PhpWatchDog is a network monitoring software that offers a straightforward solution for verifying the status of a service, whether it is operational or not.
This PHP script is easy to install and configure, making it highly user-friendly. You can set a cronjob to run the URL of phpwatchdog's installation any time you like, but I suggest using it every hour. The key features of this software include the ability to check if a service is up or down without the need for installation into monitored servers. It is also simple and light and can monitor n servers with a single instance. In addition, it can alert a custom email address per server, making it highly personalized.
PhpWatchDog is highly customizable as you can set the timeout for probing the service status, and if for any reason, the fsockopen cannot operate correctly. It can use fsockopen (PHP) or IO::Socket (PERL). To work correctly, this application only requires APACHE+PHP, with no databases or various plugins. Another noteworthy feature is that it collects each downtime event into a plain text file for easy analysis and review.
The installation process is fast and straightforward. You only need to unpack the downloaded archive, enter the phpwatchdog directory, and update the config.php file. Here you can see nano, which is the text editor used for the configuration file, but it's best to learn how to use vim. After editing the config file, you need to put your servers into config.php by entering the host, server name, and service port number. Every server configuration block must start with the line "$i++."
Furthermore, you can customize your email account for alert reporting into config.php. You can choose to schedule the execution of this script using a similar command into /etc/cron.hourly/ /usr/bin/php-cgi -q /path/of/phpwatchdog/index.php > /dev/null, using lynx, or with wget. The tools directory also contains some useful scripts such as chk_socket2.pl, which is a Perl script used to check service status if PHP mode is disabled, and generate.sh, which is a bash script used to generate a configuration block from nmap output.
In conclusion, PhpWatchDog is an excellent network monitoring application that provides efficient service checks and email notifications, making it highly useful for system administrators. Its user-friendly interface, customizable features, and quick installation process make it an excellent choice for monitoring your servers' health.
Version 1.16.7: N/A