Apache Monitoring
Traffic, requests, workers and resources of the Apache web server kept under control with a single package of checks, without exposing status pages on the web.
Proactive, secure and efficient monitoring
Apache is one of the most widely used web server platforms and runs on many operating systems, including Unix and Linux, Microsoft and OpenVMS. Querying the server by hand to track down performance and availability problems is time-consuming and not very effective.
Many monitoring systems read Apache’s status from an HTTP page that can be viewed in a browser; however, web access to this information can become a security threat. Sentinet³ instead uses the Sentinet³ Apache Pattern, a package of dedicated checks that works over the secure SSH protocol.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Pattern | Sentinet³ Apache Pattern |
| Protocol | SSH |
| Sources | Apache server status and access.log |
| Scope | Server, network interfaces, web server parameters |
The Pattern’s checks
Every check has operator-configurable thresholds and sends notifications when values exceed them.
Server
| Check | What it verifies |
|---|---|
| Reachability | The server responds on the network |
| Port 80 | Response to HTTP requests |
| Port 443 | Response to HTTPS requests |
| /tmp | Space used in the /tmp directory |
| Mem | Percentage of memory in use |
| Swap | Percentage of swap space in use |
| CPU | CPU utilisation |
| Disk | Percentage of disk space |
| Interface | Interfaces UP or DOWN |
| Process_running | A process is running |
| Process_mem | Memory used by a specific process |
| Process_num | Number of running processes |
Web server parameters
| Check | What it verifies |
|---|---|
| Total_access | Total number of accesses to Apache |
| CPU load | CPU load |
| Uptime | Apache uptime |
| Request_per_minute | Requests per minute |
| Bytes_per_second | Bytes transferred per second |
| Bytes_per_request | Bytes transferred per request |
| Busy_workers | Active threads |
| Idle_workers | Idle threads |
Network interfaces
With a single query to the server, the Pattern returns for each interface: up or down status, IP address, MAC address, speed in Mbit, packets with errors, and inbound and outbound traffic.
From unusual traffic to configuration problems
- Anomalous traffic: requests per second and bytes exchanged per second and per request, compared with historical data, reveal unusually high or low traffic and help prevent DDoS attacks.
- Access by IP address: on request, Sentinet³ extracts from the access.log files the connections from specific IPs and the number of accesses, valuable information for security.
- Busy and idle workers: recent versions of Apache adjust the number of workers on their own and keep a pool of threads ready. Watching how these figures evolve is a proactive way to spot configuration problems.
- CPU consumption of the Apache process: with notifications when it exceeds the thresholds set by the user.
Related topics
Want to see Sentinet³ on your infrastructure?
Tell us about your environment: sites, technologies, critical services. We will show you how Core and Infinity can work on your case.