Monitoring

Lanview Monitoring checks the availability of devices and network services and records their status over time.

A monitor can target a Lanview-managed device or another reachable device or service on the local network. For example, Lanview can check whether a server responds to a ping or whether a specific Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) port accepts a connection.

The Monitor module provides a central place to create monitors, review current status, inspect history and acknowledge alerts.

Monitoring is an evolving feature and will be expanded in future releases.

Choosing a monitor type

The monitor type determines what Lanview checks.

Ping monitor

A Ping monitor sends an Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) echo request to the target.

Use Ping when you want to know whether a device or address responds at network level.

A successful Ping result means the target answered the request. It does not confirm that a particular application or service is working.

Ping can fail even when the target is online if ICMP traffic is blocked by Windows Firewall, a network firewall, a router or another security control.

TCP monitor

A TCP monitor attempts to connect to a specific TCP port on the target.

Use a TCP monitor when you need to check whether a network service is accepting connections, such as a web service, database service or another application with a known TCP port.

A successful TCP result confirms that the connection to that port was accepted. It does not perform an application-level login or confirm that every feature of the service is working.

Which should you use?

Use Ping for a general reachability check.

Use TCP when the availability of a particular service matters. A server may respond to Ping while its application port is unavailable, and a service may accept TCP connections even when Ping is blocked.

For important services, using both monitor types can help distinguish between a device connectivity problem and a service-specific problem.

Adding a monitor

To add a monitor:

1. Open the Monitor module in Lanview Studio.
2. Choose the option to add a monitor.
3. Enter a clear name for the monitor.
4. Select the monitor type, such as Ping or TCP.
5. Enter the target host name or Internet Protocol (IP) address.
6. For a TCP monitor, enter the port to test.
7. Review the interval, timeout and alert settings shown by Studio.
8. Save the monitor.
9. Wait for the first check and confirm that the result matches the expected state.

Use a Domain Name System (DNS) name where the address may change and name resolution is reliable. Use an IP address where the monitor must target a fixed address.

Managing monitors

Administrators with monitor.manage can edit, pause, resume or delete monitors.

Pause a monitor during planned maintenance when repeated failures would not be useful. Resume it after the maintenance has completed.

Before deleting a monitor, consider whether its history is still needed for operational review.

Alerts

Alerts show monitor conditions that require attention or review.

Acknowledging an alert records that an administrator has reviewed it. Acknowledgement does not fix the underlying condition or change the next monitor result.

Future Lanview releases may add more actions and notification options when alerts are raised.

Permissions

Monitoring permissions include:

Assign monitor management separately from monitor viewing where practical.

Audit behaviour

Lanview audits monitor configuration and alert acknowledgement activity.

Audit records can include:

• monitor created
• monitor updated
• monitor deleted
• monitor paused
• monitor resumed
• alert acknowledged
• monitor configuration updated

Common problems

A Ping monitor fails but the device is online

ICMP may be blocked. Check the target firewall, network firewall and routing. A TCP monitor against a known service may provide a more useful check.

A TCP monitor fails

Confirm the target port, make sure the service is running and check that firewalls allow the connection from Lanview Server.

A monitor shows stale information

Check when the monitor last ran and whether the target or Lanview Server was unavailable at that time.

An alert remains after acknowledgement

Acknowledgement records that the alert was reviewed. It does not clear the underlying failure. The monitor must return to a healthy state for the condition to change.

Guidance

Choose a monitor that tests the condition you actually care about. Ping is suitable for general reachability, while TCP is more useful for checking a specific service.

Test new monitors against a known healthy target and a deliberately unavailable target so that the expected results are clear before relying on them.