notification when apache2 service is down

Write a shell script that does the following:

• Runs the command /usr/sbin/apachectl status 2>&1 | grep 'not running' >/dev/null 2>&1

• If the exit status ($?) is zero, then web server is not running (so send the email…however it is you do that).

• If the exit status ($?) is one, the web server is running (so don't send the email).

Something like this:

#!/bin/sh

/usr/sbin/apachectl status 2>&1 | grep 'not running' >/dev/null 2>&1

if [ $? = 0 ]
then
    echo 'send the email here' 
fi

exit 0

Run the script every minute/5 minutes/hour/whatever using cron.

Your shell script can alternatively run sudo systemctl apache2 status but then it has to filter through a whole bunch of systemd crapola to arrive at a decision. If you look at systemd's apache2.service, it just uses /usr/sbin/apachectl to do its job in the first place.

By using apachectl from the start, your script will cut out the middle man; be easier to write; and run faster.

-- sw

I use UptimeRobot to monitor my individual sites. You can monitor 50 sites for free.

I would posit that UptimeRobot is monitoring something different than what I posted. UptimeRobot is monitoring site accessibility and not whether the server is running or not.

Granted, a site will be inaccessible if the server is not running but it will also be inaccessible if it's misconfigured. So, if a site is misconfigured, you have a disconnect between the server being up/down and the site being in-/accessible.

Other than that, UptimeRobot looks like a great service.

-- sw

Here is another service which will monitor cron jobs as well as site uptime. Not free but not very expensive… has a 14 day free trial. Again, it monitors 'jobs' and not apache itself from what I can glean.

https://cronitor.io/

You can also use the server monitoring tool from Plesk (360). It monitors basically everything!