PageSentry is remarkably easy to use, once you become familiar with 2 simple concepts. "Sentries" are objects you create in PageSentry which are used to perform tests of each Internet service you need to monitor. "Notifiers" are objects which will warn you of a failure or take action to resolve the problem.

When you first start PageSentry, create a Notifier which will e-mail you when a server problem arises. From the "Notifiers" menu, choose "New Notifier...", then complete the fields as shown below (substituting your own name and e-mail account information).

To test the Notifier, click the "Run It" button, then check your e-mail for a test message from PageSentry. Some e-mail servers may use filters to restrict mail from unknown accounts, so if you have problems, try setting the "Mail From" field to your own account, as shown above. When the Notifier is complete, click "OK".

Now that PageSentry knows how to contact you, it's time to define a server test. From the "Sentries" menu, choose "New Sentry...". Here is an example Sentry setup that confirms Maxum's primary Web server by testing the Maxum Home Page once every 5 minutes. You can test any Web server anywhere on the Internet, simply by changing the "Check URL". If you aren't sure of the URL for the page you would like to check, use a standard Web browser to access the page, then copy the URL from the "Location" field in the browser and paste it into the PageSentry "Check URL" field.

Be sure to move the Notifier you created earlier to the "Notifiers To Execute" box. Also, before closing the Sentry, click the "Execute Test" button to confirm that the test has been configured correctly. When you are done, click "OK" to close the Sentry.

The PageSentry Status window will be updated to include the new Sentry. The Sentry test will now be periodically run, and if the page ever fails to load, PageSentry will e-mail you a notice to let you know (after automatically re-trying the download to confirm the failure).

Advanced Features

Now that you are familiar with the basic operation of Sentries and Notifiers, you'll discover many additional helpful PageSentry features as you work through the program and User's Guide.

Web-Based Status Reports

With a standard Web browser, you or your clients can check on the status of all of your servers and review recent server performance. Just enable Web Monitoring (see the "Web Monitor" tab of the "Preferences" window) and access PageSentry as you would any Web server by entering the PageSentry Mac's IP Address (or domain name) into a standard Web browser.

Specific Server Tests

PageSentry performs full, real-world tests of a variety of popular Internet protocols, including Web (HTTP), e-mail (SMTP), FTP, DNS, POP, IMAP, AppleShare, And others. There are also 3 additional Sentry types (Connection, Stream, and Ping) that perform more generic tests to confirm other types of servers or Internet connections themselves.

Intelligent Grouping

Sentries can be grouped together for on-line Web reporting purposes or to act together to perform intelligent actions when servers fail. For example, 3 different services running on a single server can be tested individually with 3 separate Sentries, which are then grouped to trigger a single notice should all 3 services fail at the same time.

Off-Duty/Snooze

When you go to perform a server upgrade, or plan to take a server down for any other reason, Sentries can be placed "Off Duty". When you are done, the Sentries can be turned back on either manually, or after a set period of "Snooze" time.

Schedules and Priorities

Both Sentries and Notifiers can be scheduled to function based on the time of day and/or day of week. For example, your Sentries can be scheduled to suspend testing during routine scheduled server back-ups. And Notifiers can be scheduled to take different actions in the middle of the night than they would if the server fails during the day.

Of course, the list of PageSentry features and benefits goes on, from extensive, configurable activity monitoring and logging to accessible tracking of server up time and performance. Download PageSentry now, and try it for yourself.