Very often, we face situations when the website we are trying to access refuses to load. In addition, repeatedly refreshing the site also does not bring out any positive results. This is when you understand that there is something amiss with the server and that it might be down. 

What Does It Mean When You Say That The Server Is Down? 

Ideally, the performance of any server or website is measured by its server uptime. This means that a proper connection is established and maintained between the server and the client. However, when a website does not load on the system, it effectively means that the site cannot access the files stored on the server. 

In other words, the connection between the server and the client has been interrupted.

Troubleshooting Server Downtime Issues

There can be multiple reasons why your website goes down sometimes. But what can you do to fix it? For starters, the best option initially would be to identify the root cause of the server being down. Here are some steps that you can follow to get an idea about the problem and eventually troubleshoot it. 

Figure out the affected area 

As the first step, you could look for damaged cables that have actually led to the server downtime. More often than not, in these situations, your system and a few others in the same network might be impacted owing to the damaged cables. If too many systems are affected by this problem, it is a good idea to look for similar environmental factors. 

For instance, some kind of software misuse could adversely impact the server. You could even check if the error is applicable for one website or multiple sites at the same time. Hence, identifying the areas of impact can prove to be a good first step. 

Network issues 

Network issues are sometimes one of the biggest contributors to server downtime situations. There are a few factors in the checklist that you can take care of. For instance, the first idea would be to check your WAN and LAN connections to verify that the ports are enabled and the Ethernet cables are working fine. 

In addition, incorrectly configured TCP/IP settings could also cause network issues. It is a good idea to check on your network issues early on to bring out the best troubleshooting results within no time.

Network pings 

A network ping is a rather good approach to take up when you are trying to troubleshoot network issues. This works as a robust technique to tell you about the health of the network. How do you go about it? 

For starters, you would need to navigate to Command Prompt on your system and type ‘PING’ followed by your network IP. If there is data coming up on the screen, you are good to go. If your ping brings about no results, then there is something amiss with the connection. 

Traceroute 

Traceroute essentially is a network diagnostic tool that helps figure out issues with the server or network. The best way to make use of this utility tool would be to apply it on the command line interface of your system. 

On inserting this command, if you come across an ordered list, the network should be fine. In the situation that you do not get any ordered list as output, you need to troubleshoot the issue further. This could be a good check to test the health of your network. 

Network monitoring software 

Network downtime could be caused by multiple factors. While some of the external factors can be resolved by us, sometimes we do require additional help to find the solution. A network monitoring solution could be a useful idea in these types of scenarios. 

This can automatically check all devices and servers within the network. This tool will be able to tackle all issues with the network and resolve them. In addition, you get special features like receiving real-time insights on the network’s health. 

Stored records 

In the situation that you are facing continuous issues with the browser, you could note all the problems down about the server and maintain all the records. Thereafter, you can make use of several tools that can monitor and configure these settings on the server. These records can come in handy in order to identify the problem and bring a resolution. 

Reasons For Server Downtime

Server overload 

More often than not, server overload is the primary cause for the server being down. If you are using a shared server for hosting your site, and there is a sudden surge in the web traffic, it is likely that your connection is suspended by the host. 

This is done such that the other sites are not affected by this huge increase in traffic. The same is applicable for all the sites on the server.

Cyberattacks

Sometimes, a cyber attack can lead to a sudden rise in website traffic. This is a direct indication of the hackers trying to conduct an attack on your server. Quite often, this high volume is contributed by fake traffic sent across by hackers. 

If your site is vulnerable to cyberattacks, the server is expected to experience longer downtimes. 

Hardware/Software issues

Factors like issues with the hardware or software are common causes leading to server downtime. If the hardware is outdated and is not regularly maintained, it could cause trouble within the network. 

Similarly, old and non-compatible software or website plugins could also cause similar effects. In order to maintain server uptime, it is best to regularly maintain your hardware and software.

Conclusion

Overall, monitoring and maintaining the server health could go a long way in increasing server uptime. You can check server uptime to get an idea of how well the server is performing. You can resort to VirtualMetric for efficient server uptime monitoring. 

VirtualMetric monitoring tool comes with Windows server monitoring and Linux server monitoring. Get detailed reports, fully customizable dashboard, and proactive alerts to prevent issues related to server downtime. It is a good idea to start with the 30 day trial period as well!