API Monitoring Configuration Guide on the Elven Platform

With the API monitoring feature from the Elven Platform, your servers can send data directly to our API in a simple way, using cURL commands or HTTP communication libraries. This integration eliminates the need to install agents, providing flexibility and agility in connecting your services to our platform. All of this is designed to offer more precise and efficient management of your resources.

This approach allows you to configure alerts and automatic incidents based on specific signals from your application or service. It’s like having a digital bodyguard always on watch, ready to notify your team about any unexpected behavior. This way, you save time, avoid interruptions, and stay focused on what really matters: delivering a flawless user experience.

Accessing Monitoring via API

• Navigate to the main menu and click on Services Hub.

• Under Internet Services, select the Monitoring via API item.

API Monitoring Configuration

Start by configuring the monitoring of your resource in a simple and straightforward way. Choose a clear and descriptive Resource Name that makes future identification easier. This helps keep everything organized, especially if you manage multiple services.

Automatic Timeout Alert Triggering

The Automatic Timeout Alert feature allows you to configure specific thresholds to monitor a resource’s performance. If the defined Timeout (response time limit) is exceeded, an alert is automatically triggered, notifying the responsible teams. This ensures a quick and proactive response to issues related to downtime or slowness.

You can customize the alert severity (Severity) and define the maximum allowed time before triggering the notification. Additionally, you can assign a predefined response team, ensuring the right people are notified at the right time.

This feature is essential for minimizing impacts and maintaining service quality. Also, select the team to be notified whenever an incident occurs and activate the option Enable to set up automatic alert timeout to ensure the configuration is enabled.

Automatic Incident Opening

You can configure automatic incident opening to ensure a quick response to critical issues. To begin, define the incident severity, allowing you to prioritize according to urgency. Next, adjust the Check Interval, specifying the check frequency in seconds to continuously monitor the resource. This helps ensure you're always one step ahead, detecting problems as soon as they arise.

Additionally, select the team to be notified whenever an incident occurs and enable the "Enable to set up automatic incidents opening" option to ensure the configuration is active. With this setup, the platform automates incident management, making the response process faster and more efficient, without the need for manual intervention. This ensures your team is always ready to resolve any issue with speed and precision.

API Token

To use the Elven Platform API and send signals (Hit/Failure), you need to create an API Token of type hits/failures. This unique token ensures secure communication between parties, providing an authenticated and reliable exchange of information.

To generate it, simply access the Organization Settings in the Elven Platform, look for the API section, and create a new token.

Keep in mind that, for security reasons, the generated token has an expiration time and must be renewed periodically.

Creating an API Token

• In the top menu, under your user settings, click on Organization Settings.

• In the API tab, click the + button to create a new API Token.

Maintenance Window

We also have Maintenance Window, an essential feature for managing planned maintenance periods in your application. During this time frame, checks are temporarily paused, preventing monitoring, alerts, and notifications from being triggered while you perform updates or adjustments. This allows maintenance to proceed smoothly, without generating unnecessary notifications or false alarms, ensuring your operation continues in an orderly manner without unexpected interruptions in performance reports.

For example, imagine you need to update the payment system of an e-commerce platform, making backend adjustments such as installing new security certificates. To do this, you can configure a Maintenance Window for a specific time, such as 12/13/2024, from 2:00 PM to 2:30 PM. During this period, the Elven Platform suspends checks, preventing the monitoring system from logging temporary failures or triggering false alerts. This way, you can make the necessary changes calmly, knowing that the monitoring system won’t be affected during maintenance.

This approach ensures that the update is carried out in an organized manner, without affecting the user experience or generating unwanted notifications.

Application Opening Hours

You can also rely on the Application Opening Hours feature, which allows you to configure your application's operating hours. This functionality is essential for customizing monitoring based on the periods when your application is actually active, avoiding alerts and notifications outside of business hours. This way, monitoring becomes more aligned with your business’s real needs, ensuring more accurate reports and efficient management.

For example, imagine your application operates only from Monday to Friday, between 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM. You can configure Application Opening Hours to reflect this schedule by specifying the working days and time periods. With this setup, the Elven Platform automatically disables checks outside of those hours, preventing the logging of failures that don’t affect end users and avoiding unnecessary alerts.

This approach optimizes performance analysis, focusing only on relevant periods and providing a clearer view of your application's health during its operating hours.

Glossary of Technical Terms

API (Application Programming Interface): A set of rules and protocols that enables communication between different systems and applications.

cURL: A command-line tool used to transfer data with URLs, often used to interact with APIs.

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol): A communication protocol used for data transfer on the web.

Resource Name: A clear and descriptive name assigned to a monitored resource, making future identification easier.

Thresholds (Limits): Predefined values that, when exceeded, trigger alerts or notifications.

Timeout: The response time limit set for a resource. If the response time exceeds this limit, an alert is generated.

Severity: The urgency level assigned to an alert or incident, allowing for prioritization in response.

Check Interval: The time interval, in seconds, between monitoring checks of a resource.

API Token: A unique code generated to authenticate and ensure secure communication between the Elven Platform API and the user’s servers.

Hits/Failures: Signals sent to the API indicating the success (hit) or failure (failure) of a monitored resource.

Maintenance Window: A planned maintenance period during which monitoring checks are suspended to avoid unnecessary alerts.

Application Opening Hours: A configuration that defines the active hours of an application, allowing for customized monitoring and avoiding notifications outside of operating hours.

Incident: An event that requires attention and response, usually related to critical issues affecting the performance or availability of a service.

Automatic Alerts: Notifications that are automatically generated based on predefined conditions, such as performance limits or failures.

Team: A group of people assigned to receive notifications about alerts or incidents, ensuring quick and effective responses.