Deviding multiple HTTP tests / userdefined services

[Frank Gruellich]

Hi,

we monitore a server farm with several machines each providing multiple
and different HTTP services, lets say some of them a forum, some others
static pages and some more dynamic PHP pages.  Sets of machines
providing each service may overlap.  Each service has a testing URL,
which is unfortunately way to complicate to easily figure out the
requested service from it, let say

  http://10.0.0.123/index.php?serviceid=7fd6c689c5832e2e7d2dc1188e2548fb
  http://10.0.0.123/index.php?serviceid=733fe2d6c68cd9a245be03532a867483

for forum and dynamic content, respectively.  I know, that's bad by
design, but there is no easy way to change it.

All these URLs are configured with bb-hosts file.  At the moment we
tried two different approches: first we used all URLs at one line for
this machine.  This way the URL list in HTTP details is very long and
unclear.  A single failed test leads to a failure for all HTTP stuff
which results in bad availability reports.  Second we used some pseudo
hostnames like forum-machine1 which leads again to some confusions
because physical there is no such machine.

Last week I was very happy to find cont=COLUMN.  As I think it is a bit
misplaced in content checking area I probably use the wrong option for
my things.  And in addition I need several URLs to check the
availability of a service, eg. for forum:

10.0.0.123 machine123 # cont=forum;http://10.0.0.123/index.php?serviceid=7fd6c689c5832e2e7d2dc1188e2548fb; cont=forum;http://10.0.0.123/index.php?serviceid=898e0df11f6400ce8c47a73b38f83e80;

Now I have a forum column in status pages, but AFAICS from details of
this new column only the first URL is checked.  If any of the later
fails it does not result in an error for this service (but HTTP column
shows a failed test).

I thought about having a lot of external scripts to test all URLs and
report them to hobbit server, but this would be a hell to maintain.  In
addition this lacks the performance analysis hobbit does with HTTP
tests.  So, is there a way to generate and "stack" user defined tests in
the same way as with HTTP tests?

Thanks in advance and kind regards,
-- 
Mapsolute GmbH
Frank Gruellich
Map24 Systems and Networks

Duesseldorfer Strasse 40a
65760 Eschborn
Germany

Phone:      +49 6196 77756-414
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