Newsletter
From AlertFox Website Monitoring
Welcome to the AlertFox Newsletter Archive.
The option to receive the newsletter is enabled by default, but you can change your preferences in your AlertFox account anytime.
In response to our users’ requests, our newsletters will inform you of changes BEFORE they actually happen on our website. They also include tips and tricks on how to best use AlertFox and iMacros to improve your website’s uptime, reliability and performance.
We have chosen a very compact format for the newsletters. It presents the key information in a flash and then links to more detailed information on our website. We hope you like it.
Contents |
Newsletter 2/2011
Hello,
Welcome to the fifth edition of the AlertFox newsletter!
In response to our users’ requests, this newsletter will inform you of changes BEFORE they actually happen on our website.
New Features Ahead
Sensible website monitoring not only tells you *that* something goes wrong with your site, but also helps you in identifying the problem. This is why our next update is focused on providing more information on failing transaction sensors.
(1) Waterfall Diagrams
Get a grip on the load time of each and every element of your site. Perhaps there’s a certain external image slowing it down? More info at http://blog.alertfox.com/2011/05/upcoming-features-waterfall-diagrams.html
(2) Web Traffic Protocols in HAR format
Extending the idea of Waterfall Diagrams to a whole browser session is what HAR files (HTTP Archives) are about: the complete HTTP traffic in one protocol file including requests, responses and detailed timing information. So if you need to check how much load time your payment provider adds to your streamlined web shop, HAR files are the way to go!
http://blog.alertfox.com/2011/05/upcoming-features-web-traffic-protocols.html
(3) Transaction Sensor Performance Logs
Interested in how fast each step of your transaction (macro) sensors is performed by the browser instance you selected? Then have a look at http://blog.alertfox.com/2011/05/upcoming-features-sensormacro.html
Updating the Monitoring Servers
As you may know, AlertFox’s unique abilities in transaction monitoring are based on a software tool called iMacros that allows for automating real browser instances. This lets you test what your customers actually experience when using your web site/service.
The iMacros software has seen several updates in the last few months, so we plan to update our monitoring servers to the latest version along with the major feature upgrade mentioned above.
Additionally, we will update the browsers used for transaction monitoring to feature Firefox 4 and Internet Exporer 9.
Nothing to do for you
The system update will take place next week and should be completely transparent to you.
We don’t expect any problems with the upgrade. However, we will update our monitoring machines one by one and keep an eye out for the unsuspected.
If you experience any issue, please don’t hesitate to contact us at support@alertfox.com
System Status
You can follow the update on our blog by looking for posts with the labels “Status” (where we comment on system status issues) and “What’s New” (where we document new features):
http://blog.alertfox.com/search/label/Status
http://blog.alertfox.com/search/label/What's%20New
You can also view the _live_ system status on our new, fully automated status page at http://status.alertfox.com - This public status dashboard is powered directly by sensors that we use to monitor the AlertFox system health.
Thanks for using AlertFox!
Best, Team AlertFox http://twitter.com/alertfox http://www.facebook.com/AlertFox
Newsletter 1/2011
Hello!
We have chosen a very compact format for this newsletter. It presents the key information in a flash and then links to more detailed information on our blog. We hope you like it.
[1] ~ Fred Wilson: Why speed is the most important feature
"First and foremost, we believe that speed is more than a feature. Speed is the most important feature. If your application is slow, people won’t use it..."
Read the complete interview here: http://blog.alertfox.com/2011/04/fred-wilson-speed-is-most-important.html
Thank you, as always, for your support. If you feel this newsletter does not meet your needs or if you would like it to include something else, please let us know by sending feedback via www.alertfox.com/Contact.
Best Regards, Ann
Newsletter 3/2010
(Sent 11/22/2010)
Hello,
Welcome to the third edition of the AlertFox newsletter!
In response to our users’ requests, this newsletter will inform you of changes BEFORE they actually happen on our website. It will also include tips and tricks on how to best use AlertFox and iMacros to improve your website’s up-time, reliability and performance.
We have chosen a very compact format for this newsletter. It presents the key information in a flash and then links to more detailed information on our website. We hope you like it.
[1] ~ New Features Ahead
A major system update scheduled for Tuesday, November 23, will bring you several new features:
Important: Our upgrade scripts are designed to set all parameters just like they are in the current system. So there is no immediate action required on your site. But if you see any problem, please contact us at support@alertfox.com.
(1) Introduction of the Contacts concept.
Until now, your login email was also the email (“contact”) used for alerts. From now on there is a separate contact for your alerts. This contact can be an email (as before), but also Email for Mobile, SMS and (soon) phone alerts.
