Back in March, we first brought up the topic of server monitoring on our blog. In our initial post we explained how server monitoring works, identified some common monitoring metrics and explained who can benefit from it. To build off of that initial introduction to server monitoring, today we will discuss 5 server monitoring best practices to help you protect your website, email, data, application, or whatever else you may be housing on your server.

Shared hosting plans are incredibly convenient. The full-service approach to hosting makes it easy for business owners to remove themselves from the behind-the-scenes work of keeping a website online. There can, however, be some drawbacks to these hosting plans. To make sure you’re really getting the most from your shared hosting package, it’s important to regularly ask these 3 questions.

Nothing can ruin a great afternoon like a blasted 404 error page. We’ve all been there – surfing the web like there’s no tomorrow, when BAM! All progress comes to a screeching halt because we land on a page that reads “404 Error: Page not found!”

How frustrating!

And then the questions start to rise. For instance, why is it called a “404” page? And are there any other sorts of pages out there we need to be watching out for? To better understand these pages, which are flagged by server response codes, we have to first understand how the web works. Don’t worry, it’s actually pretty simple.

When servers work as expected, no one notices that they’re there. The minute a server stops fulfilling its duty, it can seem like the sky is falling. Many businesses – especially small businesses – live and die by the performance of their servers. That’s why choosing the right server and the appropriate configuration is so important.

Servers should be reliable, obviously. Business owners should also expect their servers to be secure, efficient and scalable. Secure servers protect company data and can regulate many business functions. Efficient server utilization helps keep costs where they should be. Scalable servers enable businesses to grow into themselves and can also help with daily operation. They’re there to help the business, not disrupt it.