README

Allmon README
Updated April 19, 2013

Allmon is a web site for managing one or more app_rpt (aka Allstar) nodes. 
Each managed local node shows a list of connected nodes. The list is 
sorted in reverse order of the most recently received node. So the last
node to talk is always at the top of the list. Any node that is currently
being received will be highlighted by a green background as well as moving
to the top of the list. The node list is updated once a second giving near-
real-time status. 

Nodes may be grouped together when configuring Allmon. Groups enable two
or mode nodes to be displayed on the same page. This can be handy if you
use devices with smaller screens or you want to see a couple of your nodes
at the same time. Don't try to display more than a few per group as performance
will suffer.

Logged in users can perform connect and disconnects. Users are maintained
with the Apache htpasswd utility. There is only one login level, admin.

Allmon will also monitor VOTER clients. Each VOTER instance displays a list
attached Radio Thin Client Modules (RTCM). The RSSI for each RTCM is displayed
in bar graph style along with a color to indicate the currently voted RTCM.

Install instructions
 - If you installed your node(s) from the Allstar web portal and never
   touched the command line, you have a fairly steep learning curve ahead
   of you. On the other hand, if you know Apache and Linux then installation 
   should be a piece of cake.
 - Apache and PHP need to be installed on your server. The Apache password
   utility htpasswd must be available if you want to install an administrator.
 - The web server can be local to your node or on a stand alone server. If you
   are concerned about performance of your node use a stand alone server. If
   not local the Asterisk Manager port 5038 (or another of your choosing) must
   be open towards your web server.
 - Put these files somewhere in your web servers document tree. That can be 
   the docroot or any subdir you like. 
 - Copy allmon.ini.txt to allmon.ini and then edit it for your node(s) 
   information. The user ID and passwords you enter here are the one you will
   use in manager.conf on your node server(s).
 - Optionally copy groups.ini.txt to groups.ini and edit. Any nodes listed in
   groups must exist in allmon.ini (to know host name, password, etc) but do
   not have to be on the menu (menu=no).
 - Optionally copy voter.ini.txt to voter.ini and edit with your voter info.
 - Create your .htpasswd file for the admin user(s). In your web server 
   directory, on the command line do: htpasswd -c .htpasswd username
 - Make sure you have the latest Allstar source from svn
 - Edit /etc/asterisk/manager.conf
 - Mark astdb.php executable and add to cron. Run just once a day please. ie
   01 03 * * * cd /var/www/html/allmon; ./astdb.php
 - If you have private nodes rename the privatenodes.sample.txt to 
   privatenodes.txt and edit it with your information. 
   The line with NODE|CALL|INFO|LOCATION can be removed. It's there to show
   the format only. 

Allstar Database
 - If you don't have the Allstar "database" (really just a text file) the
   Node Information column will only show the IP address of the remote nodes.
 - The included database (astdb.txt) is likely old by the time you install.
   It should be periodically updated with the astdb.php script. Please 
   set your cron job to a reasonable time, like once a day and manually 
   run when you need the occasional adhoc update.
   
Known Bugs
 - If you have only a group and no individual nodes displayed (menu=yes) 
   index.php will not redirect to the group.  
   
Updates
  - 2012/12/06 Private nodes may be appended to astdb.txt 
  - 2012/12/10 Fixed groups where more than one group is used
  - 2012/12/17 Menu items may be added to allmon.ini
  - 2013/04/19 Changes to Voter Menu, see github for details.
  - 2013/06/17 Implemented long poling. Small tweeks to speed up manager login