The HTTPS Monitor tests a web server's ability to accept incoming sessions over a secure channel, generate a web page server side, and then transmit the requested web page to ipMonitor.

The requested pages may be static HTML pages or dynamic pages such as Microsoft Active Server Pages, Cold Fusion pages or PHP Hypertext Preprocessor pages.

Typical uses of the HTTPS Monitor are:

• Monitoring secure web-based applications for sales and customer service.
• Accessing corporate databases and back-end applications.

Use the HTTPS Monitor to ensure that the web server can:

1. Communicate with ipMonitor via the HTTPS protocol.
2. Respond within a required number of seconds.
3. Run server side scripts, ActiveX components, access data sources, etc. to successfully construct the requested web page.
4. Transmit the requested web page or resource.

HTTPS Monitor features include:

• Searching the delivered page for a specific text string.
• Using HEAD requests to save on bandwidth.
• Following redirections until a valid file is transmitted or until an error occurs.
• Transmitting account and password information if required by the web server.

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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 HTTPS server you want to monitor. Both IP Address and Domain Name are valid entries.

Examples of valid Domain Names are: www.xyzcompany.com, ftp.xyzcompany.com, xyzcompany.com
An example of a valid IP address is: 10.200.100.6

TCP Port
Specify the Port Number that the target web site responds on. By default, the standard Port Number used by HTTPS communication (Port 443) 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
• /pub/db/load&box=10h+20w

Credential for Monitoring
The HTTPS Monitor supports using a Credential to transmit account and password information when monitoring a web server using one of the following authentication methods:

• NTLM Authentication (Formerly "Windows NT LAN Manager" and now called "Integrated Windows Authentication"
• Digest Authentication
• Basic Authentication (Clear Text)

To assign 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.

Note: Account and password information is passed only when challenged.

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.

Follow any HTTP Redirections
If enabled, server redirects will be followed until:

• A valid file is transmitted
• The Monitor reaches the last redirection
• An HTTP error code is received

Note: When challenged, account and password information is passed to any web server to which the connection is redirected.

Use HEAD Request to Save on Bandwidth
By default, the HTTPS Monitor will retrieve the web page using a GET request.

It can also use HEAD requests to save on bandwidth. When this option is selected, the HTTPS Monitor will simply test website links for validity and accessibility. The Monitor will obtain Meta information about the resource identified by the Request-URI without transferring the Body itself.

Allow SSL certificates to have a different Common Name than Host Name
If enabled, should ipMonitor detect that the common name of the SSL certificate differs from the ipMonitor server / host IP address, this error will be ignored.

If a Self Signed Certificate was created using ipMonitor's Configuration Program and used by the external ipMonitor installation, by default the Common Name field will be populated with the fully qualified Domain Name of the machine.

Allow SSL certificates to be issued by Untrusted Authorities
If enabled, should ipMonitor detect an SSL certificate issued by a Certificate Authority that is not recognized by the SSL Certificates database, this error will be ignored.

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 HTTPS Monitor can be used to search for a specific string within the web page it downloads. For example, with a CGI request you could test that the web application correctly queries the database backend and that the results are being correctly parsed by the web server into the resulting web page.

Search String
Enter the desired search string. The Monitor will retrieve the web page and search for the exact string you specify.

Fail if the Search Text is found
When this option is selected, the Monitor test will fail if the text is found on the page.

Succeed if the Search Text is found
When this option is selected, the Monitor test will succeed if the text is found on the page.

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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 HTTPS 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 must change these default parameters, we recommend using 30-60 second intervals when monitoring critical website pages (i.e. Shopping Cart, main page, etc.).

If you use log analysis or web analytics software, the HTTPS 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 HTTPS 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(s) 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. Any attempts to redirect to a protocol other than HTTP or HTTPS will induce this error.
The remote device rejected the request due to an internal error	Upon connecting to the server, an initial message indicating the server is unavailable was received.
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 rejected the request due to a client error	The server was unable to process the request because of a client-side error.
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 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.
The pattern describing the good state is missing	The data sent by the server did not contain the search pattern required for a PASS condition.

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