Keeping An Eye On Your Server

More comprehensive remote administration is available through the forms-based IMonitor (right). Like management performed through Web Messaging, IMonitor involves browser access by a login with sys admin privileges, and can display log files and manage the mail queue. Unlike Web Messaging, IMonitor offers remote access to nearly everything that can be managed locally with the IMail Administrator. With IMonitor, you can configure virtual hosts, SMTP, POP3, IMAP4, and Web Messaging parameters and access filters. IMonitor can also be used to edit the Welcome (but not News) message. There are limitations: processing rules configured in IMail Administrator are absent, and the SMTP local address table isn't displayed properly.

But overall, IMonitor enables configuration at the level required to remedy most problems—for example, to add or remove someone from the "kill" list.

Even better, IMonitor provides "at a glance" service status and stop/restart control. IMail can monitor any service at a configurable interval, including non-IMail items like gateway reachability and disk usage. Local services can be automatically restarted after failure.

 

While auto-restart is great, persistent problems require attention, and this is where notifications come in (left). IMail can notify of individual service start or stop by email, alphanumeric pager, or beeper. Several destinations can be configured—for example, send the same event to both email and beeper, or notify different admins based on time of day. IMail promptly and reliably notified me by email whenever I took our default gateway down. But there were a few initial hiccups:

Notifications failed when I used postmaster as the source address and, although log files showed that notifications were failing, they gave no hint as to why. Once I configured a valid local user name for source address, the problem cleared up. Test buttons verify pager/beeper settings; a similar button for mail settings would be handy.

Admins will find IMonitor invaluable for continuous monitoring, problem notification, and ad hoc updates, whether on-site or on the road. If I could add just one feature to IMonitor, it would be to secure IMonitor browser traffic with SSL.