Everything You Need To Know About Server Monitoring Software (FAQs)
What Is Server Monitoring Software?
Server monitoring tools give you an insight into what is happening on your servers. This means that you can make sure that usage, capacity, and other key metrics are at safe and sustainable levels.
Server monitoring allows you to identify areas that can be improved or further optimized. This means that processes can run more efficiently, in a more streamlined way. This could have knock on benefits such as reduced spending and increased productivity due to improved server connections and speed.
The processes and tests carried out by server monitoring tools can be automated, thereby ensuring that large amounts of data can be ingested quickly and reliably. A server monitoring platform will also have a series of sophisticated tools to analyze the data from your servers, ensuring that you can benefit from this intelligence.
How Does Server Monitoring Software Work?
Server Monitoring tools begin by integrating with your servers. This allows them to gather information such as traffic levels and response times. They will collect information regarding CPU usage, memory, disk space, as well as data regarding OS, log files, and disk utilization. This broad range of data gives a comprehensive insight into network operations and status.
A server monitoring solution will use the real-time information to compare with historical baselines and trends. This can then be used to understand if a server is operating as it has in the past, or if any configuration changes are needed. It is through monitoring current and historical trends that you can properly assess how your server is functioning in relation to how it usually should. This is important as every use case will be different and have its own set of norms and quirks.
The results of this analysis can be sent to relevant admins, flagging any particularly notable results that may require further action. Usually, it is not necessary for admins to receive regular notifications when events are occurring as they usually should. Instead, admins should only be notified of exceptional or unusual events.
What Features Should You Look For In Server Monitoring Software?
Server monitoring tools can be complex and important pieces of infrastructure. It is important, therefore, that you select one that is well suited to your organization and delivers all the capacity and features that you require. In this section we’ll identify some of the key features to look out for, thereby making your decision process easier.
Automatic Data Ingestion – An effective server monitoring solution begins with effective data collection. This is the foundation that the rest of the capabilities and technologies are built upon. When this process is automated, you not only reduce staff workload, but ensure consistent and reliable results.
Comprehensive Analysis – Although data collection is the foundation of a good solution, effective analysis is the area that really adds value. This gives you a good insight into what’s currently happening on your servers, allowing you to identify issues and make improvements.
Scalability – When looking for an effective platform you’ll want one that can grow and adapt to your organization, ensuring that you are always receiving adequate cover. The easier it is to add new products into your technology stack, the less you have to worry about. You want your server monitoring solution to scale asyou do, not after, otherwise you may have gaps in coverage.
Robust Security – Any tool that identifies and monitors key metrics within your organization is, in doing so, collecting valuable information for attackers. If they were to understand the details of how your servers work, they are in a better position to identify and exploit their vulnerabilities. Your server monitoring tool should use robust security methods to ensure your data is kept as safe as it can be.
