User Guide:Monitoring Network Services
From Netmon
A Netmon system can monitor the availability and network performance of virtually any TCP-IP connected device or service which is capable of responding to network requests.
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How Netmon Monitors Devices and Services
If you simply want to determine if a host is alive or not, Netmon will use an ICMP PING request to establish the status of the target device. If a PING fails, Netmon triggers any alerts which have been attached to this tracker.
On the other hand, if you are monitoring a specific service, such as port 80 on a web server, or port 25 on an email server, Netmon uses TCP CONNECT method to determine if a service successfully responds to a basic 3-way handshake request. If the handshake fails, Netmon triggers the appropriate email and pager alerts which have been defined for the service monitor.
Introducing the Trackers Console
The Trackers console is where most of Netmon’s availability tools are located. To open the Trackers console, click the Trackers button in the top toolbar.
Creating a New PING or TCP Service Tracker
To monitor a new device or service, take the following steps:
1. Click the Trackers button in the top toolbar, and then click the TCP Service Trackers or Ping Trackers button.
2. Click the Add New Tracker button at the top of the Trackers Explorer. This opens the Tracker Manager panel.
3. Transport Protocol: In the Tracker Manager panel, choose the type of monitor: TCP or ICMP. TCP is used to monitor network services, and ICMP is used to monitor devices.
4. IP Address: Enter the IP address of the host to be monitored.
5. Friendly Name: Enter a friendly name / label for the host to be monitored.
6. Port: If you have specified a TCP service to be monitored, enter the Port number here. A valid port number is any number between 1 an 65,535.
7. Interval: The monitoring interval, in seconds. Monitoring too frequently can generate unnecessary traffic, so try to balance polling intervals with your response needs. A monitoring interval of 60 seconds often a good choice for non-critical devices, and an interval of 20 seconds is optimal for mission-critical devices.
8. Timeout: The timeout is the amount of time Netmon will wait for an unresponsive service before queuing an alert, in minutes.
9. Logging Threshold: Choose the type of historical data Netmon. By default, Netmon will only log entries to the database when it detects that the device or service is DOWN. You can, however, choose various levels of logging verbosity, from Disable Logging all the way to Log Everything [1].
10. Once you have entered all of the required information, click the Add Tracker button to add the service or device to Netmon's monitoring database.
11. Netmon begins monitoring your new device or service within about 10 seconds after adding it.
- ↑ If you want to be able to subsequently create a Latency analysis report for a particular device or service, choose the "Log Everything" option.
Attaching Alerts to a PING or TCP Service Tracker
You can attach any number of email and pager alerts to a service or device tracker. To configure alerts for a particular tracker, click the Alerts link in the appropriate row in the Trackers Explorer. This opens the Alerts management panel on the right side of the screen.
When monitoring services, you have the option of being notified when the service goes down entirely, or when network latency for that service crosses a certain threshold (such as 200ms). This feature can often identify failing services before a complete stoppage has occurred.
To add an email alert, take the following steps:
1. Choose a user account from the drop-down list in the Email Alert column.
2. Choose a value for Max Latency. You can choose Service Down or a latency value from 100ms to 1500ms.
3. To attach a Conditional to this alert, select the appropriate Conditional from the available drop-down list. If no Conditionals are configured, 'NONE' is the only option. Complete the action by clicking the Add Alert button. Click here for more information on Conditionals.
Removing an Existing Alert
To remove an alert which has already been set, click the Delete link next to the associated alert.
Modifying a PING or TCP Service Tracker
To modify the tracking parameters for a device or service which has already been set up, take the following steps:
1. Locate the device or service you wish to modify in the Trackers Explorer.
2. Click the Edit link which appears in the same row as the selected service. This opens the Tracker Manager window, and displays all of the configurable information for this particular service. Some items cannot be changed, such as the IP address or the Protocol / Port information.
3. Once you have made your desired changes, click the Update Tracker button.
Removing a PING or TCP Service Tracker
To remove an existing service monitor, take the following actions:
1. Locate the service you wish to remove in the Trackers Explorer.
2. Click the Del link which appears in the same row as the tracker you wish to remove.
3. A confirmation window appears, asking if you're sure you want to remove this service from the database. If you're sure, click OK, otherwise click the Cancel button.
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