Tag Archives: Proactive monitoring of network infrastructure

Website Acting Sluggish? Server Monitoring Will Tell You Why (Part 1)

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Man waiting on a slow running website at a desk on a laptop

Slow internet getting you down?

Whether you’re running an eCommerce venue, popular blogger, active business site, job board, charity platform or one of any number of popular websites with a ton of daily traffic, speed is everything. Even if you run a little mom-and-pop site for sharing recipes, the highly competitive modern online environment has no room for slow web pages. The slower your page loads, the more likely your visitors are to close the tab and try somewhere else that’s more responsive and considerate of their valuable internet browsing time. Even a one-second delay in page load statistically results in a loss of 7% of your visitors.
Speeding Up is Harder Than it Sounds
Of course, it’s a lot easier to say ‘speed up your web page’ than it is to actually do it. The reason for this is because your load time isn’t a value you set in your configuration, it’s how long your server takes to serve up the page to each user. There are certain things that anyone can do to reduce load time like use smaller images and chop up your content into multiple compact pages instead of big long ones, but what if you’ve already done that or your design relies on big pictures and long content-rich pages?
There are a few other things you or your web developer can do, but the potential fixes get more and more complex with each attempt at optimization. You can, for instance, set up caching so that your regular users hold onto some of the data your page loads up, making it locally available and faster to appear after the first visit. Then there’s compression which zips up and vacuum-shrinks your HTML and CSS files for faster downloads. When all this is done, if your website is still sluggish then the answer is lurking somewhere in the performance of the server itself, but where?
What’s Wrong With Your Hosting Server?
As you may remember from setting up your website, a site has to be hosted on a server, either locally on a computer you own or, ideally, on a virtual cloud server. If you’re hosting on a local server, it’s possible that your problem is actually physical. Take a moment in the middle of the night when you have the fewest visitors to turn off the machine and clean it. Chances are there’s a reasonable amount of built-up dust inside the case, caked to the vents, and just floating around. If your web page speeds up after this procedure, the problem was that the computer itself was struggling to cool itself and keep up with demand.
If you’re hosting on a cloud server, or if cleaning didn’t help, then the problem lies in the processes running on the server itself. The longer a server runs, and the more things you’ve done on it since setting it up, the more likely it is to have unnecessary processes and memory use eating up your resources and preventing your web page from getting the speed and performance it needs to impress your visitors.

Knowing that your website is slow is only the beginning of the solution and without the ability to monitor the slow down, it will be incredibly difficult to identify and cure the reason your website is running so slowly. This has been the first half of our two-part article. To find out what happens next and how to use monitoring to speed up your website, join us next time for the second half. If you’d like more information about IT managed services or to find the perfect solution for your business, contact us today!

Five Questions to Ask About Proactive Monitoring of Network Infrastructure

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Proactive monitoring of network infrastructure is a critical strategy that can help you prevent problems before they develop. It’s important to ask questions!

Neglecting to monitor your network infrastructure is a fundamental mistake that significantly increases the chances of a successful cyber attack and impairs your network’s performance.

As discussed in a recent article from Beta News, companies need to acknowledge that they’ll not only face cyber attacks, but that some of these attacks will likely get past their initial defenses. While it’s important to use anti-malware programs and other first-line defenses that can initially repel many cyber attacks, you need to realize that you’re never guaranteed 100% protection from unauthorized intrusions.

As such, it’s important to maintain layered defenses and actively monitor your network for suspicious activities that could indicate a successful intrusion. Proactive monitoring of network infrastructure is a critical strategy that can help you prevent or detect various problems before they develop into crisis situations.

Keep in mind that while IT disasters can result from an external cyber attack, there are also other sources of IT emergencies, including equipment and connection failures. So not only is network monitoring a critical part of your cyber defenses; it’s also essential for preserving the general health of your IT infrastructure. Network monitoring enables you to respond to a problem in a prompt, effective way without waiting to first hear about it from frustrated or panicking employees who find that they suddenly can’t get their work done.

Ask your Managed Service Provider (MSP) about monitoring services

When you hire an MSP to manage and advise you about your company’s IT activities, make sure to ask them about the kinds of monitoring services they provide for your network infrastructure. The following are five important questions to ask:

  1. Will they provide proactive monitoring of your company’s network? Sometimes, IT personnel take a purely reactive approach to IT problems. They swoop in to try and fix an issue only after employees have started noticing it or business operations have slowed down or come to a halt. Make sure that the MSP you work with offers proactive monitoring.
  2. How frequently will they monitor your network? Ideally, proactive monitoring will take place round-the-clock, every day of the year. It’s not enough to only sometimes scan your network or devices for problems, or limit the monitoring to business hours. Your MSP should offer you a 24 x 7 x 365 service.
  3. How will they respond to problems? Let’s say there are signs of trouble in your network, suspicious activities, or an outright emergency. How will your MSP respond? Who is actually responsible, and what will they do? Are there limits to what their monitoring service can detect? While you don’t need to know all of the technical details, you should get a clear sense of how they will use network monitoring to act effectively and swiftly.
  4. Will they let you know what’s going on? It’s important to establish clear communication between you and your MSP, including protocols for when they notify you about problems. Even when there aren’t any problems, they should give you regular reports about the state of your IT health, along with recommendations for changes to improve the security, productivity, and cost-effectiveness of your IT set-up.
  5. What kind of information will they give you? Ideally, your MSP will use the information they glean from network monitoring to give you a strong picture of your IT infrastructure, its strengths, and its potential weaknesses. They should provide you with advice for how to strengthen your network’s performance and security. Instead of just doing the bare minimum to keep your network going, they should actively contribute to its strength and development, with an eye towards supporting your business goals and activities.

Please contact us for further information about our round-the-clock proactive network monitoring. We’re dedicated to improving and maintaining the health of your IT infrastructure.