I wrote a huge post today about monitoring your web server that i intended to put up here on WHW. But, it got so long and out of control, that i thought it would be best to place it elsewhere. And by that i mean, anywhere but here – where it would likely bore the pants off of all of you.

Basically, i found 2 cool web-based softwares called Mon.itor.us and Montastic that will track any server’s status, in real-time, and report any changes to you either via email notification or through an RSS feed.

The whole reason i was inspired to write the darn post in the first place was because i thought some of the people who came to this site might find it useful to be able to compare the performance of one web server over another.

Anyway, i figure i’ll put all the good screenshots here, and let you guys decide for yourselves whether or not you’re interested in this kind of thing and want to read more before trying.

This is a shot of Montastic listing all servers as currently: Online. Big, green computer icons equals good.

And here’s one of Mon.itor.us showing a “Snapshot” of all my server. Looks like they’re all responding. Let’s hope they stay that way for a while.

Finally, here Mon.itor.us again. This time it’s a real-time line chart of a specific web server (TechBlog) – archiving performance times throughout the day.

If you’re considering buying “conventional” web hosting (from the man) – i would suggest spending at least a week comparing the performance of 2-3 of your top choice before jumping into a monthly payment plan. While you’re at it, throw in a dollar for this week’s WHW draw to win 1-Year of Web Hosting. That way, if do you win, your choice becomes a lot easier.

I say: “Quit wrestling with yourself and play the field a little.”