The Linux operating system provides a powerful feature for scheduling certain programs to run on a predefined frequency – this feature is popularly known as “Cron”. Developers create a “Shell Script” for running a Cron job. Cron jobs are used for several things and are a frequently used feature of the Linux operating system. It is imperative to keep a close watch on all the Cron jobs you have defined on your system, this would include checking errors and validation of codes. For monitoring of defined Cron Jobs, a developer can use a “Hosted monitoring system” like PushMon. This kind of a system is defined as a push monitoring system as it depends on receiving signals from Cron jobs for monitoring and error notification. A system like PushMon has the following 4 steps in its monitor of your Cron job.

1. Establish a monitoring process on your System: Most systems that specialize in informing about a Cron job or process status invariably end-up sending multiple emails/alerts about the job status. After a while these messages become routine and people stop paying attention. The result is manual intervention to understand and keep a watch on what is happening. A better way is defined by PushMon – the user just needs to create a URL a call to which is embedded in your Cron job. Now it is the job of the Cron to actually notify its status to the monitoring system.
2. Your process sends Alerts to you: Once a URL is set up and the required code modifications are done, you can relax. With this set up the Cron will notify successful execution at a predefined time. If the Cron does not call this URL the PushMon monitoring system alerts you. That is, a red flag is raised only when things are not in shape, bringing the right attention to the notification. The best part is that PushMon works with systems/websites which are not even in the public space. It works well with the secured sections of your website and your organization’s intranet as well. It also works with shell scripts, scheduled tasks or other applications that can call a URL. It is so easy to use that you can even call the PushMon URL through the bookmark in your browser.
3. Receive notifications over Instant Messages, Calls or SMS’s: PushMon provides multiple ways to notify you if things are not in shape. Current 8 different modes are available including e-mail, SMS, phone call, Twitter notification or webhooks. Support for Skype and Slack is in the roadmap and would soon be made available.
4. Works as a Powerful Push Notification System: PushMon is a powerful system, it works with Cron Jobs, internal applications and the secured section of your websites. It is not limited to just Linux platform. It not only presents a potent way of monitoring scheduled tasks it also can be used to monitor your other monitoring software.  PushMon monitors what existing monitoring services cannot. External monitoring services cannot check nonpublic websites, internal applications, batch jobs and scripts. Internal monitoring services can check internal websites but not suitable for applications, batch, and script monitoring. PushMon fills in the gap.

Conclusion

A SaaS service like PushMon has made monitoring of your Cron Jobs easier. It only requires access to the internet, it doesn’t even require a software deployment. PushMon should not be seen as an alternative to existing monitoring infrastructure, it actually complements what is already deployed.