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Selecting the correct monitoring solution is among the most important elements when it comes to cultivating a stable and functional website. While there are many various website and server monitoring tools available to the general public, perhaps one of the most influential and vital monitoring element is HTTP monitoring. This form of performance and uptime monitoring ensures that the core of your enterprise is fully operational and functional. When it comes to HTTP monitoring, there are three primary methodologies administrators may adopt to create a comprehensive monitoring environment.

Resource Comparison Monitoring

This particular HTTP monitoring method is ideal for static files, such as text documents and binary files. When compared to all the other monitoring methods, this is the fastest and utilizes the least amount of resources to perform its checks. The reason for this is because the monitoring tool only inquires for a small amount of information from your server and website. This information is typically the date and time of the most recent resource update without actually requiring the resource content. Once this tool receives the website response, the tool compares the latest check with its previous checks to determine if any data differ. While this is a fast way to check the availability and performance of your site, it’s not best for those that utilize dynamic page elements, such as pages with applications or PHP scripts. There are a number of services that offer this type of resource comparison checking, such as Uptime Pal’s website monitoring service, or other services like Paessler or Keynote.

Identical Content Analysis

This HTTP monitoring method is slower than the aforementioned method as it receives and reviews entire pages (with all of its included elements) and compares its results with previous checks. This level of content analysis ensures all content within each individual page continually renders in an exact/identical manner. While essential for specific types of websites, it’s not ideal for pages that utilize hefty binary files or with pages that utilize a high number of dynamic elements/applications that continually change, such as clocks or visitor counts.

Intuitive Content Analysis

The intuitive content analysis monitoring method requires the most resources to implement its monitoring solution because it not only downloads entire pages, but it compares each page through a complex and dynamic process that utilizes more resources than the first two methods. Recorded page comparisons are customized based upon various analysis thresholds and “rules” you customize. This is the ideal monitoring solution for pages that utilize dynamically generated content that may differ between each page load, but the differences don’t mean the page is rendered in error.