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Server Monitoring with ServersAlive

ServersAlive ASP Templates

ServersAlive is a Windows program that monitors your servers to make sure everything stays up and running. When things go down, you get notified via email, instant messaging, pager, you name it. I’ve used it for years to keep my uptime up and my users satisfied.

ServersAlive can take HTML templates and update them every time it checks your servers, so you can view your server status from anywhere over the web. Plain HTML templates work fine, but ASP templates work even better, including things like graphs, links, and more.

ASP templates require Personal Web Server or Internet Information Server. These are free, and they’re included with Windows. If you’ve never used ASP or you’re just not a web person period, don’t worry - you don’t have to learn any programming at all. The hardest part is knowing where to save the files.

ASP Template with Filtering & Graphs - Example - Tutorial - Download

This template lets you filter your list of checks by server type and by check type. I found this useful because sometimes certain people only care about their server groups, especially in times of crisis. Whenever the power goes out and comes back on, different people get assigned to different sets of machines, and they only want to see the ones they’re in charge of. This could also be set up for geographic areas or buildings pretty easily.

When you first view it, it only shows the down servers. When you click on my example, you’re not going to see anything special, because all of the servers were running at the time of that snapshot. So, use the dropdown filters at the top and the “Show Up/Running” checkbox to see more information. Hopefully, yours would look like this too most of the time. :-D

ASP Template with Simple Bar Graphs - Example - Tutorial - Download

This template shows bar graphs for drive space checks and for ping times. It’s not nearly as cool as the one above, but I still show it here in case you’d like to write your own template using simple image-based graphs insteadof Java applets.

Download More Templates

Download these templates and others in one handy zip file.

Have Questions? Need Help?

If you have problems or questions on these templates, start by going to the ServersAlive mailing list archive. Chances are, someone’s had the same problem as you. Search for “template” and you’ll find all kinds of messages.

If you still don’t see what you’re looking for, subscribe to the ServersAlive mailing list, and then post a question there. In your post, include:

  • The version of ServersAlive you’re running.
  • A copy of the template file and the generated output file from ServersAlive (like default_template.asp and default.asp).
  • An explanation of where you’re saving the file, and how you’re trying to access it. An example would be, “I’m saving it in c:\inetpub\wwwroot, and I’m accessing it by going to http://SuperServer.”
  • Any errors you’re getting. Please copy/paste the full error. If you’re using Internet Explorer, turn off Friendly Error Messages by clicking Tools, Options, Advanced, and in the Browser section, uncheck Show Friendly Error Messages.

Have fun, and drop me a line if you find the templates useful!