Cron job monitoring: an alert when a scheduled task stops
A cron job that stops does not show an error page. It just stops, and you find out when the backup you need is three weeks old.
Silent failures are the expensive ones.
Server backups, product feed imports, the WordPress cron that sends scheduled emails: when a crontab line is lost in a server move, or a script starts failing, nothing tells you.
An uptime check cannot see it. The site answers fine.
The job calls us, we watch the clock.
A heartbeat URL
You create a heartbeat with its interval, from 1 minute to 30 days, and a tolerance. You get a secret URL.
The call
At the end of the job, the script calls that URL, for example with curl. A call to the /fail address opens an alert at once.
The alert
If no call arrives within interval plus tolerance, a critical alert opens. The next call closes it.
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Start free trialFrequently asked questions
What does the cron job send?
Nothing but the request. We do not read the body: the call itself is the signal.
Can a stranger fake the calls?
The URL has a random token of 40 letters and digits, compared in constant time. Calls are limited per IP and per URL. If you think the URL leaked, make a new one and the old one stops working.
Does it work for the CMS cron?
Yes, if the server runs it with a real crontab and then calls the heartbeat. The page shows an example for WordPress.
Goes well with
- Uptime monitoring for your clients' WordPress and Joomla sitesChecks as often as every minute, response times and a check of the page text.
- Encrypted WordPress and Joomla backups, straight from your client's serverEncrypted on the site before they leave, and locked against deletion.
- Downtime alerts that reach the right person at the right timeDelays, reminders, maintenance windows and contacts per client.
- SSL certificate expiry monitoring, site by siteAlerts before expiry, and at once if the certificate is invalid.
Try it on your clients' sites.
Connect your first sites today and see what SitePing finds on them.
- Every Complete feature except backups
- Up to 10 sites
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