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not able to restart a IIS service if website goes down with advanced alerts

I have been trying to get the restart a service or run a batch job to actually start a service to run correctly if a website we need monitored becomes unavailable and was wondering if anyone has been able to do this?

The problem I have with the restart a service template is, 1. I am not sure exactly how it works I see that it runs an APM program and wants a component ID for the service to restart but can you use an applicationID or put in different checks. If application monitor is down and component www web publishing is up restart www web publishing? That is what I need it to do but have not been able to make that work.

I have submitted a ticket for support #136871 since I have also created a batch file that works to do this but when I have it run from the advanced alerts it shows it runs but the service never starts except when run manually.

This is a huge deal for upper management making Solarwiinds not look so good right now since a program called hostmonitor was able to be setup and do this within minutes but we are trying to move away from that product and go with one solution and are hitting some roadblocks in doing so.

hostmonitor = Enterprise $799 for 12 months

Solarwinds = $$$$ over $5000 for NPM SLX

I can't defend Solarwinds to the bean keepers if products that cost so much less are able to do some of the key things Solarwinds can not do.

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Accepted answers

profzoom1

Thanks for the script Developement is still looking into this issue too with my ticket since they think this may have a bug in it.

I was given this as a fix from one of the developers.

psexec \\${IP} -user Name -psswd password iisreset.exe /RESTART

All comments

profzoom1

This is what frustrates me about support.

I submit an issue that I am having problems with a solution not working as it should in the documentation and how I want to setup an alert which is also not working and support sends me instructions on how to setup a application monitor on the service. Urrrgghh.

I then am told that scripting is a third party tool and it is not an APM problem if the service does not restart, again URRRGGGGHHH.

I didn't know that running a batch file would be so difficult for Solarwinds to do or to setup an alert that goes in laymans terms

This website is not available it is down I should re-start this service and check if it is back up and send out a reset alert if this is up.

Frustrated ....

mrxinu

I had a similar problem recently. I used powershell and vbscript to restart the service remotely, then tried psexec, and finally went back to that APM component executable you were talking about earlier. The one that worked? The APM component executable.

You create a template with the component 'Windows Service'. You point it at the short name of the web publishing service. Then you create an advanced alert of type 'APM: Component' with the trigger action that you find in the out-of-the-box Restart Service alert (the executable with the ${ComponentID} bit). It worked like a charm.

profzoom1

Yeah I can get it to restart the service using the restart a service template when that service goes down but the issue I have is that the service does not go down. www publishing service locks up so it is neither up nor down or in an unknown state but a website we monitor goes down. So what I need to have this alert do is check the website and then if it is not available it restarts w3svc service on the server.

That to me seems so simple and is able to be done with another piece of software we use but are trying to port everything from that monitoring software over to Solarwinds so we do not want to have to keep that up and running just because Solarwinds is unable to do this.

profzoom1

I don't think I could be more frustrated then I am right now with trying to get this to work.

I may be over thinking it or not reading correctly in my documentation but I would think this is pretty straight forward in what I am asking here.

This is the simplest way of saying what I am trying to do.

APM checks website to see if it is up or down if website down.

send out an alert email website down and also restart w3svc service on server X regardless if that service is down or not.

APM checks website and it is now up.

Reset email goes out saying website is back up.

How do I get solarwinds to be able to do this?

mrxinu

In that case, change the user that runs the Alerting Engine to a user with privilege to restart the service and then use 'Execute an external VB script' to restart the service. That way you don't have to rely on the ${ComponentID} or the state of the service. So, in order:

Change the running user of the Alerting Engine service to one with privilege to restart your remote service.
Create an APM alert that watches that web page. (sounds like you already have this)
Create an APM:Application or APM:Component alert (whichever goes down when this webpage is on the fritz)
Use the 'Execute an external VB script' or 'Execute an external program' trigger action to restart it.

If you need a sample VB script, powershell, etc. to restart a service there are a bunch of freebies online or I can send you one of mine.