SiteScope User's Guide

Port Monitor

The SiteScope Port Monitor verifies that a connection can be made to a network port and measures the length of time it takes to make the connection. Optionally, it can look for a string of text to be returned or send a string of text once the connection is made.

Each time the Port Monitor runs, it returns a status message and writes them in the monitoring log file. It also writes the total time it takes to receive a response from the remote service.

Usage Guidelines

Why should I use this monitor?

The Port Monitor is useful for monitoring network applications that none of the other SiteScope monitors watch. You will be notified immediately if SiteScope is unable to connect to the monitored port.

What should I monitor?

Most people use the Port Monitor to watch those network applications that SiteScope doesn't specifically watch, such as Gopher and IRC services, or custom network applications. It's an easy way to keep an eye on those applications and restart them if necessary.

How should I schedule my monitors?

Scheduling Port Monitors is pretty much up to you. This is a very lightweight monitor, so it won't hurt to schedule it frequently, but every 10 minutes is probably a good baseline to use.

Status

The reading is the current value of the monitor. The possible values for the Port Monitor are:

OK
unknown host name
unable to reach server
unable to connect to server
timed out reading
match error

The status is logged as either good or error. An error status is returned if the current value of the monitor is anything other than OK.

Completing the Port Monitor Form

To display the Port Monitor Form, either click the Edit link for an existing Port Monitor listed in a monitor table, or click the add a Monitor link on a group's detail page and choose the "New Port Monitor" link.

Complete the items on the Port Monitor form as follows. When the required items are complete, click the Add Monitor button.

Host Name

Enter the IP address or the name of the host that you want to monitor. For example, you could enter either 206.168.191.21 or demo.thiscompany.com.

Port Number

Choose the port number to connect to from the list of services, or enter a port number in the text box. Additional entries can be added to list by editing the master.config file in the groups directory).

Update every

Enter how frequently the monitor should try to reach the host. The drop-down list to the right of the text box lets you specify time increments of seconds, minutes, hours, or days. You must specify a time increment of at least 15 seconds.

Title (Optional)

Enter a name for this monitor. This name appears in the Name text box on the monitor table when you open the group's detail page. If you don't enter a name, a default name will be created.

Advanced Options

The advanced options give you the ability to customize error and warning thresholds, or complete optional settings.

Disable

Check this box to temporarily disable this monitor and any associated alerts. To enable the monitor again, clear the box.

Send String

This advanced option gives you the ability to customize the string sent after a connection is made.

Match String

This advanced option gives you the ability to check for a string of text after a connection is made. If the text is not received, the monitor will display "no match on content". The search is case sensitive.

Timeout

The number of seconds that the Port monitor should wait for the connection to the port, and for any sending and receiving to complete. Once this time period passes, the Port monitor will log an error and report an error status.

Verify Error

Check this box if you want SiteScope to automatically run this monitor again if it detects an error. When an error is detected, the monitor will immediately be scheduled to run again once.

Note: In order to change the run frequency of this monitor when an error is detected, use the Update every (on errors) option below.

Note: The status returned by the Verify Error run of the monitor will replace the status of the originally scheduled run that detected an error. This may cause the loss of important performance data if the data from the verify run is different than the initial error status.

Warning: Use of this option across many monitor instances may result in significant monitoring delays in the case that multiple monitors are rescheduled to verify errors at the same time.

Update Every (on error)

This options allows you to set a new monitoring interval for monitors that have registered an error condition. For example, you may want SiteScope to monitor this item every 10 minutes normally, but as often as every 2 minutes if an error has been detected. Note that this increased scheduling will also affect the number of alerts generated by this monitor.

Schedule (Optional)

By default, SiteScope's monitors are enabled every day of the week. You may, however, schedule your monitors to run only on certain days or on a fixed schedule. Choose the Edit schedule link to create or edit a monitor schedule. For information about creating schedules, read these instructions.

Monitor Description (Optional)

Enter additional information about this monitor. The Monitor Description can include HTML tags such as the <BR> <HR>, and <B> tags to control display format and style. The description will appear on the Monitor Detail page.

Report Description (Optional)

Enter a description for this monitor that will make it easier to understand what this monitor does. The description will appear on Management Reports and on the info list for a monitor.

Depends On (Optional)

To make the running of this monitor dependent on the status of another monitor or monitor group, use the drop-down list to select the monitor or group on which this monitor is dependent. Select None to remove any dependency.

Depends Condition (Optional)

If you choose to make the running of this monitor dependent on the status of another monitor, choose the status condition that the other monitor or monitor group should have in order for the current monitor to run normally. The current monitor will be run normally as long as the monitor or group on which it depends reports the condition selected in this option.

List Order (Optional)

By default, new monitors are listed last on the Monitor Detail page. You may use this drop-down list to choose a different placement for this monitor.

Error if

This advanced option allows you to customize the conditions under which the Port Monitor generates an error status message.

You can change this to generate an error based on the length of the round trip times. Enter a comparison value and use the comparison operator list to specify an error threshold such as: >= (greater than or equal to), != (not equal to), or < (less than).

Warning if

This advanced option allows you to customize the conditions under which the Port Monitor generates a warning status message. By default, the Port monitor does not have a warning threshold, but you can set this option to define one.

Enter a comparison value and use the comparison operator list to specify an error threshold such as: >= (greater than or equal to), != (not equal to), or < (less than).

Good if

SiteScope maintains a good status if the reading returned is 200, but you can change this to be based upon round-trip time.