The HTTP - QA Monitor tests a web server's ability to accept incoming sessions and transmit a requested resource, such as a web page, or the results of a CGI script.

Use the HTTP - QA Monitor to ensure that the web server can:

1. Communicate with ipMonitor via the HTTP protocol.
2. Respond within a required number of seconds.
3. Access the source files and/or resources required to construct a specified web page or resource.
4. Transmit a specified web page or resource that is an exact content match with the snapshot of the resource ipMonitor has on file.

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The Test Parameters dialog box is used to specify the location of the resource you want to monitor, and any parameters required to connect to it.

IP Address / Domain Name
Specify the location of the HTTP server you want to monitor. Both IP Address and Domain Name are valid entries.

Note: Entering an IP address will eliminate any variables introduced by performing a lookup on the DNS server. If entering an IP Address, however, ensure that the web site in question is not configured to use a Host Header Name.

Examples of valid Domain Names are: www.xyzcompany.com, ftp.xyzcompany.com, xyzcompany.com
An example of a valid IP Address is: 10.200.50.11

TCP Port
Specify the Port Number that the target web site responds on. By default, the standard Port Number used by HTTP servers (Port 80) is already entered.

URL
Enter the relative path to the resource being monitored. This field must begin with a forward slash ( / ). Examples of valid relative paths are:

• /
• /index.asp
• /notes/changelog.txt

Credential for Monitoring
The HTTP - QA Monitor can use a Credential to transmit account and password information when monitoring an HTTP server that uses one of the following authentication methods:

• Digest Authentication
• NTLM Authentication (Windows NT LAN Manager)
• Basic Authentication (Clear Text)

To select a Credential:

• Click the Select... button to pop up the Credentials for Monitoring dialog
• Select an existing Credential from the HTTP category
• To create a new Credential, click the New Credential button to start the Wizard

Account and password information is passed only when challenged. However, this information will be passed when challenged to any web server that the connection is redirected to.

Note: For detailed information regarding configuration options for Credentials that are to be used with HTTP based Monitors, refer to Credentials for Monitoring :: HTTP based.

Note: For more information about Credentials, refer to the section titled About Credentials.

Force communication through an HTTP Proxy Server
This option forces ipMonitor to monitor HTTP resources through your organization's HTTP Proxy Server.

Before you select this option, first ensure ipMonitor's global Client HTTP Settings have been correctly set up to permit communications with your proxy server.

Note: Refer to the Server Settings section for more information.

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The Analysis of Test Results section is used to obtain a checksum of the target resource using the Test Parameters provided.

ipMonitor does not maintain a local copy of the resource being monitored. When you click the Update... button, ipMonitor obtains a checksum (CRC-32) of the resource. When monitoring the resource, ipMonitor retrieves the file and generates a checksum for comparison against the original value. If either the Size or Checksum of the file are different, ipMonitor will begin the failure and alerting process.

Note: If the resource is updated or modified, ipMonitor will need to obtain a new checksum for comparison. The new checksum can be obtained by clicking the Update... button.

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When the Monitor is in an Up state, test results are reported as shown in the example below:

rtt - Round-Trip Time. This value indicates the time it took the test packet to reach the monitored resource and return a response to ipMonitor. Round-trip time is measured in milliseconds (ms).

kps - Kilobytes Per Second. This value indicates the web server's transfer data rate.

http - HTTP Status Code. Codes in the 200 to 399 range indicate success. Codes in the 400 to 599 range indicate an error.

When the Monitor is in a Warn, Down, or Lost state, the Last Result field indicates the problem encountered. Different Monitor types generate specific Error Codes in accordance with the technical capabilities of the Monitor. Refer to the Error Codes section of this document for details.

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The HTTP - QA Monitor can generate considerable bandwidth if aggressive timing parameters are applied. Therefore, we advise keeping the default timing intervals of 300 seconds intact.

If you use log analysis or web analytics software, the HTTP - QA Monitor may cause hits to be generated. Refer to your log analysis software for information regarding how to exclude ipMonitor from analysis.

For information on settings common to all Monitor types, such as Identification, Timing, Notification Control and Recovery Parameters, refer to General Monitor Settings.

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The following error codes are generated by the HTTP - QA Monitor. Error codes are displayed in Real-time and Historical Reports. They can also be added to Alerts using Tokens.

Message	Details
Configuration information for this item is missing some required fields	A required element for Monitor connectivity or testing was not supplied to ipMonitor.
Unable to connect to the remote device	The specified address to the connection-based Service is unavailable.
The remote device timed out before sending a response	The resource being monitored did not respond within the maximum allowable time.
Unexpected disconnection from the remote device	The server disconnected during the test transaction.
Could not obtain an IP address for the remote device	The supplied address was not a valid IP address OR the Server Domain Name could not be translated into an IP address. The Server Domain Name may refer to a local machine name, or a fully qualified domain name.
The server redirected to an unsupported protocol	The resource is either not adhering to the protocol standard or ipMonitor does not understand a proprietary change in the protocol.
The response from the remote device does not adhere to protocol specification	The resource is either not adhering to the protocol standard or ipMonitor does not understand a proprietary change in the protocol.
The remote device sent more data than expected	The server sent more data than expected for this protocol. This is usually due to an error in the software being monitored.
Access rights are insufficient	ipMonitor was unable to process the request because of insufficient permissions.
The Monitoring Credential is not available for use with this Monitor	The Credential selected in the Monitor configuration is not permitted to be used with this Monitor.
The remote device rejected the request due to a client error	The server was unable to process the request because of a client-side error.
The retrieved file has changed since the original sample	The file stored on the remote server has been modified as compared to the sample last taken by ipMonitor.
The remote device is using an invalid certificate	The server sent an invalid certificate to ipMonitor.
The remote device is using a revoked certificate	The server sent a certificate that is listed in the Certificate Revocation List.
The remote device is using a certificate with an unknown or invalid certificate authority	The server sent a certificate that lists a Certificate Authority that is unknown or not trusted.
The remote device is using a certificate with a common name not matching the host name used to connect	The server sent a certificate that contains a Common Name (Issued To) value that does not match the host name of the server.
The remote device is using an expired certificate	The server sent a certificate that is not valid (expired).
Unable to check for certificate revocation, the server used to check for revocation might be unreachable	ipMonitor is unable to contact the Certificate Authority server to verify the revocation status of the certificate. This may be due to a communications error.
The remote device requires ipMonitor to provide a client certificate	The server has sent a message indicating that ipMonitor is required to provide a client certificate.

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