Tag Archive: Server Monitoring

Advantages of Real-Time Website Monitoring

November 9, 2014

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Have you spent months, or possibly years, establishing your online presence? Does your business heavily rely on the stability and performance of your website? If so, then you must take active steps to protect your reputation and site performance by implementing a thorough website monitoring solution. While there are literally hundreds of various services that tend to monitoring and management of your website, some of these solutions are better than others. Within this article, the advantages and benefits of real-time website monitoring are discussed. Afterward, you’ll have a higher understanding of how this level of monitoring truly benefits the overall functionality of your website.

Effective Server-Level Monitoring and Management

If you were to think of your online enterprise as a human, the server is the heart of the entire operation. While there are many other organs that are essential to the health of your network, without a fully functioning heart, none of the other components can operate as they should. Therefore, one of the primary advantages of real-time monitoring involves being able to effectively monitor the performance and health of your Web server. Because of the importance of your server, and its susceptibility to various errors, a real-time website monitoring suite offers continuous access into the inner-workings of this lifeline.

Real-Time Server Monitoring Advantages and Benefits

Because the monitoring service you need is as unique as your enterprise, it’s impossible to create a “one-size-fits-all” list of advantages and benefits. That being noted, there are several universal benefits all business owners and website administrators are able to benefit from. Some of these advantages include:

  • Enhanced Network Performance – In order to have a website that’s fully functional and optimized for pure performance, you must create an environment that stable and designed for functionality. Real-time server monitoring solutions assist in creating these enhanced environments by monitoring specific transactions and code-level interactions.
  • Enhanced Database Availability – A website that’s unable to effectively communicate with browsers and servers are destined for a lackluster performance. Real-time server monitoring solutions actively monitor database inquiries, transactions and events to ensure each string is deployed in an efficient manner.

Immediate Glitch Detection – The moment and error occurs, the performance and functionality of your server (and subsequently, your website) is diminished. One of the most effective ways to eliminate this from happening is by implementing a real-time server monitoring solution. These solutions are able to detect errors the moment they happen, and then alert the appropriate administrator. Not only does this reduce the affect a glitch has on end-user experiences, but it reduces the amount of time administrators must sacrifice to locate and correct root errors. This could potentially save your IT department hours.

Advantages of Real-Time Website Monitoring, Effective Monitoring and Management, How to Boost Online Business Revenue, Selecting Correct Monitoring Solution

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Common Causes of Website Server Downtime

November 9, 2014

 

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In terms of the overall functionality and performance of your website, one of the most important factors you must consider is website server downtime. In the most basic definitions, server downtime is defined as a server that’s incapable of satisfying requests because communication between browsers and the server is disrupted. There are many reasons why this downtime may occur, such as issues with your hosting provider or critical errors within your database. In order to gain a better understanding of how server downtime may occur, the following are the most common causes of these detrimental issues.

DDOS Attacks (Distributed Denial of Service Attacks)

One of the most common ailments that face large enterprises are malicious attacks sent out by Web users known as Distributed Denial of Service Attacks, or DDOS. While this may not be the cause of your server being inaccessible, if you feature an eCommerce site or if you’re connected to a larger organization, this may be the root cause of your issues. Because of how traffic is monitored within larger enterprises, a rush of false traffic is difficult to detect and deter. Because of the number of server requests sent during this form of attack, it makes it almost impossible for real users to gain enough bandwidth to access and render your website.

Domain Name Server Complications

Domain Name Server, or DNS, complications are the root cause of many websites that experience regular downtime. Each website features a unique IP address; however, these unique addresses are not visible to Web users. The reason for this is because of the way modern browsers and Internet protocols are set up. Sometimes, when a new domain name is the established, there can be confusion regarding the connection between a browser and a DNS. Generally, this error self-corrects within a matter of a few days; however, there are other times when this error cannot self-correct. If you’ve established a new website and you’ve noticed an inordinary amount of downtime, then it may be caused by confusion pertaining to your DNS requests.

Firewall Issues

Another common cause for a website to experience downtime involves your firewall. When activated, firewalls can prevent malicious content from affecting your network, but it may also prevent your website from rendering as it should. While this is an effective level of security, it can actually barricade users from accessing your website. The only way to fix this issue is to ensure your firewall is properly configured based upon the infrastructure and layout of your website. The speed and performance of your server also makes a difference in the overall web performance you’re going to get too (read more about that).

Shared Hosting Plans

Often times, many confuse shared hosting plans with Cloud Shared Hosting. It’s important to realize that these two infrastructure configurations are completely different from each other. Shared hosting plans are defined as a single hosting server that shares a specific amount of space with various other websites. Therefore, sites hosted in this type of network don’t have their own private server. One of the biggest issues with this type of hosting option is if any of the sites that are being hosted experiences a huge uptick in traffic, it can make all the other sites sluggish. In the most severe cases, this situation can make an entire website completely offline (which may be one reason to take the time to monitor your site). Another significant danger of shared hosting plans is if one site is attacked by malicious code that makes it to the server-level. If this were to occur, not only would the original site be negatively affected, but so are all the other sites – including your own. This is a big issue with DDOS Attacks.

Advantages of Real-Time Website Monitoring, Common Causes of Website Server Downtime, Selecting Correct Monitoring Solution

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HTTP Monitoring Methods

November 9, 2014

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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.

Advantages of Real-Time Website Monitoring, HTTP Monitoring Methods, Selecting Correct Monitoring Solution

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