Protocols & Errors
|
Protocol Types
|
net-ecg monitors websites and other web-based devices at the protocol level, issuing appropriate requests and validating and recording responses. But what types of protocol can it check? Note: Not all service levels of net-ecg support all of these protocols. See our comparison table for details.
|
| HTTP 'Get': |
monitors the 'Get' method for a URL using the HTTP protocol and checks the response received against the expected response.
|
| HTTP 'Post': |
monitors the 'Post' method as used in web forms, drop-down lists or most other forms of query. Checks the response received against the expected response and checks that the back-end databases and cgi scripts are functioning correctly.
|
HTTPS 'Get':
|
monitors the 'Get' method for a URL using the HTTPS secure protocol and checks the response received against the expected response.
|
| HTTPS 'Post': |
monitors the 'Post' method using the HTTPS secure protocol. Checks the response received against the expected response and checks that the back-end databases and cgi scripts are functioning correctly.
|
SMTP:
|
establishes a connection to the SMTP mail server and checks for appropriate responses to ensure that the SMTP server is correctly accepting and delivering email.
|
FTP:
|
establishes a connection and checks for appropriate responses to ensure that the FTP server is accepting connections and successfully uploading and downloading files.
|
File:
|
requests a file from an HTTP server. Records the time it takes to download the file and its physical size then checks the download time and the file size against the expected response.
|
Password Authentication:
|
verifies that devices protected using "Basic Clear Text" or Microsoft's "Challenge/Response" authentication issue the appropriate username/password challenges and that authorised users can login.
|
Error Types
|
When an irregular response is noted by a net-ecg monitor, it records an appropriate error message. Below is a list of error types and their meaning:
|
| Invalid URL: |
The device address supplied is incorrect. Please check the spelling.
|
| Invalid Parameter: |
A device address has not been entered. Please enter a valid device address.
|
| Not Found: |
The device address specified could not be found. Please check the correct address has been entered.
|
| Not Authorised: |
Access is not permitted to view the contents of this device address. Please contact the HTTP(S) server administrator if access is required.
|
| Request Timed Out: |
The HTTP(S) server timed out while trying to respond to the request. The connection between the monitor and the HTTP(S) server may be very busy or the HTTP(S) server may be overloaded. Check the traceroute for any slow sections indicated by high rtts. If the traceroute appears to be normal the problem may be with the HTTP(S) server.
|
| Not Found: |
The device address specified could not be found. Please check the correct address has been entered.
|
| Connection Failed (HTTP/HTTPS): |
A connection could not be made to the HTTP/HTTPS server. An invalid username or password may have been supplied, a network problem may exist or the HTTP/HTTPS server may not be responding. Check correct username and password have been supplied if appropriate. Check traceroute for long rtts or timeout errors which may indicate a problem with the network. If the traceroute appears to be normal, then the HTTP/HTTPS server may be busy.
|
| Connection Failed (SMTP): |
A connection could not be made to the SMTP server. A network problem may exist or the SMTP server may not be responding. Check the traceroute for long rtts or timeout errors which may indicate a problem with the network. If the traceroute appears to be normal the SMTP server may be busy.
|
| Connection Failed (FTP): |
A connection could not be made to the FTP server. An invalid username or password may have been supplied, a network problem may exist or the FTP server may not be responding. Check correct username and password have been supplied if appropriate. Check the traceroute for long rtts or timeout errors which may indicate a problem with the network. If the traceroute appears to be normal the FTP server may be busy.
|
| Request Timed Out: |
The HTTP/HTTPS server timed out while trying to respond to the request. The connection between the monitor and the HTTP/HTTPS server may be very busy or the HTTP/HTTPS server may be overloaded. Check the traceroute for any slow sections indicated by high rtts. If the traceroute appears to be normal, then the problem may be with the HTTP/HTTPS server.
|
| Download Timed Out: |
The time taken to download the entire device exceeded the timeout specified for the device. The connection between the monitor and the HTTP/HTTPS server may be very busy or the HTTP/HTTPS server may be overloaded. Check the traceroute for any slow sections indicated by high rtts. If the traceroute appears to be normal, then the problem may be with the HTTP/HTTPS server.
|
| Search String Not Found: |
The search string specified for the device could not be found in the page downloaded. The full page and all of its contents may not have been downloaded completely. Check that the search string specified is still valid for this device.
|
| Incomplete Download: |
A problem occurred while retrieving an object referenced in the downloaded HTML. The device may not have been downloaded completely or an HTML syntax error may be present in the HTML.
|
| Incomplete File Download: |
The size of the downloaded file did not match the file size specified for the device. The file may not have been downloaded completely.
|
