Enables administrators to monitor servers and check availability of HTTP/HTTPS sites for free

London, UK, 6 January 2004 – GFI is launching a freeware version of GFI Network Server Monitor, its new tool that automatically monitors the network and servers for failures, and allows administrators to identify and fix issues before users report them. The freeware version allows HTTP/HTTPS and ICMP/ping checks to be configured. The HTTP check can be used to check availability of HTTP and HTTPS sites and check whether the correct web content is being served up. The ICMP/ping function monitors whether a particular server is still responding.

Checking the availability of HTTP and HTTPS sites
The freeware HTTP function can be used to check availability of HTTP and HTTPS sites. It also enables administrators to ensure that the web server is serving the correct content; for example, they can verify that their website has not been vandalized. The module allows users to create an unlimited number of HTTP checks. Administrators can pass credentials if their website requires this. A proxy server can also be used if GFI Network Server Monitor has been installed behind a proxy server.

Ensure that a specific server is up and running
The ICMP function can be used to check whether a particular server - which can be on the local network or on the Internet - is up and running. This is a basic check that allows administrators to detect major problems on a machine. One must keep in mind, however, that if a machine is up and running, it does not necessarily mean that, for example, the web server is up and running too. The freeware ICMP function can be used to confirm that the machine is actually responding at network level.

About the freeware version
The GFI Network Server Monitor freeware version can be downloaded from http://www.gfi.com/nsm/. The download is a full version of GFI Network Server Monitor (5.2MB) that times out after the 60-day evaluation period, except for the HTTP and ICMP/ping checking features which remain active as freeware. The product manual can be viewed online or downloaded at http://www.gfi.com/nsm/nsm5manual.pdf. User-to-user support is available at http://forums.gfi.com.

About GFI Network Server Monitor (commercial version)
GFI Network Server Monitor is a monitoring tool that allows administrators to monitor the network for failures or irregularities automatically. With GFI Network Server Monitor, administrators can identify issues and fix unexpected conditions before their users report them.

GFI Network Server Monitor maximizes network availability by monitoring all aspects of a network’s servers (including UNIX/LINUX servers), workstations and devices (routers, etc). When it detects a failure, GFI Network Server Monitor can alert the administrator by email, pager or SMS, as well as taking corrective action by, for example, rebooting the machine, restarting the service or running a script. Any amount of rules can be configured and each can be customized to suit one’s needs and network set-up. GFI Network Server Monitor is easy to set up and use, and is competitively priced: Pricing begins at US$375 to monitor five servers. More product information is available at http://www.gfi.com/nsm/.