1. What metrics does Server Density collect?  

2. Do I have to install the monitoring agent onto each server I want monitored?  

Yes, you will need direct access to the server to install the monitoring agent, which is written in Python and is open source (Github). It is lightweight and runs as a daemon collecting statistics every 60 seconds.

You do not need to know the Python programming language to install the agent, which only takes a few minutes.

The agent can be installed and run as any user - it does not require root.

3. Will Server Density tell me if my server is down?  

There is an alert option to be notified if we stop receiving data from your server for a certain period of time. This could be used to tell you if your server is down or not.

If you want to know whether your server or website are up and responding, checked from multiple geographic locations, we recommended Pingdom.

4. Do you support Windows?  

Not yet, but it is under development. Subscribe to our blog to find out when it is released.

5. What if my server is behind a firewall? Do I need to open any ports?  

The monitoring agent will need to be able to communicate with our servers. Data is only sent one way - from your server to our servers - over standard HTTP port 80. We also offer the option to use SSL which requires port 443 to be open.

6. How does your pricing work? Is there a free trial? 

All accounts start on the free trial of the full service, which is unlimited for 30 days. After the trial expires you can either pay to continue using the full service or downgrade to the free option.

The number of servers is based on the highest number added each month. If you are monitoring 2 servers in Jan you will be billed for 2. If you add another in Feb then you will be billed for 3. If you then remove a server you will go back to being charged for 2 in Mar.

Restrictions apply to the free service, see the Pricing page for details. Fees exclude VAT where applicable.

7. How much do SMS alerts cost?  

When an alert is sent to your phone by SMS, your account credits are decreased. You must purchase sufficient credits in advance to send any SMS messages.

100 credits = £10 (£0.10 each)
200 credits = £16 (£0.08 each)
400 credits = £26 (£0.065 each)
1000 credits = £50 (£0.05 each)

Fees exclude VAT where applicable.

Each SMS message costs 1 credit, with the exception of messages sent to phones in the following countries, which cost 2 credits each:

Austria, Australia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Benin, Brazil, Chile, China, East Timor, Falkland Islands, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Korea (South), Kuwait, Liberia, Macedonia, Mexico, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Caledonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Uganda, UK, Venezuela.

8. Can I pay in US Dollars (or another currency)?  

All customers are billed in Pounds Sterling. Your bank will automatically convert it to your own currency at the exchange rate in force when we bill you.

9. What forms of payment do you accept?  

You can add a credit card (American Expression, Visa or Mastercard) to your account once you have signed up. If you want to be billed a different way (e.g. PayPal, invoice, wire transfer), just give us a shout.

10. What are the system requirements for the Python monitoring agent?  

We currently officially support all major forms of Linux and Mac OS X. Windows support is planned for the future. We test all releases of the agent on the following platforms:

11. Can I get my data out?  

Yes, you can use the HTTP API to get all your data.

12. Is my data secure? What do you do with it?  

Data can be sent by the monitoring agent using encrypted SSL and the web interface can also be accessed using SSL. We store customer data on our servers within a secure data centre using industry standard security practices.

Your monitoring data is stored based on the retention policy for your account - 1 month for free accounts and 18 months for paid account, with the exception of snapshot data which is stored for 30 days for all accounts. Deleting a server will remove all data associated with that server.

If you request your account be deleted, we will permanently remove all your monitoring data. Account data such as financial and contact information will be kept for legal reasons.

We also collect anonymised statistics from the monitoring agent to help with our development but also commercial use. This includes blog posts about data in aggregate e.g. most popular Python version.

Boxed Ice Ltd. is registered under the Data Protection Act 1998, registration number Z1787867. For the legal details and full notification of data use, please see the Terms of Service section 8.