Server Scout Glossary of Terms

Agent

The lightweight Bash script installed on each monitored server to collect and send metrics to Server Scout. With a near-zero footprint of less than 3 MB RAM and under 100ms CPU per 5-second cycle, the agent continuously gathers system data across the five collection tiers. It includes built-in spooling capabilities to store data locally during network outages for later transmission.

Alert Condition

A rule that triggers a notification when a metric crosses a defined threshold, such as CPU usage exceeding 90% for 5 minutes. Alert conditions combine a metric, comparison operator, threshold value, and sustain period to determine when notifications should be sent. Each condition can be assigned a severity level and associated with specific notification channels.

API Key

A unique 64-character authentication token that allows an agent to securely communicate with the Server Scout dashboard. Each server receives its own API key during setup, which is used to identify and authorise metric submissions. The key ensures that only legitimate agents can send data to your monitoring account.

Collection Tier

One of five data collection frequencies that determine how often specific metrics are gathered: Fast (5 seconds), Medium (30 seconds), Slow (5 minutes), Glacial (1 hour), and Daily (24 hours). Different metrics are assigned to appropriate tiers based on their volatility and monitoring requirements, optimising both granularity and system resource usage.

Cooldown Period

The minimum time interval between repeat notifications for the same alert condition, designed to prevent alert fatigue from continuous messaging. Once an alert fires, the cooldown period ensures you won't receive another notification for that specific condition until the specified duration has elapsed, even if the metric remains above threshold.

Dashboard

The web-based user interface located at app.serverscout.ie where you view metrics, manage servers, and configure alerts. The dashboard supports both dark and light themes, multi-user access with admin and user roles, and functions as a Progressive Web App for mobile and desktop installation.

Fleet Health

An aggregated status overview that displays the total count of servers in each state: online, warning, offline, and paused. This high-level view provides immediate insight into your entire infrastructure's health without needing to examine individual servers, making it ideal for quick status checks.

Group

A logical container for organising related servers within the dashboard interface. Groups help you categorise servers by function, location, environment, or any other criteria that suits your infrastructure management needs, making it easier to navigate and manage large server fleets.

Metric

A measurable server value such as CPU usage percentage, available memory, disk space utilisation, or network throughput. Server Scout collects hundreds of different metrics across system resources, network interfaces, storage devices, and installed software, providing comprehensive visibility into server performance and health.

Plugin

An extension that automatically monitors specific software applications when detected on your servers. Server Scout includes built-in plugins for popular hosting control panels like cPanel, DirectAdmin, and Plesk, as well as backup solutions such as JetBackup, providing specialised monitoring without additional configuration.

Poller

A monitored server that has been designated to also collect data from nearby network devices using SNMP or IPMI protocols. Pollers enable agentless monitoring of switches, DRAC/IPMI interfaces, and UPS units by acting as a bridge between these devices and the Server Scout platform.

Progressive Web App (PWA)

An installable version of the Server Scout dashboard that functions like a native application on your desktop or mobile device. The PWA provides offline capabilities, push notifications, and a streamlined interface whilst maintaining all the functionality of the web-based dashboard.

Severity

The urgency classification assigned to alert conditions and their resulting notifications: info, warning, or critical. Severity levels help prioritise responses and can be used to route different types of alerts to appropriate notification channels or team members based on their importance.

Spooling

The agent's capability to store metric data locally on the monitored server during network outages or connectivity issues. When communication with the dashboard is restored, spooled data is automatically replayed, ensuring no monitoring gaps occur even during temporary network disruptions.

Sustain Period

The duration a metric must continuously exceed its configured threshold before an alert condition triggers a notification. This prevents false alarms from brief spikes or momentary threshold breaches, ensuring alerts only fire for sustained issues that require attention.