Software monitoring tool for corporate Web sites gets Java makeover
Boston (09/15/97) — Caravelle Inc. today reintroduced its Webwatcher software, with new capabilities and written wholly in Java.
“We’ve taken our existing product lines [and] converted them to Java,” said Lynda Partner, president and CEO of the Canadian company.
A software monitoring tool for corporate Web sites, Webwatcher 5.0, Java edition, will supplant all other versions of the software.
“Webwatcher is designed to watch all of the elements that might affect the availability of your Web site,” Partner said.
Typically, users want to monitor their Web server, their router, and their Domain Name Server (DNS), according to Partner. Webwatcher monitors all three, whether they are located at the user’s site or, as is typical with the DNS, they are hosted elsewhere, such as at an Internet service provider.
Webwatcher 5.0 includes enhanced notification options that IS managers can customize, Partner said. For example, in the event of a system problem, managers can elect to be notified in a number of ways, from receiving an e-mail to getting a page.
Moreover, because Webwatcher can be accessed through any browser, an IS manager who receives a page at 4 o’clock in the morning can diagnose and mend the problem by firing up her or his home PC.
“Customers used to have to go into the office [but with] Webwatcher they can do it through the convenience of their own bedroom,” Partner said.
Managers can also elect for Webwatcher to send notification of problems to other users, either canned messages indicating that a server is down or a message noting that fact and including the manager’s estimate of the time to repair, Partner said. This lets users know that the IS staff is aware of and working on the problem, and prevents the Webmaster from “ending up with a whole bunch of e-mails or voicemails,” Partner said.
The software can also be programmed to automatically check a Web site’s links overnight and alert the manager each morning if any have been broken, Partner said. In addition, Webwatcher can monitor for unauthorized changes made to the Web site content, either notifying managers when any content is changed or alerting them to changes made during a particular time that they determine, such as between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. or on weekends.
Webwatcher 5.0 is currently in beta with 21 users, 20 percent of whom are non-North American, Partner said. The software is slated for worldwide availability in October and is priced at 95.
System requirements for Webwatcher for Microsoft’s Windows operating system include a machine running at 66MHz or higher, 8 megabytes of RAM and 10 megabytes of hard disk space. For the Macintosh, Caravelle recommends machines running System 7.5.3 or later, Open Transport 1.1, 8 megabytes of RAM, and 2 megabytes or more hard disk space.
Caravelle is based in Nepean, Ontario, and can be reached at (613) 225-1172 or on the World Wide Web at https://www.caravelle.com.
