HTTPS & HTTP monitor

The HTTP/HTTPS monitor checks a website for any potential issues ranging from HTTP request failure, high response time exceeding a certain threshold, or HTTP response message type. HTTP Monitors not only detect website downtime, but also identify soon to be expired SSL certificates.

It is also a feature that checks the availability and responsiveness of web servers or web applications. It simulates a user’s request to a specific website or web application and measures the response time and status code. With HTTP monitors, organizations can proactively identify and resolve website issues, improve user experience, and maintain business continuity.

Why is HTTP monitoring essential?

HTTP monitoring is essential for maintaining optimal website and application performance. By continuously assessing website health and response times, organizations can proactively identify and resolve issues before they impact end-users. This proactive approach ensures a seamless user experience, protects brand reputation, and maximizes uptime.

How do I enable HTTP Monitoring in NinjaOne?

Please note that to properly monitor a website, the SSL certificate must be valid. The date on which the SSL certification expires is listed under the monitor and provided as a link to view the SSL certificate.

During setup, select the frequency, timeout, host, HTTP method (supports various HTTP methods: GET/PUT/HEAD/POST), HTTP authentication, and response body (an option to save the webpage which saves a snapshot of the landing page).

You must set up the Monitor Name with an “http://” prefix.  (See the screenshot below for reference)

Set up the Monitor Name with an "http://" prefix.

There are four different types of conditions available for HTTP monitors:

  • Failure allows you to monitor for when the HTTP request fails a specified number of times.
  • Status Code allows you to monitor for when the HTTP request returns a particular code a specified number of times.
  • Response Time allows you to monitor the time it takes (in milliseconds) for the HTTP query to return a response a specified number of times.
  • Keyword allows you to monitor for whether the webpage contains/doesn’t contain a particular keyword.
  • SSL certificate expires in allows you to monitor for situations in which the SSL certificate will expire within a designated number of days.

After setting up a HTTP cloud monitor, viewing it will show you a table of the data points that have been recorded — the table includes the Time, Result, Protocol Version, HTTP Status, Response Time, Response Headers, Response Body, SSL certificate expires in, and SSL Certificate. (See the screenshot below for reference)

Setting up a HTTP cloud monitor

HTTP Monitoring is a cutting-edge approach to keep an eye on the status of your web servers. Here are a few explanations as to why you should think about integrating HTTP monitoring for your web servers. Assists in easily replicating user activity. Utilize HTTP monitoring to routinely assess if your users have seamless and consistent access to fundamental services.

Notifies you of errors.

HTTP monitoring is crucial for preventing website downtime and ensuring optimal user experience. By setting up alerts for specific issues like slow load times or error messages, you can quickly identify and resolve problems before they impact your customers.

Aids in anticipating potential problems.

Like any other monitoring tool, HTTP monitoring is like a warning system that alerts you to potential website issues before they become serious. By monitoring important measurements and setting starting points, you can anticipate and avoid issues before they affect your users. This proactive strategy protects the reputation of your website and guarantees a smooth user experience.

Monitor the availability of your SSL certificate.

SSL certificates are essential for securing online transactions. They encrypt data exchanged between websites and users, preventing unauthorized access. However, these certificates have an expiration date. HTTP monitoring detects expiration dates and notify users when certificates are about to expire.

FAQ

An HTTP monitor verifies the accessibility of your web pages from specific checkpoints positioned worldwide. At its simplest form, the monitor verifies an error-free response from the web server. In addition to monitoring website availability, you can also track and set alerts for page load times, minimum page size, content, and status codes. A monitoring tool for HTTP is considered a simple test. Understand the distinction between simple checks and authentic browser checks.

The HTTPS monitor checks if a website is accessible with SSL encryption. The monitor offers the usual HTTP monitoring features along with SSL certificate verification.

HTTP and HTTPS monitors are utilized to verify the accessibility and performance of web servers.

The HTTP monitor evaluates a web server’s capability to receive incoming sessions and complete a transaction. Failure is considered when the web server does not respond within the specified time.

The HTTPS monitor checks if a web server can receive incoming sessions securely, creates a webpage on the server side, and sends the page to the monitoring tool. The pages that are requested can be static HTML pages or dynamic pages.

Summarizing, HTTPS monitoring provides extra security by validating the SSL/TLS certificate of the website.

Monitoring HTTP requests involves capturing and analyzing the data exchanged between a client and a server. This can be done through various methods:

  • Browser Developer Tools

Inspect network traffic: Most modern browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge) have built-in developer tools that allow you to inspect HTTP requests and responses.

Analyze request and response headers: Examine details like request methods, status codes, and content types.

Monitor performance metrics: Measure response times, loading times, and resource usage.

  • Network Monitoring Tools

You can use third-party tools like Wireshark to display network traffic.

  • Server-Side Monitoring

Server logs: Analyze server logs for HTTP request and response information.

  • Cloud-Based Monitoring Services

Cloud providers: Utilize cloud monitoring services.

To monitor HTTP requests on a Windows system, use commands like netstat to view active network connections. Check system logs for network-related events. Use Wireshark and Microsoft Network Monitor. Choosing the right tool depends on your specific needs and technical expertise.

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