One of the things I have always dreaded about server monitoring was all the labor of setting up the monitors. It was always a very laborious task and many times, it called for several tweaks before I got what I actually wanted from the package.
Now granted I worked with a particularly tight financial budget for IT, which is why many times I lean towards good tools that are not outrageously priced. My thoughts being that my situation was not the exception but rather the rule. I’ve said before gone are the days of the dot-com shiatsu massages, free snacks and sodas, weekly company paid lunches and a full bar and workout facility (I’m not kidding about that last one).
Server monitoring is certainly an important enough function to any company that the need exists for good tools that are intuitive and easy to use. PA Server Monitor is such a tool.
PA Server Monitor comes in three editions: free, lite and pro. We will speak about the Pro edition as it gives the best number of features for an administrator. To begin with, PA Server Monitor has a smart configuration feature, which automatically sets up monitoring of all servers. Bulk configuration allows you to make changes to the monitor features of your entire enterprise at once.
You can monitor many features of your environment including:
As well as monitoring you can set actions, produce reports, e-mail alerts, schedule monitoring, view HTML output along with viewing a geographical status map and a server map which includes a status overview or your entire server infrastructure. This view uses the common green, yellow, red indicators to let you quickly know something is amiss.
PA Server Monitor Pro, also provides the ability to report when an issue is resolved and set escalation actions for unresolved issues.
Download a free 30-day trial.
PA Server Monitor is a smart tool for keeping on top of your network.
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Ron Barrett is president of RARE-TECH, an IT Training and consulting company. He has been a technology professional for over a decade, working for several major financial firms and dotcoms. Barrett is a specialist in network infrastructure, security and IT management.
He is a co-author of The Administrator's Guide to Microsoft Office 2007 Servers, How to Cheat at Administering Office Communications Server 2007, and the Real MCTS/MCITP Exam 620 Preparation Kit and has been a contributor to Windows 2000 Enterprise Storage Solutions and Exam Cram �70-244-Supporting & Maintaining NT Server 4.
He has also contributed to several industry magazines and was featured in the book Tricks of the Windows Vista Masters. He has worked for Microsoft writing research and analysis documents for Windows Server 2008, Windows HPC, and PerformancePoint Server 2007. He has also created screencasts on Windows Server 2008 Administration for Linux Admins.
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