You will see a new menu item called “Edit Contact List”. Here you can manage (add/edit/remove) your contacts:
http://wiki.alertfox.com/Contacts
(2) New notification options
SMS notifications are now available!
http://wiki.alertfox.com/Contacts#Edit_Contact_List
All existing PRO account users can request free initial SMS credits (PRO3: 500, PRO2: 200, PRO1: 100). Email us at sales@alertfox.com and we will add the free SMS credits to your account within 24h.
(3) New notification rules per sensor (send alerts never, once, every x times,...)
http://wiki.alertfox.com/Contacts#Notification_Options
The complete list of these and other new features is available at http://wiki.alertfox.com/What's_New
[2] ~ Brief Scheduled Downtime for Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Implementation of the new update requires briefly suspending the AlertFox system logins. We have scheduled this downtime for 03:00 a.m. EST on Tuesday, November 23rd. We anticipate less than one hour of downtime.
Note: The monitoring/alerting itself will not be interrupted.
Thank you, as always, for your support. If you feel this newsletter does not meet your needs or if you would like it to include something else, please let us know by sending feedback via [www.alertfox.com/Contact www.alertfox.com/Contact]
Best Regards,
Ann Do
Newsletter 2/2010
(Sent 5/10/2010)
Welcome to the second edition of the AlertFox newsletter!
We have chosen a very compact format for this newsletter. It presents the key information in a flash and then links to more detailed information on our website.
[1] ~ New Features Ahead
A larger system update scheduled for Wednesday, May 12, 2010 will bring you several new features:
(1) Improved performance report with drill-down options
(2) Enhanced log file reporting options
(3) SSL-secured member area
(4) Move to new Amazon AWS infrastructure for enhanced service reliability and performance
(5) Update to iMacros for Firefox V6.7.0.0 including the new SET !POPUP_ALLOWED command.
(6) The complete list of these and other new features is available at http://wiki.alertfox.com/What's_New
[2] ~ Can we use your sensors for our testing?
We want to implement the new update with almost no downtime. This requires a careful testing, and the final tests we want to do with YOUR real sensors to make sure you have a smooth transition. We plan to start these tests on Monday (today) step by step. Your current account will not be influenced by these tests at all, but it means that the pages you test will get double the number of hits
Example: If you run an iMacros transaction test in a 1h intervall, these are 24 hits/day. If we run the same sensor also in our test system, you will see an additional 24 hits for a few days until the system switch is completed. In almost all cases this is no problem. But we know that some of you also test e. g. complete purchase processes, where you might not want to have these additional "orders". So if you want us to exclude your AlertFox account or a specific sensor from this testing, please email support AT alertfox.com .
The IP address range of our global test stations is listed at http://wiki.alertfox.com/IP_Address_Range
Thank you, as always, for your support. If you feel this newsletter does not meet your needs or if you would like it to include something else, please let us know by sending feedback via www.alertfox.com/Contact.
Newsletter 1/2010
(Sent 3/17/2010)
Welcome to the first edition of the AlertFox newsletter!
In response to our users’ requests, this newsletter will inform you of changes BEFORE they actually happen on our website. It will also include tips and tricks on how to best use AlertFox and iMacros to improve your website’s uptime, reliability and performance.
We have chosen a very compact format for this newsletter. It presents the key information in a flash and then links to more detailed information on our website. We hope you like it.
[1] ~ Newsletter, What Newsletter?
First, let us clarify where this email comes from.
You signed up for the AlertFox Web Monitoring Service at www.alertfox.com and have either a paid PRO or a free basic account with us. The option to receive this newsletter is enabled by default, but you can change your preferences in your AlertFox account anytime. For details, visit http://wiki.alertfox.com/Reporting#Email_Reports
The AlertFox Newsletter is a low-volume announcement list. You will receive emails only for important updates or announcements.
[2] ~ New Features Ahead
A system update scheduled for Wednesday, March 17 will bring you several new features:
(1) The maximum transaction test macro runtime will be extended to 180 seconds (3 minutes) for PRO1/2/3 accounts. This upgrade comes at no additional cost for our AlertFox PRO users.
(2) For special monitoring needs, we will begin offering a PRO3+ account with the option to monitor very long transaction sequences that run up to 450 seconds (7.5 minutes). The PRO3+ also offers a 5 min monitoring interval for transaction tests.
(3) For free AlertFox basic accounts, the maximum runtime will be 60 seconds (1 minute).
(4) Users will be able to generate daily and weekly email reports on demand directly in their user account. For details, see http://wiki.alertfox.com/Reporting#Email_Reports
(5) The complete list of these and other new features is available at http://wiki.alertfox.com/What's_New
[3] ~ Brief Scheduled Downtime for Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Implementation of the new update requires briefly suspending the AlertFox system. We have scheduled this downtime for 03:00 a.m. EST on Wednesday, March 17. We anticipate less than one hour of downtime.
Thank you, as always, for your support. If you feel this newsletter does not meet your needs or if you would like it to include something else, please let us know by sending feedback via www.alertfox.com/Contact.
