Paessler IPCheck Server Monitor

IT departments are always under pressure to maintain service levels to users. Keeping track of what is going on in the network, however, can be difficult. There are a plethora of management and monitoring tools available to administrators each with its own interface and way of displaying the information.

All claim to offer the best view of what is happening but the vast majority are more focused on other products from the same vendor than a simple view on what is important - whether key services are running or not.

Every now and then, along comes a tool that makes things much easier and IPCheck Server Monitor from Paessler AG is such a tool. It doesn't claim to solve all your management problems nor does it claim to turn administrators into supermen but what it does do is offer a way to monitor key services in your infrastructure in a simple way.

What's in the box

The software is easily purchased from the website and delivered as a download that is just under 43MB in size. When unpacked you have the main application as a self installing executable, and two zip files, each containing another utility, - the remote probe installation monitor, which is very useful, and the other, an additional Windows GUI, for which I could find no use.

As well as the commercial version there is a freeware version with reduced functionality and a trial version that runs for 30 days. There are some useful documents on the website along with details of other products that Paessler owns.

Installation and setup

Installation is relatively simple. Just run the executable and answer the questions. There are a few things you need to think about when doing the initial configuration and you will want to read through some of the documentation before you start.

The software can be installed onto any Windows machine, including servers, and doesn't mind being installed into a virtual machine.

The installation executable runs very quickly, creates its own start menu group and gives you icons on the desktop. Once installed, you will need to configure it and the setup routine takes you through this.