What is an Uptime Monitor?

Internet sites are fun to maintain and a powerful tool when it comes to promoting and doing business. In order for a website to be successful, however, its owner must always know whether or not everything is functioning correctly on the site. An uptime monitor makes this possible, as it helps the website owner monitor the site 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

An uptime monitor is a small application written to display how long a computer has been up. The application is written in computer code and works by visiting a particularly targeted website. By checking in with the website, the uptime monitor makes sure all systems are functioning properly.

There are several versions of an uptime monitor. Some are very complicated, while others simple and free to download. More developed uptime monitors often contain some extra features, such as hyper visits.

Hyper visits are extra visits scheduled shortly after an error is detected. The initial error is detected by the uptime monitor, which then schedules a hyper visit to determine whether an error is a short-lived "glitch" in the program or a repetitive problem. The hyper visit is not a virus checker. Rather, it is a tool that searches for, detects, and defines a specific problem. Hyper visits are scheduled automatically in tandem with the uptime monitor.

Some uptime monitor programs store a "snapshot" of the error-producing page. This allows the website owner to view the actual problem. This can be particularly helpful when it comes to determining a method for resolving the problem.

An uptime monitor can receive a report that a site is unavailable. In this case, the program sends out a signal designed to come back to the originator. This signal is called a ping.

A ping report is sent from the uptime monitor to the IP address of the server in question. If the report is answered, the uptime monitor determines that the site in question is functional. If the ping does not answer, however, it means the site is down and requires attention.

An uptime monitor also provides the user with standard reports, such as a visit log, an incident log, and a performance history. All of these things give the site owner a picture of what is happening with his or her website.