This step-by-step guide explains how to setup and monitor standalone Windows Server resources using CloudMonix.



In this article


1. Monitoring setup

2. Collect, understand and use your data

    2.1 Metrics

    2.2 Alerts

    2.3 Actions

3. Setup verification and troubleshooting



Did you know?

CloudMonix provides advanced monitoring metrics and features for Windows Server resources. Noteworthy:

  • CloudMonix receives data from its monitoring agent
  • CloudMonix connects to standalone Windows Server from within own cloud premise thru user-defined IP address and port which need to be white-listed as described in this article
  • pre-configured metrics (basic Windows Server): application event logs, CPU time, disk free space, disk idle time, disk read / write speed, virtual memory in use, memory free process list, resource status, system event logs, system uptime
  • alerts (basic Windows Server) on high CPU, instance rebooted, low disk space, low memory, slow disk and resource outages
  • conditional or schedule-based ability to run a custom PowerShell script and reboot an instance or restart a service using PowerShell




Setup


a. Download and install CloudMonix Agent:


Click on the Download Agent link in the platform dashboard, select platform and operating system and click on the Download link:


  • setup script for the agent can be run remotely
  • agent is pre-configured for specific account it was downloaded from
  • agent needs to be deployed for every monitored VM



Agent download



Upload the agent setup script to your server and follow the installation instructions in the install-readme.txt file in the archive to install the monitoring agent for your VM.


Refresh your browser to see the resource added to your dashboard.



b. Firewall configuration:


CloudMonix monitoring services are hosted in Azure and use static IP addresses to perform monitoring. In certain circumstances user-defined firewall rules may prevent CloudMonix from accessing the monitored resources. Given this scenario, it is necessary to white-list CloudMonix IP addresses as described in this article.




c. Fill in required information in the Definition tab:



Definition tab provides settings for the resource name, machine name, monitoring agent selection, configuration template and categories:



Definition settings




Best Practices

Configuration Template setting provides pre-defined configuration templates available in CloudMonix by default as well as previously stored custom templates. The following default templates are available for Windows Server resource:



Definition tab for an existing resource can be accessed by clicking the resource's monitoring settings in the performance dashboard:


Resource monitoring settings




d. Advanced configuration:



Advanced configuration



Advanced configuration tab provides additional monitoring settings, which are already set as default for most use-cases.




Collect, understand and use your data


Specific Metrics, Templates, Alerts and Automation Actions for Windows Server:


Windows Server Settings




a. Metrics:


Diagnostic data points retrieved from the monitored resource are referred to as metrics . CloudMonix provides default templates for the metrics recommended for common configurations. Metrics can be further added, removed or customized in the Metrics tab of the Windows Server resource configuration dialog:


CloudMonix Windows Server monitoring metrics




b. Alerts:


CloudMonix features a sophisticated alert engine that allows alerts to be published for very particular conditions pre-defined by a template configuration or custom based on any of the available metrics. Alerts can be further added, removed or customized in the Alerts tab of the Windows Server resource configuration dialog:


CloudMonix alerts for Windows Server




c. Actions:


Actions are automation features that can be configured to fire based on specific conditions or schedule. Actions can be added and configured in the Actions tab of the Windows Server resource configuration dialog:


Available actions include conditional or schedule-based ability to run a custom PowerShell script and reboot an instance or restart a service using PowerShell.



CloudMonix Windows Server automation




Setup verification and troubleshooting


a. Setup verification:


Successful resource setup can be verified by clicking Test button in the resource configuration dialog and visiting the Test Results tab:


Monitoring setup test results




b. Troubleshooting monitoring issues:


CloudMonix provides deep insights into resource monitoring issues via the Status Dashboard screen. The screen allows to overview resources that have raised alerts and troubleshoot them by diving into the monitoring logs.


Status dashboard


Read the full article on how to use Status Dashboard to diagnose resource monitoring issues.