How to Set Up Website Monitoring Using Overseer

Overseer is a free, powerful tool for monitoring website availability and performance. In this article, we will break down step by step how to set up website monitoring using Overseer, and also consider additional aspects such as check types, report formats, and alternative services for checking website availability.

Step 1: Registration in Overseer

To get started, you need to register an account in Overseer. Then, email confirmation of registration is required.

Step 2: Setting Up Website Monitoring

Go to the Overseer web interface and add a new website for monitoring. Specify the website URL, check type, and monitoring interval.

Possible Monitoring Types

• Domain expiration monitoring
• SSL certificate expiration monitoring
• RKN (Roskomnadzor) monitoring
• Accelerated monitoring
• Extended monitoring

Possible Check Types

• Checking website availability via HTTP or HTTPS protocol.
• Checking server availability via ICMP requests.
• Checking the correctness of DNS records.
• Checking robots.txt
• HTTP Basic Auth

Step 3: Configuring Notifications

Overseer supports various ways to notify about website problems:

• Email
• Telegram

Configure your preferred notification method in the "Settings > Notifications" section of the web interface.

Step 4: Viewing Reports

Overseer provides detailed reports on website availability and performance. Reports are available in various formats:

• HTML: Data visualization in the form of graphs and tables.
• JSON: Structured data for integration with other systems.
• CSV: Tabular format for analysis in Excel or Google Sheets.

Incidents Tracked by Overseer

• DNS IP Address Resolution Error: The website monitoring system cannot resolve the domain name to an IP address. Our service detects problems with DNS servers affecting the availability of your URLs and web servers.
• Connection Timeout: The waiting time for a response from the server during availability monitoring has been exceeded. Our tool records connection timeouts to websites, signaling performance issues.
• Failed to Establish Connection: The monitoring service cannot establish a connection with the target server. We detect problems with website availability, network errors, and blockages.
• SSL Certificate Error: Problem with the SSL certificate when checking website security. Our web server monitoring identifies expired or invalid certificates.
• Empty Server Response: The server returns an empty response when checking URL availability. The website monitoring system records incorrect operation of web servers.
• Connection Was Reset: The server unexpectedly terminates the connection during monitoring. Our service detects instability in the operation of websites and servers.
• Connection Refused: The server explicitly rejects the monitoring system's connection. We record problems with port availability and server settings.
• Cyclic Redirects: An infinite chain of redirects when checking a URL. Our website monitoring identifies web server configuration errors.
• 204 No Content: The server successfully processed the monitoring request but returned no content. Standard response for monitoring APIs and web services.
• 301 Moved Permanently: Permanent redirection of a URL to a new address. The monitoring system tracks changes in website structure for SEO.
• 302 Found (Moved Temporarily): Temporary redirection when checking website availability. Monitoring records changes in the operation of web servers.
• 303 See Other: Redirection for other types of monitoring requests. Important for tracking the correct operation of web applications.
• 304 Not Modified: The resource has not changed since the last monitoring check. Optimizes server load when tracking static content.
• 400 Bad Request: The server cannot process the monitoring system's request due to a syntax error. Checking the correctness of the URL and parameters.
• 401 Unauthorized: Authentication is required to access the resource during monitoring. Setting up authorization to check closed sections of the site.
• 403 Forbidden: Access to the resource is forbidden for the monitoring system. Identifying problems with access rights on the web server.
• 404 Not Found: The requested URL was not found on the server. Monitoring detects broken links and missing pages on the site.
• 405 Method Not Allowed: The request method is not supported by the server during monitoring. Configuring correct HTTP methods for API testing.
• 406 Not Acceptable: The server cannot return content according to the monitoring headers. Checking the server's support for data formats.
• 407 Proxy Authentication Required: Authentication for the proxy server is required during monitoring. Setting up access via proxy for website checks.
• 408 Request Timeout: The server did not receive the full monitoring system request within the set time. Problems with web server performance.
• 409 Conflict: Conflict when processing a monitoring request due to the resource's state. Detecting problems with simultaneous data access.
• 410 Gone: The resource has been permanently removed from the server. Monitoring records the final deletion of site pages for SEO optimization.
• 411 Length Required: A Content-Length header is required to execute the monitoring request. Configuring correct headers for server checks.
• 412 Precondition Failed: The conditions of the monitoring request were not met by the server. Checking cache configuration and access conditions.
• 413 Payload Too Large: The request body exceeds server limits during monitoring. Optimizing data size for performance testing.
• 414 URI Too Long: The URL length exceeds the server's allowable limit during monitoring. Checking the correctness of website addresses for tracking.
• 415 Unsupported Media Type: The request data format is not supported by the monitoring server. Configuring compatible content types for checks.
• 416 Range Not Satisfiable: The requested byte range is not available for the resource during monitoring. Checking the correctness of partial content requests.
• 417 Expectation Failed: The server cannot meet the requirement from the Expect header during monitoring. Configuring compatible expectations for web servers.
• 421 Misdirected Request: The monitoring request was sent to the wrong server. Detecting problems with routing and load balancing.
• 422 Unprocessable Content: The server understood the monitoring request but cannot process the content. Identifying semantic errors in API operation.
• 426 Upgrade Required: The server requires a protocol upgrade to work with the monitoring system. Migrating to modern HTTP versions.
• 428 Precondition Required: The server requires conditional requests for monitoring. Configuring additional headers for resource checks.
• 429 Too Many Requests: The number of requests from the monitoring system to the server has been exceeded. Optimizing the frequency of website availability checks.
• 431 Request Header Fields Too Large: The monitoring request headers exceed server limits. Reducing header size for correct checking.
• 500 Internal Server Error: Internal server error when processing a monitoring request. A critical problem with website or application availability.
• 501 Not Implemented: The server does not support the functionality required for monitoring. Updating server software.
• 502 Bad Gateway: Problem with a gateway or proxy server during monitoring. Identifying failures in the chain of access to the target site.
• 503 Service Unavailable: The server is temporarily unavailable to the monitoring system. Detecting website downtime due to overload or maintenance.
• 504 Gateway Timeout: The gateway did not wait for a response from the upstream server during monitoring. Performance problems in the server chain.
• 505 HTTP Version Not Supported: The server does not support the HTTP version used by the monitoring system. Updating protocols for compatibility.
• 506 Variant Also Negotiates: Server configuration error when processing a monitoring request. Identifying problems with content negotiation.
• 507 Insufficient Storage: Insufficient space on the server to process the monitoring request. A critical problem with disk space.
• 508 Loop Detected: An infinite loop detected when processing a monitoring request. Identifying web server configuration errors.
• 510 Not Extended: Extensions to the monitoring request are required to access the resource. Configuring additional check parameters.
• 511 Network Authentication Required: Network authentication is required for access during monitoring. Setting up access to protected networks and resources.