Have you tried the Dynamic Server List monitor? If not, you’re missing out on a powerful feature!
The Dynamic Server List monitor can be run as a Global Monitor, from Advanced Services > Global Monitors. It lets you create a list based on a large number of possible criteria, such as:
- • Does the server have a particular service
- • The value of a performance counter
- • The value of a Custom Property
- • Text found within the server’s name
- • any many more…
This monitor is run on a schedule you control, and checks your criteria to update the server list. You can receive notifications when servers enter and leave the list if you would like. For example, you can be alerted if a server enters the list of all servers with less than 16GB or RAM.
Dynamic Groups
But that’s just a small part of what the monitor enables. There is a type of group called the Dynamic Group. Unlike most groups where you can drag and drop computers and groups in and out, a Dynamic Group’s list of servers is based on a Dynamic Server List. This lets you create groups like these:
- • Group of servers that have an Exchange service
- • Group of servers with over 64GB of RAM
- • Group of servers that have the Custom Property “Department” set to “FINANCE”
- • etc.
Because many reports work at the group level, this lets you define dynamic reports based on all sorts of different criteria.
Dynamic Configuration via Templates
But wait, there’s more!
As cool as the above is, now I’m going to show you some real magic 🙂
You know about Monitor Templates, right? What if you put a monitor template that watched Exchange-specific Performance counters in a Dynamic Group based on all computers that have the Exchange services on them? Now your Exchange-specific monitors can be applied to Exchange servers automatically, without you needing to specify them!
We’ve got customers that have done some truly amazing monitoring with this approach. Monitoring for hundreds of servers can be automatically configured based on the server’s attributes. Add the Network Scanner monitor to find new servers for you, and you can have most of your monitoring configuration both automatically configured AND setup exactly how you want it.
