ServersCheck

ServersCheck is a Belgian based and privately owned technology company founded in 2003.

It is most known in the Network Administrator community for its software program monitoring the availability and performance of servers and other networked devices. Next to this it also offers environmental sensors; providing monitoring from both the inside and the outside.

ServersCheck Monitoring Software

Infobox_Software



caption =
name = ServersCheck Monitoring Software
developer = ServersCheck BVBA
latest_release_version = 7.13
latest_release_date = August, 2008
operating_system = Windows XP/2000/2003/2008
genre = Network Management
website = [http://www.serverscheck.com/ www.serverscheck.com]

The software monitors the availability and performance of networked devices such as servers, routers and switches.

ServersCheck is capable of monitoring almost any device connected to an IP based network. It can perform traditional network related checks (TCP, PING, traceroute) but can also be used to monitor a wide variety of other checks such as internet related checks (url, email chain, database checks, Windows checks (diskspace, CPU, memory, process, services). The system runs on Windows based systems (XP/2000/2003) and is being administrated through a browser. When the software detects a failure then alerts can be generated in different forms: SMS (text messages), email, MSN or network message. Historical observation is possible by using the built-in trend analysis capabilities.

The software can be operated in 24 languages: French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Afrikaans, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Slovak, Czech, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Arabic, Turkish, Urdu, Hindi, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Korean, Japanese.

Based on a poll of administrator's most popular trouble shooting tools, the ServersCheck Monitoring was selected by the [http://mcpmag.com/columns/rss.asp?editorialsid=1440 Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine] as one of the Best of the Best Tools.

The software is available for downloaded from sites such as [http://www.download.com/ServersCheck-Monitoring-Software/3000-2651_4-10577997.html Download.Com]

Sensors

Environmental sensors are being used in data centers to monitor the conditions in which servers and other network equipment operates. While the size of hardware has been reduced, more and more systems are fitted into racks resulting in more heat being produced and making it harder for air conditioning units to reduce temperature.

The sensors as marketed by ServersCheck are not stand-alone sensors. They are polled based where the polling is initiated from the ServersCheck Monitoring Software and this at programmed intervals by the end-user. The sensors from ServersCheck can monitor temperature, humidity, flooding or power failure. They can be connected either via serial port, usb or directly plugged into the network.

erversCheck vs Google

The company got itself in the news after the first phase proceedings before a Belgian court in May 2006. The suit is about the "Google Suggest" feature that suggests users of the Google Toolbar to go and look for cracks of the software when entering "serverscheck" in the toolbar. The question, for which a verdict still has to be pronounced, is whether Google is allowed to suggest cracks of a software product when a user didn't ask for it. The issue is not the Google index itself but the suggestions Google gives. It is the first case of its kind against the activity of suggesting illegal software as generated by the Google Suggest module.

As can be understood from the company's press release, the legal proceedings were only initiated because registered mail and phone calls were never returned by Google, leaving a lawsuit as the only option.

[http://money.cnn.com/blogs/browser/2006/05/google-filters-when-it-feels-like-it.html CNN] and [http://www.cio.com/blog_view.html?CID=21247 CIO] wrote articles about this case explaining the issue at hand.

External links

* [http://www.serverscheck.com ServersCheck website]
* [http://mcpmag.com/columns/rss.asp?editorialsid=1440 Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine] - Best of the Best Tools
* [http://money.cnn.com/blogs/browser/2006/05/google-filters-when-it-feels-like-it.html CNN] - Google filters when it feels like it
* [http://www.serverscheck.be/press/releases/20060517.asp Official ServersCheck press release on Google lawsuit]