deducts the remaining balance from the new price. Downgrading is not currently available.

3.3 Payment gateways

Payments are currently accepted through PayPal and Stripe.

4Dashboard

The dashboard lets you review monitoring and incident detail at a glance.

Fig 4.1 — The dashboard

4.1 Monitor details

Check the monitoring status for Servers, Webpages and 3CX servers, with counts of how many are currently up and down.

4.2 Incident details

Shows the total incidents for each monitor type with pending and resolved counts, plus a quick link through to the incidents page.

4.3 Subscription details

Displays your active subscription name and expiry date, and shows a message where a purchase is pending, a subscription has expired, or none exists.

5Server Monitor

Server monitoring gives you:

  • Up and down server status
  • Total up and down time percentage
  • Average response time
  • Weekly status
  • A public status page
Fig 5.1 — The server list

A green circle means the server is up; a red circle means it is down. Reach this screen through the Servers link in the monitor section. You can filter the list by address or keyword, and each row links to add, view detail, view the public page, update and delete.

5.1 Add a server

Fig 5.2 — Adding a server

Required fields:

  • Server address (domain or IP)
  • Port number
  • Ping interval (how often the status is checked)
  • Server email (optional)

If the server is down at the moment you add it, a warning appears. Tick the checkbox to proceed anyway, then click Add.

5.2 Update a server

Fig 5.3 — Editing a server

The same fields and the same down-server warning apply as when adding.

5.3 View server details

Fig 5.4 — Server detail
  • Uptime and downtime percentage
  • Current status
  • Average response time
  • Last checked time
  • The last five status check logs
  • A link to the public page

6Webpage Monitor

Webpage monitoring offers the same capabilities as server monitoring: up and down status, uptime percentage, response time, weekly status and public pages.

Fig 6.1 — The webpage list

A green circle means the webpage is up; a red circle means it is down. Reach it through the Webpages link. Filter by name, URL or keyword.

6.1 Add a webpage

Fig 6.2 — Adding a webpage

Required fields:

  • Webpage name
  • URL
  • Expected HTTP response status code
  • Ping interval (how often the status is checked)
  • Webpage email (optional)

6.2 Update a webpage

Fig 6.3 — Editing a webpage

The same fields and warning behaviour apply as when adding.

6.3 View webpage details

Fig 6.4 — Webpage detail

Shows uptime and downtime percentage, current status, average response time, last checked time, the last five logs, and public page access.

73CX Monitoring

3CX monitoring covers:

  • Up and down server status
  • Uptime and downtime percentage
  • 3CX version, licensed simultaneous calls and IP address
  • Disk, memory and CPU usage
  • Trunk and extension up/down status, with logs and alarms
  • A public status page
Fig 7.1 — The 3CX server list

Reach it through the 3CX Servers link. Filter by server name, URL, port or keyword. Each row links to add, view, public page, update and delete.

7.1a Add the CommsAlert IP to your 3CX blacklist

This stops the 3CX system blocking the CommsAlert monitoring software if you enter the wrong password or set the API key up incorrectly.

Note

The IP address to allow is shown in the portal when you add or edit a 3CX server. It is not published here: monitoring servers are a target if their addresses are publicly listed. If you cannot find it, raise a ticket and we will send it to you.

Fig 7.2 — The 3CX IP blacklist
Fig 7.3 — Adding the CommsAlert IP

7.1b Create a 3CX API key

Fig 7.4 — Creating a 3CX API key
Fig 7.5 — The generated key
Important

For security we recommend you create a dedicated 3CX API key used only for the CommsAlert portal. The 3CX API key is a mix of 32 random lowercase, uppercase and numeric characters. Saved passwords and API keys in our portal are all encrypted and hashed.

The key requires System Owner permission on the default or main 3CX system department.

7.2 Add a 3CX server

Fig 7.6 — Adding a 3CX server
Note

Adding a 3CX server also adds it to server monitoring, webpage monitoring and SSL monitoring.

Required fields:

  • 3CX server name
  • 3CX URL
  • 3CX API Client ID
  • 3CX API Key
  • HTTPS port (443 or 5001)
  • Ping interval
  • 3CX down alarm email (optional)
Important

Make sure you have at least one default email address set in the Alert Manager at the top right of the portal.

7.3 Update a 3CX server

Fig 7.7 — Editing a 3CX server
Important

To re-add or re-connect a 3CX server to CommsAlert you need to regenerate the 3CX API key and enter the new one in the portal.

7.4 View 3CX server details

Fig 7.8 — 3CX server detail

Shows uptime and downtime percentage, current status, average response time, last checked time, the last five logs, and public page access.

7.5 Alarm events for 3CX monitoring

Fig 7.9 — The alarm events screen

You can set alarms on:

  • Trunks
  • Extensions
  • Disk usage
  • CPU usage
  • Memory usage
  • Physical memory usage

Set a percentage threshold for each; an alert is sent when the condition is not met.

Fig 7.10 — Trunk alarms

Trunks. Monitor your SIP trunks and set a percentage threshold. An alert is sent when the total trunk up percentage falls below the level you set. With two SIP trunks, setting this to 50% detects a provider trunk failure.

Fig 7.11 — Extension alarms

Extensions. Monitor your 3CX extensions against a percentage threshold. Allow for daytime and night-time fluctuation — a high threshold such as 90% can produce excessive alerts during internet outages.

Fig 7.12 — System status alarms

System status. Monitor disk, CPU, memory and physical memory usage. Alerts are sent when usage meets or exceeds the level you set.

8Public Pages

A public page is a monitoring dashboard designed to publicly show the availability status of the systems you monitor.

Fig 8.1 — The public pages list

Each row shows the monitor type name or address and the public page name. A green tick means active; a red cross means inactive. Filter by monitor name, address, public page name or keyword.

8.1 Add a public page

Fig 8.2 — Adding a public page
  • At least one monitored item must already exist.
  • Select the server, webpage or 3CX server.
  • Give the public page a unique name.
  • Enable the page for it to display.

8.2 Update a public page

Fig 8.3 — Editing a public page

Shows the details from creation, and lets you enable or disable the page.

8.3 Public page details

Fig 8.4 — A public status page
  • Seven day uptime percentage, daily and total
  • All time uptime percentage
  • Average response time
  • Total incident count
  • Incidents and updates (see section 9)
Note

You need to give out the link to each public page in order to show it to the public.

9Incidents

An incident is an unintended event that disturbs normal operation of a server, webpage or 3CX server.

Fig 9.1 — The incidents list

Each row shows the monitor name or address, the incident subject, the description and the status. Filter by monitor name or address and by status (pending or resolved).

9.1 Add an incident

Fig 9.2 — Adding an incident
  • Select the server, webpage or 3CX server.
  • Provide a subject and a detailed description.
  • Status defaults to Pending.

9.2 Update an incident

Fig 9.3 — Editing an incident

Update the subject and description entered at creation.

9.3 Post an incident update

Fig 9.4 — Posting an update
  • Click the follow-up link for the incident.
  • Select a status: Monitoring, Identified, Update or Resolved.
  • Add a description.
  • Selecting Resolved changes the incident status to resolved.

Previous updates are listed on the same page.

10Profile

Fig 10.1 — Your profile

View and update your profile from the profile section, including:

  • Your user details
  • Your address
  • Your login password
  • Your active subscription details

11Support

All support is handled through a support ticket in the portal. General enquiries are by email to [email protected].