Starting this week, it is possible to see the exact reason why a server or website is detected as down by Pingdom. This will make it much easier for you as a user to pinpoint exactly what is wrong, and should help you find the problem faster.
This is not a feature you need to activate. It is already automatically working for all Pingdom accounts.
Where do I find it and how do I use it?
The error messages are part of the “Detailed logs” in the Pingdom control panel. This is where you can view the individual results from all our monitoring servers, and now with even more detail because of the error descriptions.
The “Response Time / Error” column will show the error message if an error has been detected, otherwise it will just show the response time.
A short version of the error message is displayed directly in the column, and if you hover your mouse pointer over it you will get a more detailed description.
It is that easy. Now when you get a “down” notification (alert) from Pingdom, you can log in to the control panel and see exactly what the problem is.
What errors will I be able to see?
The type of error messages you get depend on what check type you are using (currently HTTP sensor, TCP port sensor, UDP port sensor, or Ping sensor).
For example, if you are using an HTTP check to monitor your website, you can see exactly what kind of error we are getting back when we cannot access your website properly. It could be for example the HTTP error that your server responds with, or you can see if a connection timed out, if a required string on the page was not found, and so on. In other words, you will see what is wrong right away.
(Please note that since this is a new feature, viewing older check results under “detailed log” will only show “No additional info” when there is an error.)
Let us know what you think
We have received very positive feedback regarding this new feature from users who have already been helped by it, and we think that most of our users will find that this is an extremely useful addition.
If you want to get in touch with us for questions or suggestions, please email us at support [at] Pingdom.com (or use our contact form). We love hearing from you, and your feedback helps us make Pingdom an even better service.
