Home Monitors Support Guide: Adding a New Monitor

Support Guide: Adding a New Monitor

Last updated on Nov 23, 2024

Monitors are essential for tracking uptime, response times, and other critical metrics of your services. This guide walks you through the steps to create a new monitor and explains the various alert types and their configurations.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Navigate to the Monitors Page

  • Go to the Monitors page, which displays all existing monitors.

2. Click on "Add Monitor"

  • Click the "New" or "Add Monitor" button to open the monitor configuration modal.

3. Fill Out the Add Monitor Form

  • Complete the fields in the modal:

    • Monitor Name: Choose a descriptive name to identify the monitor (e.g., "Website Home Page").

    • Monitor Type: Select the type of monitor:

      • Website: Tracks the uptime and response times of a web page or API endpoint.

      • Server: Monitors server-specific metrics like CPU usage, memory, and more.

      • Blacklist: Checks if your domain or IP is listed on email blacklists.

    • URL or Address: Enter the URL, IP address, or domain name to monitor.

    • Check Interval: Set how frequently the monitor will perform checks (e.g., every minute, 5 minutes).

    • Alert Group: Assign the monitor to an alert group to define who will be notified if an issue occurs.

4. Configure Alerts (Optional)

  • Alerts notify you when specific conditions are met. Configure them as needed:

    • Thresholds: Define the condition (e.g., Response Time > 200ms, Uptime < 99%).

    • Duration: Set the number of minutes the condition must persist before triggering an alert.

    • Recipients: Notifications are sent to all users or integrations associated with the assigned alert group.

5. Save the Monitor

  • Once all fields are filled, click "Add" or "Save" to finalize the monitor setup. It will now appear in the Monitors table.

Special Features of Monitor Types

  1. Website Monitors

    • Tracks the uptime and response times of web pages or APIs.

    • Provides detailed response time graphs and historical uptime data.

    • Ideal for ensuring the availability of customer-facing websites or APIs.

  2. SSL Monitors

    • Monitors if an SSL is about to expire

    • Alerts you if a change is detected.

  3. Blacklist Monitors

    • Checks if your domain or IP address appears on email blacklists.

    • Does not include response time graphs, as results are binary (listed or not listed).

    • Useful for maintaining email deliverability and avoiding spam filters.

Configuring Alerts

Alerts are optional but highly recommended for critical monitors. Here are examples of common alert configurations:

  • Response Time Alert (for Website Monitors):

    • Trigger an alert if the response time exceeds a set threshold (e.g., 200ms) for 5 consecutive minutes.

  • Uptime Alert (for Website Monitors):

    • Trigger an alert if uptime drops below 99% for a specified time period.

  • CPU Usage Alert (for Server Monitors):

    • Trigger an alert if CPU usage exceeds 90% for 5 minutes.

  • Process Not Running Alert (for Server Monitors):

    • Ensure critical processes (e.g., nginx, apache2) are always running.

    • Important: When setting up this alert, ensure the Process List in the server configuration is set to "All."

FAQs

  1. What is the recommended check interval for monitors?

    • Use a 1-minute interval for critical services or applications and a 5-minute interval for less critical ones to balance accuracy and resource usage.

  2. Why don’t I see graphs for my blacklist monitor?

    • Blacklist monitors provide binary results (listed or not listed) and do not generate graphs.

  3. How do I set up alerts for process monitoring?

    • Ensure the server’s Process List is set to "All" when adding the server. Then, create an alert specifying the process name (e.g., nginx) under the monitor's alert settings.

  4. Can I monitor multiple metrics for a single server or website?

    • Yes, you can create multiple monitors with different configurations to track various metrics for the same resource.

  5. Why isn’t my monitor showing data?

    • Ensure the monitor’s URL or IP is accessible and correctly entered. For server monitors, confirm the agent is installed and running.

Tips for Effective Monitoring

  • Use Descriptive Names: Clearly label monitors for easy identification (e.g., "Main Website - API" or "Database Server").

  • Assign Alert Groups: Ensure monitors are grouped logically so the right people or integrations are notified.

  • Prioritize Critical Services: Set up alerts and shorter check intervals for the most important resources.