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Getting Started

Step 4 – Activate Your First Check

Set up a monitoring check on a device and see it run

A check is an automated test that octoja runs on a device at regular intervals. For example, a Disk Space check watches how full your drives are and flags it when free space is running low. Checks are the foundation of monitoring in octoja.

Before you start

  • You need at least one device with the agent installed and connected (see Step 3).

Steps

  1. Go to Configuration → Check Library in the left sidebar.
  2. Browse the available checks. For your first check, Disk Space or Disk I/O are good choices — they run on Windows, Linux and macOS, and every field arrives pre-filled. The walkthrough below activates Disk I/O as an example; the flow is the same for any check.
  3. The Check Library is a read-only catalog for browsing the available checks — each entry shows the check's name, description, category, author, supported platforms and how often it runs, and clicking one opens its details. Search the list, narrow it with the All Categories and All Platforms filters, and switch between Card view and Table view with the buttons above the list. You configure a check (its Display Name and threshold fields) later, when you add it to a device in steps 6–8.
  4. Now go to Devices in the sidebar, and click on the device you want to monitor.
  5. Click the Checks tab on the device detail page.
  6. Click Add Check and select the check type you chose (the walkthrough below uses Disk I/O).
  7. Fill in the check-specific fields on the Configuration tab. Every check has a Display Name, pre-filled with the check's own name; the remaining inputs depend on the check you picked. The Alert tab is where you attach an alert configuration later. For Disk Space, the fields are:
FieldWhat to enter
Display NameArrives as Disk Space. Replace it with a short label so you can recognize this check in the device's Checks list (for example, System disk).
Monitor all drivesOn by default, so octoja measures every drive it finds on the device. Turn it off and a Drives to monitor field appears where you list the drive letters yourself.
Drives to excludeShown while Monitor all drives is on. Pick the drives to skip — a backup volume that is meant to run full, for example.
Threshold modePercent values is preselected and compares used space against the drive size; Absolute values compares free space in MB; Combined (both) only triggers when both thresholds are exceeded. Percent values is the easier starting point.
Warning — used space (%) / Warning — free space (MB)The value where you want an early heads-up. Percent mode starts at 80% used, which is a good place to leave it.
Critical — used space (%) / Critical — free space (MB)The value where you want an urgent alert. Percent mode starts at 90% used.
  1. Click Add Check to confirm.
  2. Wait for the first check interval to pass, then return to the device's Checks tab to see the result. Every check runs on its own schedule — Disk I/O every 5 minutes, Disk Space every 60 — and the Check Library lists the interval for each one.

The walkthrough below shows the full activation flow on a fresh device — Devices page, device detail, Checks tab, Add Check, picking Disk I/O, confirming, and the new check appearing in the list:

Animated walkthrough — open the Devices page, click a workstation row (VOG-WS-101) to open its detail page, click the Checks tab (which shows "No monitoring checks assigned"), click Add Check, select Disk I/O from the check picker, confirm Add Check; the dialog closes and the new Disk I/O check appears in the device's Monitoring Checks panel with status Pending.

What the statuses mean

StatusMeaning
OKThe check passed — everything is within normal range.
WarningThe warning threshold was reached — worth keeping an eye on.
CriticalThe critical threshold was reached — action is needed.
FailureThe check ran but could not produce a result — for example, the agent could not reach the resource being measured.
PendingThe check has not run yet — you will see this right after adding a check, until the first result arrives.

Here is what the Checks tab looks like once a few checks are running:

The Checks tab on the CONTOSO-DC01 device detail page showing three checks from the Web Server Bundle config package (Disk Space, HTTPS Endpoint, Web Services), all in Critical state; the Critical 3 badge in the panel header reflects the rolled-up status.

Tip: If a check stays without a result for more than a few minutes, open the device detail page and confirm the agent is still online — the Online / Offline pill in the device header shows the current connection state.

CheckWhat it monitorsWhy it matters
PingNetwork reachability and latencyCatches network outages and latency spikes before users complain
SSL / HTTPWebsite availability and certificate expiryPrevents embarrassing expired-certificate warnings on your public sites
Disk SpaceDrive capacityAvoids full-disk outages (the most common preventable failure)
Service StatusWhether a specific Windows service or Linux/macOS daemon is runningAlerts you if a critical service like SQL Server or nginx stops

For every available check and its guide, see How checks work and the Checks reference tab.

Next step

Continue to Step 5 – Get an Overview at a Glance.

You have covered the basics — explore what else octoja can do, for example Monitor Device Performance Live or Deploy Software to Devices.