In order to provide a high level of service it is important for web hosting providers to monitor their web hosting servers so that they are notified of any issues that could potentially cause or are causing downtime. Similarly, as a VPS server or a dedicated server hosting customer you may also find it beneficial to use a server monitoring service to make sure that your own server is available and that you are provided with a web hosting experience that meets the minimum uptime level guaranteed by your web hosting provider. Server monitoring services are best purchased from third-party companies that aren’t linked to your own web hosting provider in any way in order to avoid any bias in the results provided; however, many web hosting providers do offer server monitoring as a free extra with many of their server hosting services.
What are the purposes of server monitoring?
The monitoring of your VPS server or dedicated server will be of benefit to you if you are paying a lot for your server hosting service since it allows you to ensure that you are receiving what you are paying for in terms of uptime; other purposes for using server monitoring services could include:
- Your own hosting customers – if you are using a VPS server or a dedicated server to offer your own web hosting services then you will appreciate the importance of being able to offer your own hosting customers a high level of uptime – the best way to achieve this is to use server monitoring services so that you are able to make use of an accurate measure on the reliability of your server
- Downtime notices – a server monitoring service will notify you using various methods if your server happens to be unreachable for one reason or another – this means that if the downtime is being caused by a factor that is within your control you will then be able to take the necessary action as soon as possible to help rectify the problem and put your server back online
- Service Level Agreements – if you have a high end dedicated server with a web hosting provider then the likelihood is that you will have an SLA in place with your web hosting provider regarding the level of service and uptime that you can come to expect from your dedicated server – in most cases you are entitled to a certain level of compensation if your web hosting provider fails to meet the uptime level guaranteed, although this will depend on the terms of the contract.
Server monitoring is highly recommended the more you are paying for your web hosting service since you want to be sure that you are getting good value for money from your VPS server or dedicated server.
What are the main factors for me to consider in a server monitoring service?
As is the case when choosing a web hosting package, you want to be sure that you consider all the correct factors in a server monitoring service so that you are able to choose a service that will monitor your server effectively and can provide you with the results that you require. The factors that you should consider in a server monitoring service include:
- Gap between tests – if you wish to be informed of downtime quicker then it may be an idea for you to choose a server monitoring service that can provide you with small gaps between test points – most server monitoring service providers are able to offer time gaps ranging from 1 minute to 15 minutes with longer gaps being the cheapest to use
- Testing methods – you should also consider the methods that a server monitoring provider uses to test servers to see whether they are online or not – most providers will ping a port specified by yourself at the interval that you have chosen to use, although third-party applications can provide a more detailed analysis of your server by continually sending results back to a master node.
By considering the above factors you should be able to find a server monitoring service that will be able to monitor your VPS server or dedicated server in the way that you want it to at a price that suits you.
In conclusion, server monitoring services are a useful extra if you have a VPS server or dedicated server. By purchasing a server monitoring service from a third-party provider you will be able to ensure that you receive unbiased results detailing the uptime of your server hosting service.