Switch on monitoring for a server

Turn on monitoring for any server in your inventory so InfraNest starts collecting data and alerting on it — this article is for anyone managing servers in InfraNest.

Overview

• Monitoring is switched on per server. A server that isn't switched on still shows up in your inventory and works normally — InfraNest simply doesn't collect anything about it or alert on it.
• Each server you switch on counts as one monitored server on your plan.
• Turning monitoring off stops collection and alerting right away, and the server stops counting towards your plan immediately.

Switch on monitoring for a server

1. Go to Servers under Monitoring.
2. Find the server in the list. If it isn't being watched, it shows Not monitored under its name.
3. Open the ⋯ menu at the end of its row and choose Switch monitoring on.

You can also open the server from that list and use the matching button on its monitoring page.

Readings usually start appearing within a few minutes. If the server has the agent installed, it resumes on its own — nobody needs to log into the machine.

What you get once it's on

The server gets its own monitoring page with four tabs:

• Overview — the headline numbers, disk space per mount, and what the machine reports about itself.
• Metrics — charts, over any range you pick.
• Processes & services — what is actually running, as of the latest reading.
• Alerts & rules — the thresholds this server is judged on.

How much you see depends on how the server is reached, shown in the Status column:

• Agent — CPU, memory, disk space, load and processes. Requires the agent installed.
• Provider API — whatever your provider's API reports, usually CPU and network.
• Reachable only — your provider has no metrics API. Uptime checks and alerts that don't need measurements still work; there just aren't any numbers to collect.

Switch off monitoring for a server

1. Open the same ⋯ menu on the server's row.
2. Choose Switch monitoring off.

Collection and alerting stop, and the server stops counting towards your plan straight away.

Readings already collected are kept and reappear if you switch monitoring back on later, subject to the usual retention.

NoteIf the agent is installed on that server, it keeps running and keeps trying — it can't be stopped from InfraNest. It backs off to roughly one attempt an hour and reports the reason if anyone checks its status on the machine: "NOT SENDING — monitoring is switched off for this server in InfraNest." That's expected, and not a sign of a broken agent or a bad token.

WarningDo not reinstall the agent to fix that message — switch the server back on here instead. To remove the agent from the machine for good, delete its token in the Agent panel on the server's monitoring Overview, and uninstall it on the machine.

Troubleshooting

Switching on is refused with a message naming a limit — you're at your plan's monitored-server limit. Either switch a different server off first, or move to a plan with more monitored servers.

Servers you were already monitoring are never switched off to enforce a limit, even if a plan change puts you over it. You keep what you had; you just can't add more until you're back under the limit.