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User's Guide
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Version 2.5 User's Guide |
| HTTP Sentry | Previous | Next Contents |
PageSentry is capable of monitoring any type of Web server (Macintosh, UNIX, Windows NT, etc.) by requesting a URL and examining the returned document. This includes HTML text, CGIs, and clickable image maps. Figure 7 shows the HTTP Edit Sentry dialog box.
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To configure the Sentry, fill in the appropriate fields. In addition to the common configuration options, the HTTP Sentry has the following options:
See the HTTP Sentry Example section for an example of configuring a HTTP Sentry with a Notifier.
- Check URL
- This is the URL that the Sentry will use to retrieve a page from your Web server. The format should be something like this: "http://www.yourcom.com/file.html." You can omit the filename and simply get the default page from the server or include a CGI name. As with any Web browser, you can retrieve graphics or binary data files just by entering the appropriate URL. You can also add a port number after the domain name to monitor servers running on non-standard ports. For example, "http://www.yourcom.com:8000/" would cause PageSentry to test the server on port 8000, instead of the default, port 80.
This URL should exactly match the URL displayed in the "Location" field of most browsers. In fact, a convenient way to make sure PageSentry will be monitoring the correct URL is to first load the page in your Web browser, then cut and paste the URL into PageSentry. If you encounter problems checking Web servers with PageSentry, a good test is to simply copy the URL from the Edit Sentry window and paste it into your browser's location field and press Return. This will cause the browser to load the page and show you exactly what PageSentry is receiving when requesting the URL.
- Verify Phrase
- This is an optional field for which a Sentry can search in the page returned from the server. If you specify a string (two or more characters) here and the Sentry cannot find this string in the retrieved page, the Sentry will fail and run its Notifiers. For example, you can check that a Web page contains the string "</HTML>" to make sure that the whole file was retrieved by a Sentry. String comparisons are not case sensitive.
It is important to specify a verify phrase that is unique to the requested page. For example, "<HTML>" is a useful default, since it appears in most Web pages. If the requested file cannot be served, though, "<HTML>" also appears in the error page of most Web servers. Setting the verify phrase to a unique string in the requested page will tell you that not only is the server returning Web pages, but that they are the correct Web pages.
You should also try to choose a phrase on the page that is not likely to change. You would not want your sentries to break when pages are updated or reformatted. Short verify phrases are generally best.
Note that the verify phrase can also appear in the HTTP header, as well as in the HTML page returned. This allows you to test non-text files by setting the verify phrase to a string that will appear in the HTTP header, such as "GIF" for GIF image files.
- Username and Password
- The Username and Password fields can be used to test Web pages that are protected by basic authentication. For example, if you request the test URL using a standard Web browser and the username/password dialog appears, the page is password protected. In this case, PageSentry will require a valid username and password to correctly verify the page. For pages that are not password protected, these fields may be left blank.
- Use Proxy
- If the machine that you are using to run PageSentry resides behind a proxy server, you will need to configure the HTTP Sentry for the proxy. When you click on "Use Proxy", you will be prompted with a dialog to enter values into two fields:
Proxy Address - This is the IP address of the proxy server.
Port Number - This is the port number that the proxy server uses to listen for requests.
Note that the ability to use an HTTP Proxy not only allows you to test HTTP servers that reside behind a proxy or gateway, but also to test the proxy server itself. If local Web traffic is sent through a proxy, the proxy server can be monitored using the PageSentry HTTP Sentry.
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