Monitor types (HTTP, SSL, DNS, port, keyword)
Monitor types
5 min read
ePulz.io supports 9 monitor types - from a simple HTTP ping through SSL and visual regression to LAN monitoring with an agent. Pick the right one based on what exactly you want to track.
HTTP / HTTPS
The classic public web check. Sends a GET (or other configurable method) request and checks the status code (default 200), optionally also a keyword in the response.
- Use for: public websites, API endpoints, status pages, docs
- Target:
https://www.mysite.com http://vshttps://- HTTPS automatically validates the SSL cert
SSL (certificate expiry)
Dedicated monitor for the SSL/TLS certificate. Checks when it expires and can warn you e.g. 14 days in advance. Useful even when an HTTPS monitor is already running - the SSL monitor focuses exclusively on cert lifetime.
- Target:
www.mysite.com(hostname, port 443 assumed) - Alert when expiry drops below your threshold (default 14 days)
TCP port
Checks whether a specific port on the server accepts connections. For databases, SSH, IMAP, mail relay.
- Target:
db.company.com:5432 - A successful TCP handshake is enough - content is not read
DNS
Verifies that a domain resolves to an IP. Detects a downed nameserver or bad DNS configuration.
- Target:
mysite.com - Record type A / AAAA / MX / TXT as needed
Heartbeat
A reverse monitor - you send the ping from a cron job. If you don't send it within the expected window (interval + grace), monitoring alerts you. For nightly backups, sync jobs, scheduled tasks.
Details: What is heartbeat.
Visual regression
Renders the page in a headless browser, takes a screenshot and compares it against a baseline. Detects when the page renders completely differently (broken CSS, font fail, JS error, A/B test, defacement).
- Use for: landing pages, payment flows, marketing sites - anywhere visuals matter
- Target:
https://www.mysite.com - Details: Visual regression
LAN ping / LAN TCP / LAN HTTP
For monitors inside the client's internal network. Cloud monitoring can't reach there (NAT, firewall), so a LAN agent is used - a small daemon running at the customer's site that pings the local targets itself.
- Target:
192.168.1.10(NAS),10.0.0.50:5432(DB),http://nas.local(web) - You must install the agent first - guide
How to pick
| What I want to track | Type |
|---|---|
| Public website or API | http |
| HTTPS certificate expiry | ssl |
| Database or SMTP server | tcp |
| DNS server (custom) | dns |
| Nightly backup, cron job | heartbeat |
| Visual changes on the site | visual |
| NAS / printer in LAN | lan_ping / lan_tcp / lan_http |
Tip: you can monitor one service with multiple types at once - e.g. http + ssl + dns for the same site. That way you distinguish "DNS down" from "web server down" from "cert expired".