Today, Windows Servers such as Windows 2003, 2008 & 2008 R2 provide the runtime environment for many systems worldwide. Some may house specific environments such as SQL Server, web services & Exchange, whilst others provide security & authentication through Active Directory, services such as file & print or application-related services running custom services & storage.

At the other end of the scale, Windows XP, Vista & 7 are used worldwide to provide desktop functionality & run key applications.

Whichever combination you use, the chances are you'll realise the importance of monitoring the status, both of the hardware and software running on them. For example, should a "live" server fail, its quite likely that systems, end users or customers will all be affected and so detecting faults early, preferably before they cause these issues is of prime importance.

Doing this manually is both time consuming and expensive in terms of man power, especially in today's 24 x 7 world. A far better solution is to automate the process, allowing it to respond or report faults should they arise.

With Sentry-go monitors, that's exactly what you can do. You can ...

• Ensure your servers & key systems are up & running
• Ensure they’re working within expected limits
• Ensure your users or customers aren’t receiving errors without waiting for them to tell you 
• Automatically respond ASAP to known faults
• Get on with your own job, safe in the knowledge you’ll be informed if issues do arise

The first question to consider is what you should monitor ? Typically servers have one or more roles (database, Microsoft Exchange, web server, file, application etc.) and for these, monitoring requirements may be more obvious. For standard software environments such as these, we offer Sentry-go Quick Monitors.

In other cases, you may have a much more specific requirement - for example, to verify file/directory access, to emulate a typical user web request or database access, or simply enhance monitoring you already have. For these, you can use Sentry-go Plus! Quick Monitor with the appropriate monitoring components - simply pick one or more monitoring components you wish to use for your servers. Alternatively, add these to an existing Quick Monitor to further enhance it's capabilities.

For those with more unique requirements, we offer Sentry-go scripted monitoring. With it, you can provide the logic (which we can help you create) and Sentry-go runs it, analyses the results and alerts as normal.

Watch: Introducing Sentry-go
 

Sentry-go can run individually, on multiple servers or be installed across your entire enterprise. Configuration settings can be accessed locally or remotely (and copied between monitors) as can the monitor's own built-in web reporting. These can be accessed from your desktop directly, using the Easy Access Utiity, or collectively with the Client Console, which also allows real-time alerts to be captured and displayed.

For larger organisations, we also offer the Sentry-go Enterprise Option, which allows each monitor to update a central database with status & alert information in real-time and subsequently access it to generate enterprise-wide web reports. These are ideal for trend analysis and allow you to determine whether a problem is restricted to a single server or a more serious/global issue.

See more information on how Sentry-go can help you.
 

Yes they might and probably will but that's no problem. Simply move your monitor or components form the old to the new server, or add new licences as they're needed to enhance existing functionality as your server's roles change.

Sentry-go monitoring components
 

Sentry-go is designed as a low cost, affordable solution, but with the features of much larger, more expensive solutions. And because you only need to purchase the options you'll actually use, you don't need to pay for features you'll never see!

See Sentry-go pricing information.
 

Next up is efficiency. This is much more important than you might think - after all, monitoring must work in potentially hostile conditions and where possible continue to report regardless of other faults. It must also not degrade your server's performance - there's little point monitoring if the monitor itself will bring down your system!

Sentry-go achives this in a number of ways. Individually monitoring components "sleep" whilst not in use, or waiting for the next scan. They operate locally on the server, unless the check itself requires network connectivity. This not only minimises network overhead, it also removes any reliance on other servers of connectivity.

Efficiency should also be considered in terms of man power. If it takes a team of people to look after your monitor, the costs could easily mount up! With Sentry-go configuring is easy and can be performed from your desktop. Wizards help you quickly set up typical monitoring tasks and settings can often be tested in advance to ensure they will work as expected.

Once configured, these options can also be copied or synchronised across other monitors quickly & easily.

Local vs Remote monitoring
 

Sentry-go is designed to help your monitoring tasks in a number of ways, including easy installation & configuration as we've already seen. Other features can also help, for example ...

• Automatic responses allow the monitor to take action itself in response to known failures, thus correcting faults in the fastest possible time.

• Alerting options allow one or more administrators, users or system to be notified of faults (or the fact that corrective action has been taken), using one or more alerting methods.

• Direct links to Sentry-goSolutions.com allow you to use accurate, captured information to search the web for possible solutions that others have found.

Web reporting is built into all Sentry-go server-based monitors and can be enabled as required. Using the integrated web server, web reports are available from each monitor without the need for other web-based software. If the Enterprise Option is installed, these reports are also served directly by the integrated web server.

See more on Sentry-go's web reporting.
Watch: Introducing Sentry-go Web reporting.
  

Above all, Sentry-go is designed by support people, for support people. From installation, through client tools & web reporting to the monitor itself, we've designed the system to be easy to use. Built-in links provide access to documentation as well as "show me" on-line videos & waltkhroughs.

Whether you're a small company with a single multi-function server, or a large corporate organisation with an array of dedicated machines, Sentry-go can provide the monitoring features you need, thats easy & efficient to use.

Watch: Introducing Sentry-go
Watch: Introducing the Sentry-go Enterprise Option 
 

Installing Sentry-go is easy, using the dedicated Sentry-go Setup Wizard. With it you can install or upgrade the Sentry-go monitor, client tools as well as the Enterprise Option.

Once installed, updates & upgrades are easy to apply using the Sentry-go Remote Update Wizard. Simply upgrade one of your monitors to the new version, then let the Wizard do the rest. In just a few clicks, all your monitors will be updated across the network!