What is Server Monitoring ?
Server monitoring is the process of systematically tracking, measuring and observing the operations and processes on a server. The primary goal of server monitoring is to collect data that can be used to assess the health and condition of the server, ensuring that it operates at optimal performance levels and ensuring applications such as software-as-a-service (SaaS) run flawlessly.
Servers, which are central to any IT environment, can be physical or virtual; and serve various functions such as hosting databases, applications, or web services. Monitoring is a critical part of server management, which also includes tasks like applying updates, installing new devices, and resolving issues.
How does server monitoring work?
Server monitoring works by using tools and software to gain visibility into server activity. These tools can automatically stream event logs, track resource utilisation such as CPU and memory availability, and monitor network connectivity and disk performance.
Monitoring solutions can be configured to provide real-time alerts and notifications when certain predefined thresholds are reached, allowing IT teams to proactively address issues. The monitoring process can vary depending on the type of server, such as web servers, application servers, or file servers, and can involve different approaches for each.
Benefits of effective server monitoring
Effective server monitoring offers several benefits that support an organisation’s information technology goals and objectives, including:
Proactive problem resolution
By identifying patterns and anomalies in server behaviour, monitoring tools can detect hidden issues, allowing IT teams to address problems before they lead to downtime or other negative impacts.
Improved system availability
Regular monitoring minimises downtime and enhances system reliability, ensuring a seamless experience for clients and users. Automated server monitoring can reduce the operational costs associated with manual monitoring and the resources needed to address unexpected issues.
Security and compliance
Monitoring helps detect security breaches and unauthorised access attempts, aiding in maintaining compliance with industry regulations.
Performance optimization
Monitoring identifies bottlenecks and resource-intensive processes, enabling administrators to optimise server configurations for better performance. It provides insights into future capacity needs and helps anticipate the need for upgrades or additional resources.
In summary, server monitoring is a vital function for maintaining the stability, reliability, and security of server infrastructure, which in turn supports smooth operations and optimal performance for organisations.
What happens when servers fail?
Unnoticed server failure can cause data loss and downtime, leading to delays in your schedule and risking a bad image with your clients and prospects. Likewise, most network issues display warning signs before becoming critical. Without monitoring, these issues are likely to go unnoticed until they become a problem, resulting in IT downtime where employees are unable to work, leading to loss of revenue and potential overtime costs.
Insufficient logging and monitoring can leave servers vulnerable to cyberattacks that can paralyse or crash the server. Server failures can damage a company's reputation. If a server goes down for a day or more, the resulting business fallout may prove catastrophic.
If you are not monitoring your network, you may not be fully compliant with the rules and regulations in your industry. Trends show that at least 30% of data loss due to server issues will be because of environmental factors such as high temperatures and humidity.
In summary, not using server monitoring can lead to increased vulnerability to cyberattacks, data loss, reduced productivity, security breaches, financial loss, damage to reputation, compliance issues, and environmental risks. Therefore, it is crucial to implement effective server monitoring to mitigate these risks and ensure the smooth operation of your servers.
What happens when the server monitoring software detects system errors?
When server monitoring software detects system errors, several actions are initiated to address the issue. First, the software sends alerts to the responsible system administrators or IT team. These alerts can be customised based on the severity and type of the error and can be delivered through various channels such as email, SMS, or in-app notifications.
The software logs the error details, providing visibility into what went wrong, where it occurred, and potentially, how often it happened. Some advanced tools can even link the error to the exact line of code or the specific Git commit that introduced it.
Once the error is detected and logged, the software may provide potential root causes and troubleshooting steps to start fixing the issue.
Monitoring software also helps in managing the incident by prioritising the most critical alerts and ensuring they reach the right person at the right time for resolution.
In addition to error detection, server monitoring tools also keep track of key performance indicators (KPIs) such as CPU usage, memory utilisation, network bandwidth, and disk space usage. This helps in identifying performance issues that might be related to the system errors.
Tools and techniques for server monitoring
Server monitoring involves the use of specialised tools and techniques to ensure the optimal performance, availability, and security of servers. Here are some of the key tools and techniques used in server monitoring:
Server monitoring software
These are automated tools that provide insights into server availability, performance, and security.
Performance metrics tracking
Server monitoring tools track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as CPU usage, memory utilisation, network bandwidth, and disk space usage. This helps in identifying performance issues and taking corrective actions.
Alerting and notification systems
These systems send alerts to the responsible system administrators or IT team when they detect anomalies or disruptions in service. The alerts can be customised based on the severity and type of the error and can be delivered through various channels such as email, SMS, or in-app notifications.
Monitoring logs
Server monitoring tools log the details of system events, providing visibility into what went wrong, where it occurred, and potentially, how often it happened.
Incident management
These tools help in managing incidents by prioritising the most critical alerts and ensuring they reach the right person at the right time for resolution.
Depending on the specific needs of the server environment, custom checks can be created to monitor what's important for the system. Some modern server monitoring tools use artificial intelligence to detect meaningful patterns from the data collected, which can help in proactive issue detection and resolution.
Types of server monitoring systems
On-premises
On-premises server monitoring systems are traditional software-based systems that are installed and run on the company's hardware and within its own infrastructure. These systems provide direct control over customization and personalization, which can be critical for compliance and performance in high-stress environments such as financial trading and streaming media. On-premises tools can vary in complexity, setup, and maintenance requirements, these systems are typically licensed by node or agent type and can be more cost-effective for organisations with the necessary Linux experience and time to manage them.
