DiALERT

DiALERT checks a schedule and changes a PBX ring group accordingly. It was created for RPI Ambulance for use by their duty supervisors.

Setup

Setup of DiALERT is more in-depth than most other of TiEMS's offerings.

Docker setup

First, configure Docker to run DiALERT. We use Docker Compose, so our docker-compose.yml looks something like:

version '3'

services:
  dialert:
    build: https://github.com/techinems/dialert.git#main
    container_name: dialert
    restart: always
    volumes:
      - /docker/dialert/sups.json:/usr/src/app/sups.json:ro
    env_file: dialert/env.env

Note that this isn't complete as we host a bunch of other things on this server, but the above config should work for a standalone DiALERT instance.

Environment variables

Next, you need to set up the environment variables. This can be done right in the Docker Compose file or in an external file, like how we do it. You need the following, which are all included in .env.example.

Variable	Example	Comments
FREEPBX_API_URL	https://pbx.example.com/admin/api/api/
FREEPBX_TOKEN_URL	https://pbx.example.com/admin/api/api/token
FREEPBX_AUTH_URL	https://pbx.example.com/admin/api/api/authorize
FREEPBX_GQL_URL	https://pbx.example.com/admin/api/api/gql
FREEPBX_CLIENT_ID	superlongclientidhere	Get from FreePBX API
FREEPBX_CLIENT_SECRET	superlongclientsecrethere	Get from FreePBX API
FREEPBX_SCOPE	gql:ringgroups gql:framework	These two scopes are required
DS_RINGGROUP	1101
BACKUP_DS_RINGGROUP	1102
DS_CALLER_ID	<6175551234>	Should be a DID you control in FreePBX/Asterisk
NIGHT_CRON_STRING	0 18 * * *
DAY_CRON_STRING	0 6 * * *
DS_URL	https://ambulanceschedule.example.com/dialert.php
DS_URL_TOKEN	securescheduletokenhere
SUPERVISOR_INFO_FILE	sups.json	This filepath is relative to the Docker container, not the host machine
TZ	America/New_York

Most of the above variables need to be set with values configured on or obtained from other servers (e.g. FreePBX, the scheduling server, etc.). Unless you make modifications to this application, DS_URL, in particular, must be configured to provide the user ID of a nighttime duty supervisor. Further, the application is currently written to query that URL with ?token=TOKENHERE where TOKENHERE is set in DS_URL_TOKEN.

With all that set, you should be able to start the app using something like docker compose up -d dialert. This may vary depending on your configuration.

Credits

Name

DiALERT's name is quadruply clever:

1. "di-" is a prefix meaning "two," "double," or similar. DiALERT runs twice per day, integrates two servers (the scheduling and the PBX servers), and manages two ring groups (the normal and backup lists).
2. "Dial" stems from the use of telephone technology.
3. "Alert" comes from the ring groups' usage: to alert supervisors that someone needs them.
4. "ERT" is an abbreviation we use to mean "emergency response telephony."

I don't know—I thought of all that laying in bed one night. Do with it what you will.

Developers

• Dan Bruce

License

DiALERT is provided under the MIT License.

Contact

For any question, comments, or concerns, email tech@techinems.org, create an issue, or open up a pull request.