One of the problems that I have been facing recently is that of how to monitor server availability for my blog. There has been an increase in downtime for my blog, and I wanted to find a way to measure how much downtime I have experienced over the last little while.
The good news is that there are many options that are available that can help monitor server availability for my blog to keep track of the downtime of the web server, some require payment, while others are free. I have recently started using a service that is free, and has helped to determine how many outages I have experienced over the last little while.
Monitor Server Availability with Pingdom
I have used some online tools provided by Pingdom in the past, but haven’t actually looked at their monitoring service. It wasn’t until I read about their service on another blog that I decided to check them out.
Pingdom offers three different server monitoring packages: free, basic ($9.95/month), and business ($39.95/month). The main difference between the three is the number of checks and SMS alerts.
The free package offers one check (one domain) monitoring and 20 SMS alerts. The basic package provides you with 5 checks and 20 SMS alerts, while the business package gives you 30 checks and 200 SMS alerts. Since I am only network monitoring this blog, the free package meets my present needs.
Monitor Server Availability with Graphs
After I signed up, Pingdom begins to monitor my blog – no software was required. It pings your blog from various locations around the world and reports on the response time, hourly averages, and the data that is returned by the server during an outage. Pingdom even provides an API so you can connect to your data from your own blog or website.
Pingdom - Uptime Graph
(Click to enlarge)
The data is organized into various reports for easy analysis. There are also graphs that provide a graphical display of the data. You can view the history of the server monitors, as well as specific periods of time.
Pingdom - Response Time Graph
It is great to be able to see the response times for my blog, and which locations in the world have the higher times. This data, in combination with their full page test, can really help you to optimize your website or blog.
I recommend you look into using a montoring service, such as Pingdom to help you monitor server availability.
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on November 3, 2010 at 8:08 am
You techies amaze me with what you come up with. The area I live in at the moment doesn’t have problems with server downtime. I will let the techies who help me know of this so thanks for sharing.
Patricia Perth Australia
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on November 3, 2010 at 8:17 am
We are always trying to come up with ways to automate our techie processes. Looks like you have done the same, but having others help you out. That’s automation!
on November 17, 2010 at 1:09 pm
I am using this service for long time and I like their SMS alert service. They will sending your a SMS when server is down and another when it’s up again ! Interesting ?
Android recently posted…Samsung Drops Galaxy Tab Prices In the UK But Still More Than AT&T
on November 18, 2010 at 8:24 am
I’m not a big SMS user, but I like knowing when my blog is down, and how long it was down.
on June 30, 2011 at 2:39 am
This is really amazing to see how monitoring services are helping the businesses in getting top ranking and error free processes. Monitor Scout, a complete web monitoring solution provider has also launched its services across the globe which will not only give prior notifications but will also help in maintaining server/website health regularly. http://www.monitorscout.com
please follow this link to sign up for free trial.
on June 30, 2011 at 10:29 am
I wasn’t aware of Monitor Scout, and I may look at signing up for the free trial.
on September 20, 2011 at 11:41 pm
This is so amazing. This server monitoring is amazing, it cheaper and it real time.