Server Monitoring

The nightmare of being a SysAdmin of a Hosted Server (or any server meant to be "highly available").

At MedScape we used Red Alert before they were bought by KeynoteSystems. I think they only tracked Web Server-s at the time, but now they support Email Server-s and others as well.

ArsDigita used to run a free service called Uptime to monitor Web Server-s, but that was discontinued in 2001.

Un-free services can get pricey as you increase the number of servers you're running.

http://www.webmasterdrive.com/resources/Services/Site_Monitoring/

http://www.netmechanic.com/monitor.htm

Some alternatives

• Nagios - software, needs to be run somewhere
• New Relic - used at AEP, though more for reporting than realtime alerts.
• Ping Dom - used at DailyLit.
• http://www.dotcom-monitor.com/web-site-monitoring.asp
• http://monitis.com/
• http://site24x7.com/
• http://host-tracker.com/order-page/
• http://montastic.com/
• Gomez - higher-end
• http://chartbeat.com/
• http://www.alertsite.com/ (from Smart Bear)