Monday, May 22, 2017

Keep calm and standardize - Monitoring templates


The word that we love and fear.


We all know that standardizing our IT practices makes us more efficient and profitable.  However creating those standards can be a rather daunting task.

This is Part 2 of the series. 

Looking to create an Event log check across multiple devices?  Maybe there is an important service that needs to be monitored on all machines. Let's cover how we can do this using Monitoring Templates.


Monitoring templates can be setup to allow you to push out Checks quickly and efficiently to clients and sites.

The first step is creating a template. Let's go to Settings.


Select the template you wish to create
  • Server Monitoring Template
  • Workstation Monitoring Template


Configuring your Monitoring Template is as follows:
  1. Set the name of the template here
  2. Set the appropriate 24x7 and Daily Safety Check run times.
  3. Add the checks and tasks you want.


There are a few different ways to apply Monitoring Templates. You're on boarding a new client and need a specific set of checks.  This can be done with New Device Installation Settings which can be found in Settings > Monitoring Templates.

You can turn this on for specific clients and sites and assign a default template for Workstations and Servers.

Note: You can also apply the standard checks along side a template by checking Run check detection scan. Keep in mind that this only applies to new devices added to the dashboard.


You can also apply this out to the existing devices by simply right clicking the appropriate client or site and selecting Apply Monitoring Template.  This can be done to individual devices.

Client/Site application


Individual application


Applying the templates is a few simple steps
  1. You have the ability to run the check detection scan which will reapply all standard checks.
  2. You can select the template or templates you'd like from here.
  3. Selecting the update behavior is important as you have a few options:
  • Add the new checks and tasks to existing checks and tasks.  This will keep all checks the devices have and only add the template to the devices. The checkbox will prevent duplicates of checks being created.  This is recommended to be checked at all times.
  • Replace the existing checks and tasks will remove all checks and tasks and replace it with the Monitoring Templates you've selected.



Monitoring templates are the best way to insure that all your devices have the specific checks and tasks that they need. Utilizing this information will save time and allow you to monitor the things you want across your environments.

Don't forget to read Part 1 of the standardization series.

Next up:  Keep Calm and Standardize - Policies