Private Key Authentication for SSH Monitoring

Now you can monitor your SSH services using private key authentication with NodePing’s SSH check.

NodePing has supported password authentication for SSH monitoring for many years but starting today we’ve added support for key-based authentication. You’ll be the first to know when SSH services are offline. Faster detection means faster intervention which means less downtime.

Our SSH check can not only verify that your SSH services are up and running but also match a string in the console output. It’s a great feature if you, for example, want to make sure your database is up and running but don’t want to punch another hole in your firewall. Have your login script run a CLI database query and pipe the output to stdout before closing the SSH connection. If the host is offline, or SSH isn’t working, or your database isn’t responding correctly, the check will fail and you’ll get quick notifications.

We have an important ‘SSH monitoring best practices‘ post over on the NodePing site to help you mitigate the risks associated with SSH monitoring. In particular, consideration should be given to the Security Considerations section.

We’ve also updated our Terms of Service to reflect this new functionality and its risks.

SSH private key authentication is available on the ‘Premiere‘ plan. If you don’t have a NodePing account yet, sign up for our free, 15-day trial and see for yourself how with NodePing you will be the first to know when important services are down.