Suggestions for checking on downtime
Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 2:45 pm
Howdy,
I'm in the process of creating a web application that checks for server and website downtime. This is not a new idea but I believe the only real places out there offering a half decent service are far over-priced.
I intend to do things a little different to competitors, offering a much more comprehensive testing method. I have some ideas up my sleeve for checking whether websites are down (grabbing headers and checking for HTTP codes, checking against page content given by users, checking for PHP warnings / errors, etc). As well as checking the web sites themselves I'll also be offering a service via IP.
What methods would you suggest are best for checking if a server is online (when the user gives me an IP). So far all I have is:
- Pinging (obviously user checks a box to make sure their server is pingable)
- As this is aimed at websites I could do a simple check on port 80, but a lot of virtual servers ignore this so I'm unsure.
And what methods would you suggest for checking if a website is online and error free (this is when someone gives me a URL)? So far I have:
- Grabbing HTTP headers and checking code (anything other than 200 is flagged)
- User gives, for example, the top 10 lines of a page, if that page changes then it's flagged. I realise this would cause issues if done on the content but it should flag important issues (like PHP errors, etc) if just done on the <head> tags
- Run a check on the page for PHP errors and warnings
Obviously some fo these aren't suitable for everyone and everything is completely customisable, so you can run with what you want.
At first the system is going to be free of charge and my only revenue stream will be through sending SMS messages, so I'll be sure to share the url with forum users here once the project is complete.
Any feedback is welcome.
Thanks
I'm in the process of creating a web application that checks for server and website downtime. This is not a new idea but I believe the only real places out there offering a half decent service are far over-priced.
I intend to do things a little different to competitors, offering a much more comprehensive testing method. I have some ideas up my sleeve for checking whether websites are down (grabbing headers and checking for HTTP codes, checking against page content given by users, checking for PHP warnings / errors, etc). As well as checking the web sites themselves I'll also be offering a service via IP.
What methods would you suggest are best for checking if a server is online (when the user gives me an IP). So far all I have is:
- Pinging (obviously user checks a box to make sure their server is pingable)
- As this is aimed at websites I could do a simple check on port 80, but a lot of virtual servers ignore this so I'm unsure.
And what methods would you suggest for checking if a website is online and error free (this is when someone gives me a URL)? So far I have:
- Grabbing HTTP headers and checking code (anything other than 200 is flagged)
- User gives, for example, the top 10 lines of a page, if that page changes then it's flagged. I realise this would cause issues if done on the content but it should flag important issues (like PHP errors, etc) if just done on the <head> tags
- Run a check on the page for PHP errors and warnings
Obviously some fo these aren't suitable for everyone and everything is completely customisable, so you can run with what you want.
At first the system is going to be free of charge and my only revenue stream will be through sending SMS messages, so I'll be sure to share the url with forum users here once the project is complete.
Any feedback is welcome.
Thanks