Review of Dotcom-Monitor, a Web Service Performance Monitoring Tool

Dip

April 27th, 2008

Overview:

The prime concern for any e-business is secure and efficient handling of run away transaction volumes at acceptable response levels. Congested networks are causing delays, even outages. Slow downloading time is one of the main reasons potential on-line customers switch web sites. Long waiting times can prove disastrous. The web site load pattern varies from hour to hour. The web sites would like to know in real time where the bottlenecks are on a regular basis. Constant monitoring is therefore a must to enable web sites identify problems and initiate remedial steps without loss of time or on-line customers.

The Dotcom-Monitor.com is a secure advanced 24×7 web site monitoring service that provides comprehensive web site monitoring and helps address the issues and concerns raised above. Dotcom-Monitor service keeps the web site performance informed about it’s availability, accessibility, security and content and highlights any deviations from the supplied norms.

Features:

Dotcom-Monitor has remote agents strategically positioned around the world, each acting as an Internet browser. After a customer creates an account, he or she supplies the URLs of the Web service site, along with functions to be monitored with inputs, algorithms, expected results, and performance norms. Then, the process starts immediately. Dotcom-Monitor’s global agent checks the Web service(s) to ensure that it is accessible and maintaining acceptable levels of performance. If any of these fall outside the specified parameters, the customer is notified.

Agents of Dotcom-Monitor can monitor

·Mail Servers — POP3/SMTP
·DNS Servers
·FTP Servers
·Telnet Servers
·Routers
·Firewalls
·Web Services
·Port Monitoring
·Server Room Temperature Monitoring
·Other device connected to Internet – Ping/ICMP/UDP

Functional Monitoring: Dotcom-Monitor constantly checks the functionality of the service by making specifically tailored, functional calls to the site (application) server to monitor the accuracy of the results obtained in real time. It uses representative input from transactions/messages, algorithms, and results provided by the Web service company for this purpose. The monitor performs Dotcom-Monitor’s service at pre-defined intervals. Any deviations from the supplied results are promptly reported for appropriate action.

Performance Monitoring: Most Web service companies use SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) technology to architect service transactions’ receipt, de-serialization, processing, serialization, and delivery. SOAP is a lightweight, stateless, XML communication protocol that lets applications exchange structured messages/transactions across the Internet. Most current SOAP implementations use HTTP binding due to SOAP’s wide availability and ability to pass through firewalls. One of Dotcom-Monitor’s features is to determine the level of performance available from SOAP implementations using appropriate test transactions/messages.

Conclusion:

Web service sites must plan for zero tolerance. While it is easy to plan and implement redundant hardware and network infrastructure, exposure lies in making flawless functional delivery within desired turnaround time, every single time. That is only possible if constant monitoring for correct functional output(s) and response time performance are maintained, and any deviations highlighted in real time for remedial action. A 24×7 website monitoring solution from Dotcom-Monitor.com is the real answer.

Source: HostSearchForum

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