Tag Archives: website

MxToolbox Use Cases: Webserver Setup

Setting up a Web Server

Setting up a webserver for a new or existing domain can be a fairly trivial task with the right tools.  An administrator needs to balance configuring web server software, DNS setup, load-balancing, redundancy, and firewalls.  Here are few tools that might simplify your setup process:

Pre-Check

  1. Run a blacklist check on the IP addresses that you plan to use for your web server.  A blacklisted IP address should not be used for mail servers or web servers as this is an indication of potential fraudulent or spammer activity.

Verifying Setup

We’ll pick-up after you have assigned the IP addresses, and installed the OS and web server software.  From there you will want to verify that your server is up and running and accepting HTTP or HTTPS connects:

  1. Run an HTTP or HTTPS test on each IP that will accept email.  This will perform several tests against your server and give you results on your web configuration. HTTPS tests add a few additional areas related to configuration of the secure socket layer, including certificate checks.

Verifying DNS Setup

  1. Check that you have properly configured A records for the server(s).

On-going Server Maintenance

  1. Setup a web monitor on each IP that will serve as a web server.  This will perform several tests against your server and give you granular results on the status of your HTTP or HTTPS configuration.

Today, almost every online service runs off an HTTP or HTTPS backend.  Knowing that your services are up and running is incredibly important.  With MxToolbox Monitoring solutions, you can be sure that your services are up and performing while you concentrate on making them even better.

How can I make full use of my MxToolbox account? Part 5, Website

This is the 5 part in our series on getting the most out of your MxToolbox account.  In this installment we will discuss website lookups that help you check your web configuration.

Website

If you’re running a website, either as a business presence, lead generator or an e-commerce platform, you need to periodically check your website’s operation.  Fortunately, MxToolbox provides a highly granular method to check the proper behavior of your website, both https_exampleunsecure and secure, including:

  • HTTP Connect – Checks to ensure that your HTTP server is up and accepting connections.
  • HTTP Filter – HTTP filter provides granular control over HTTP traffic.  This check looks for the presence of this filter mechanism.
  • HTTP Delay Check – Checks the delay of an HTTP response.  Long delays compromise customer experience.
  • HTTPS Certificate Check – Verifies the secure certificate on your website.
  • HTTPS Certificate Expiration – Checks the secure certificate for expiration dates and warns.

Whether you are checking the configuration of an existing web server or setting up a new one, checking the configuration from an external site like MxToolbox is the only way to ensure that you are up and running for your customers.

In our next installment, we’ll discuss Domain Health, a comprehensive domain report card.