Software deployments, hosting changeovers, and new firewall filters are only a few of the reasons why I've worked 6 of the last 7 weekends, but a common theme for my day job has been the need to monitor my work, sometimes troubleshoot and always insure my customers have a positive experience. Like many of you, the budget available for add-on troubleshooting tools is often minimal. Thus, I thought folks might like to know some of the tools I use to make life easier, and solve problems. In succession, this post will present some of my favorite tools for use on desktop, android and finally iPad computers. These days, you need to work upon all platforms
By far and away, my favorite free utility which helps me understand what a web site is doing, when something does not seem to be behaving as I would expect is "HTTP Watch". This great tool will let you understand what is happening (or not happening) in the back ground of your web site. Recently, when my project team was stumped as to why a video player would not load inside a corporate firewall, HTTP Watch was invaluable. We quickly learned the new video player was calling an Akamai high definition site which was blocked by our firewall. Using HTTP Watch is easy. Download, Install, Record, Reload Web Page, View Results. Here is a session from loading this site (i.e. NorthStarNerd.Org). Sometimes the results may surprise you as to the number of calls to other web sites are invoked on any given web page.
For all the images found within this post, click to view at full size / resolution.
Start HTTP Watch
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Press Record | Reload Web Page | Evaluate
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Evaluation Continued: Additional Tab
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Assuming your service is now properly working, you will need to monitor the uptime. It's always better to discover before your customer that a web service is down. This post now presents two options, one of a desktop PC, and one via a smartphone (Android). While a PC version has more power and can deliver more data, the advantage of a smartphone is it is always with you ... thus the potential for immediate notification.
For the PC, many tools exist, but one nice choice is EMCO Ping Monitor. This free utilitiy allows one to configure a ping service, and many additional options. If you have an SMTP service available, EMCO will send you an email when an anomoly is discovered. Here are a few screenshots.
Add a Service to Monitor
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Configure Options
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Monitor Results
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If I want to accomplish the same on my Android phone (i.e. monitor sites for which I am responsible), Ping HostMonitor is a nifty little free utilitiy. One may quickly add sites, configure the ping period, and then set up monitoring via a smartphone. A quick visual check when using your phones lets one no everything is okay. Here are three screenshots from my Motorola Defy Android Smartphone.
Android Home Screen
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Ping HostMonitor Home Screen & Settings
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Finally, this review finishes up with the iPad. While the iPad is definitely not a development platform, you still need to understand what is happening. While not as useful as HTTP Watch, iDebug (iTunes | Developer Web Site) is good utility for learning how a web site behaves when loading on an iPad, and also inspecting the code. As always with this review, click to maximize any image.
iDebug Analyze of NorthstarNerd.Org
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iDebug Source Code for NorthstarNerd.Org
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I hope this analysis of some nice free utilities has proven useful. I recongnize there are many other tools which can assist with your web site analysis and troubleshooting. Feel free to suggest options in the comments.
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