Cloud-based
Cloud-based or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) server monitoring systems are hosted on the provider's platform and accessed over the internet. These systems offer the advantage of subscription-based pricing, often without long-term contracts, which can reduce entry barriers and financial risk.
Cloud monitoring tools can provide real-time insights into the health of cloud-based IT infrastructure, including application performance management (APM), database monitoring, virtualization infrastructure monitoring, cloud-server monitoring, and end-user experience monitoring (EUM).
They are designed to improve visibility across the entire environment, including storage, networks, and applications, and can be critical for unifying large volumes of data across distributed locations
Mobile applications
Mobile server monitoring systems are not a primary type of server monitoring system but are often supported as an additional feature by both on-premises and cloud-based providers. These systems run on smartphones or tablets and provide on-the-go access to server monitoring data. Mobile monitoring apps can offer a range of functionalities, including network, application, and systems management, and are available for various operating systems like Android.
They can be particularly useful for IT managers who need to maintain visibility into their systems while away from the office.
Best practices in server monitoring
Server monitoring best practices are crucial for maintaining the stability, security, and optimal performance of your systems. It's important to configure the right metrics based on the nature of the application and server architecture.
Correlating data from different sources can provide a comprehensive view of your server's performance and help identify potential issues. Automation can reduce the manual effort involved in monitoring and provide real-time insights into server performance.
Alerts should be configured to inform the operations team and stakeholders about potential issues in a timely manner. Monitoring the core usage can help in understanding the load on the server and optimising its performance. An escalation matrix helps in defining the process of escalating issues to the right stakeholders, ensuring quick resolution. Regular reports can provide insights into the server's performance over time and help in identifying trends and potential issues.
Common challenges in server monitoring
Server monitoring can present several challenges. As the number of devices and networks grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to monitor the entire technology estate effectively.
Lack of network visibility can make it difficult to understand network performance and identify potential issues. Without a baseline, it can be challenging to determine whether the network is performing optimally or not.
Systems running low on disk space can affect the performance of the server and lead to potential issues. High CPU usage can indicate that the server is overloaded and may need additional resources. Unexpected spikes in network traffic can be caused by various factors, including malware outbreaks or hacking attempts, and can have widespread negative implications for your IT systems.
The relationship between server monitoring and server management
Server monitoring is often seen as part of server management. However, server management also includes the regular application of updates and security patches, the installation of new devices, and the correction and elimination of problems.
It also keeps track of the provision of sufficient resources for the daily requirements. A powerful server monitoring tool can support all these described server management tasks, excluding the setup of new systems.
Common challenges in server monitoring
Server monitoring can present several challenges. As the number of devices and networks grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to monitor the entire technology estate effectively.
Lack of network visibility can make it difficult to understand network performance and identify potential issues. Without a baseline, it can be challenging to determine whether the network is performing optimally or not.
Systems running low on disk space can affect the performance of the server and lead to potential issues. High CPU usage can indicate that the server is overloaded and may need additional resources. Unexpected spikes in network traffic can be caused by various factors, including malware outbreaks or hacking attempts, and can have widespread negative implications for your IT systems.
Server monitoring vs server performance monitoring
Server monitoring is responsible for monitoring the host machines in a data center. It should be able to help answer questions about CPU utilisation, memory utilisation across different processes, disk space, current processes running on the servers, and network reachability.
On the other hand, server performance monitoring is a process that enables organisations to gain visibility into the state of the server. It helps in understanding how server resources are used, so you can better optimise server and application configurations. By monitoring and optimising your use of server resources, you can work towards having more efficient systems and improving the end-user experience.
Server monitoring in different environments
Server monitoring can be applied in various environments, including on-premises, cloud, and virtual servers. The actual server monitoring process differs depending on the type of server. For instance, a web server might require different monitoring metrics compared to a database server. Regardless of the environment, the goal of server monitoring remains the same: to ensure optimal performance, security, and reliability of the server.
Getting started with server monitoring
To get started with server monitoring, you should first identify the servers and applications you want to monitor.
This involves discovering your environment. The next step is to set up monitoring in your environment. You should also consider the breadth of coverage of your monitoring tools, ensuring they support all server types (hardware and software; on-premises and cloud) that your enterprise uses.
Once you have your monitoring system in place, you should configure the right metrics to track, automate the monitoring process, and set up intelligent alerts to inform your operations team of potential issues in a timely manner.
Regularly generating and monitoring reports will help you understand your server's performance over time and identify trends and potential issues.
Explore our server monitoring solutions
At OVHcloud, we have developed a robust internal monitoring system for all servers in our VPS datacenters, which automates the process of monitoring a bare-metal server's performance in real-time. This system relies on key metrics such as CPU, RAM, and disk space to ensure optimal performance.
We have implemented two types of monitoring: host monitoring, which manages the physical hardware, and application monitoring, which oversees the solutions hosted on a server. This comprehensive approach allows us to maintain optimal server performance and promptly address any issues, ensuring the best possible service for our customers.
Our dedicated server monitoring system is compatible with a variety of tools including Scollector, Telegraf, Snap, Beamium and Noderig, StatsD, and Collectd. Each of these tools offers distinctive advantages and disadvantages and can be installed on an OVHcloud dedicated server, providing our customers with full root access.
This flexibility means that if a customer decides to move from on-premises infrastructure to our Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), they can continue to monitor their systems in the way they are accustomed to. Our commitment to providing a high-quality, reliable service is reflected in our dedication to monitoring and maintaining the health and performance of our servers.
