Monitoring Integration

Connect your monitoring system (Nagios, Zabbix, Icinga, etc.) to TeamMessage. Receive critical alerts as SMS or voice calls – even when email is down.

Why SMS for Monitoring?

When your servers or network are down, email notifications often fail to reach you. SMS provides an independent channel that works even during outages:

• Independent of your infrastructure – SMS works when your mail server is down
• Immediate delivery – no delay from email queues or spam filters
• Always reachable – alerts arrive even without internet access
• Voice calls for critical alerts – the phone keeps ringing until someone answers

Integration Methods

TeamMessage supports multiple integration options for monitoring systems:

Email Gateway

The simplest method – configure your monitoring system to send email notifications to your TeamMessage address. TeamMessage converts the email to SMS and delivers it to your on-call team.

HTTP API

For tighter integration, use the HTTP API to send alerts directly from your monitoring scripts:

curl -X POST https://teammessage.de/api/v1/sms/send/ \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "team_id": "100042",
    "team_name": "myteam",
    "recipients": ["+4917012345678"],
    "message": "CRITICAL: Web server down"
  }'

For detailed API documentation, see REST API.

Legacy HTTP

For backwards compatibility, TeamMessage also supports the legacy sendtmsg.php interface used by many existing integrations:

curl "https://teammessage.de/mbr/sendtmsg.php?tm=100042&tn=myteam&tsms=+4917012345678&msg=CRITICAL:+Web+server+down"

Popular Monitoring Systems

Nagios / Icinga

Configure a notification command that sends alerts via email or HTTP:

define command {
    command_name    notify-by-sms
    command_line    /usr/bin/curl -s "https://teammessage.de/mbr/sendtmsg.php?tm=$CONTACTPAGER$&tn=alerts&tsms=$CONTACTADDRESS1$&msg=$NOTIFICATIONTYPE$:+$HOSTALIAS$+$SERVICEDESC$+$SERVICESTATE$"
}

Zabbix

Create a media type that sends alerts via TeamMessage:

1. Go to Administration → Media types → Create media type
2. Select 'Email' and set the recipient to your TeamMessage address
3. Or create a 'Script' media type using curl to call the HTTP API

Prometheus / Alertmanager

Configure an email receiver that sends to your TeamMessage address:

receivers:
  - name: 'sms-alerts'
    email_configs:
      - to: 'myteam-alerts@tmsg.de'
        send_resolved: true

Other Systems

Any monitoring system that supports email notifications can integrate with TeamMessage:

• Checkmk
• PRTG
• Datadog
• Grafana
• Uptime Robot
• Custom scripts

Machine and Equipment Monitoring

Beyond IT infrastructure, TeamMessage also handles alerts from industrial machines and equipment. Many modern systems – from manufacturing equipment to building automation – can send notifications via email or SMS when problems occur.

TeamMessage acts as a central hub that receives these alerts and distributes them across multiple channels:

• Forward email alerts to SMS for mobile technicians
• Escalate to voice calls for critical equipment failures
• Distribute to multiple recipients simultaneously
• Route different alerts to different teams

SMS Gateway (sms2team)

Many industrial systems can only send SMS alerts – they have no email capability. With sms2team, these machines send their SMS to the TeamMessage gateway number, and TeamMessage distributes the alert to your team.

This is ideal for:

• GSM modems in remote locations
• Industrial controllers with SMS modules
• Building automation systems
• Legacy equipment without network connectivity

Best Practices

Alert Filtering

Don't send every alert via SMS. Reserve SMS for critical issues that require immediate attention:

• Use severity levels – only send CRITICAL alerts via SMS
• Filter noise – exclude known flapping services or maintenance windows
• Use escalation – start with email, escalate to SMS if unacknowledged

Message Format

Keep monitoring alerts concise and actionable:

On-Call Rotation

Use team lists to manage on-call schedules:

• Create a dedicated alert team list (e.g., myteam-oncall@tmsg.de)
• Add on-call team members to this list
• Update the list when the on-call rotation changes
• Consider using voice calls for critical alerts during night hours

Voice Escalation

For critical alerts that must not be missed, consider voice escalation:

• Create a separate team list configured for voice delivery
• Send critical alerts to this list – recipients receive a phone call
• The phone keeps ringing until answered – perfect for night-time alerts
• If unanswered, TeamMessage automatically retries

Rate Limiting

Protect against alert storms by configuring rate limits:

• Set a maximum number of messages per hour in your team list settings
• This prevents runaway monitoring from exhausting your SMS budget
• Consider aggregating alerts in your monitoring system before sending

Testing Your Setup

Before relying on SMS alerts in production:

1. Send a test alert from your monitoring system
2. Verify the SMS arrives on all on-call phones
3. Test during different times (day/night)
4. Simulate a real outage to verify the complete chain