[Server 2008] Virtual Server Software Monitoring

What server monitoring tools are there for my Virtual Server?

We currently provide a monitoring service known as Nagios to all Virtual Server customers. Login credentials will be provided to you once your account has been activated. To manage and view your alerts you would go to the administration site and log in.


Please note that as this is a shared service not all features will be available to you.

 

 

Nagios Alerts

By default there are several alerts that are come with the Virtual Server plans. The alerts differ depending on whether your on a Windows or Linux plan. To view your alerts in Nagios you would click on the SERVICE DETAILS link on the left-hand menu.


If you have a WIN-100 plan you would see the following alerts.

Image:Nagios-VS-Windows-Alerts.jpg

If you have a LINUX-80 Plan you would see these alerts.

Image:Nagios-VS-Linux-Alerts.jpg

At the moment it is not possible to set up custom alerts. This is something we are investigating and could be available in the future.

 

Configuring Alerts

The basic alerts in Nagios have been setup for you. The only configuration that needs to be done is to edit where the notification is sent to. To edit the notification follow the instructions listed below.

 

  • Press the USER MANAGEMENT button or scroll to the bottom of the left-hand menu and click on the USER MANAGEMENT link.
  • From here you can change the email address that receives the alerts. Once you've changed the address press the UPDATE button.


After making the change all alerts will then be sent to the address you listed.

 

 

Additional Nagios Users

You can add additional users that can also receive and manage alerts. You can create additional administrators or regular users. Administrators can create and manage users as well as receiving alerts. Generic users cannot create or manage other users but they can receive and manage alerts.


To add a user follow the instructions listed below.

 

  • Press the USER MANAGEMENT button or scroll to the bottom of the left-hand menu and click on the USER MANAGEMENT link.
  • Next under the OTHER OPTIONS section click on the MANAGE USRS link.
  • Now click ADD NEW USER.
  • Complete the form and choose the access level. When you are done press the ADD USER button.

 

 

Notifications

Notifications for alerts are sent by email to the address listed for each user. Once created a user will receive all alerts to the email address listed for them unless the NOTIFICATION PERIOD for the user is set to NEVER. Each user has a NOTIFICATION PERIOD setting that can be set to the following statuses.

 

  • 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
  • Work Hours (9AM - 5PM, Mon - Fri)
  • Non-work Hours (12AM - 9AM and Sat, Sun)
  • Never

 

Disabling Alerts

You may decide that you want to disable an alert while you are working on something. This will prevent numerous notifications from being sent while the work is being done. To disable an alert you would do the following.

 

  • Next view your alerts by clicking on the SERVICE DETAILS link on the left-hand menu.
  • The next step is to click on the link for the alert under the SERVICE section that you want to stop. If you wanted to stop the HTTP alert you would click on the HTTP link.

Image:Nagios-VS-Windows-Alerts.jpg

  • The details of the alert will be displayed. To disable the check you would click on the DISABLE ACTIVE CHECKS OF THIS SERVICE link under the SERVICE COMMANDS section.

Image:Nagios-Disable-Alert.jpg

  • The last step is to press the COMMIT button.

Image:Nagios-Disable-Alert2.jpg

 

 

Enabling Alerts

If you have a disabled alert that needs to be enabled you would do the following.

  • Next view your alerts by clicking on the SERVICE DETAILS link on the left-hand menu.
  • The next step is to click on the link for the alert under the SERVICE section that you want to enable. In this example the HTTP service is disabled and needs to be enabled.

Image:Nagios-Enable-Alert1.jpg

  • To enable the check you would click on the ENABLE ACTIVE CHECKS OF THIS SERVICE link under the SERVICE COMMANDS section.

Image:Nagios-Enable-Alert2.jpg

  • The last step is to press the COMMIT button.

Image:Nagios-Enable-Alert3.jpg

 

 

Trends and Reporting

In addition to real-time service reporting, Nagios also has the ability to display trend reports based on previous information. When viewing the status of a host or service, you may notice icons such as this: http://beta.myhosting.com/wiki/images/thumb/c/cb/Nagios-trend-icon.png/20px-Nagios-trend-icon.png

By clicking on these icons you can review historical data for the status of the host or service.

http://beta.myhosting.com/wiki/images/thumb/0/04/Nagios-trend-reports.png/400px-Nagios-trend-reports.png


For further reporting options with additional customization you can refer to the
Reporting section of the Nagios Monitoring tool in the left menu.

http://beta.myhosting.com/wiki/images/thumb/6/67/Nagios-reports.png/125px-Nagios-reports.png

 

Nagios Community

For further information about Nagios, there is a community web site with news, articles and a detailed wiki at community.nagios.org.

 

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