This article will provide definitions for each field of an uptime check. Because each check is unique, some fields may appear as optional or required depending on the type of check.
We recommend using your browser's search function to identify specific fields within this guide for additional information, but we've also included a table of contents below to help browse these explanations:
Table of Contents
- URL/Domain IP
- Username
- Password
- String to POST/Send
- String to Expect
- String Comparison
- Proxy URL
- Expect Status Codes
- HTTP Headers
- Verify Certificates
- Max Load Time
- Port
- Block URLs
- Emulate Device
- Connection Throttling
- Uptime Grade Threshold
- Record Type
- DNS Server
- Encryption
- Before Expiry
- Protocol
- Minimum SSL/TLS version
- Match Certificate Fingerprint (SHA-1)
- Validate Certificate/CRL at URL
- Match Issuer Name
- Force host IP address resolution
- Match Additional Name(s)
- Manually Select Checks
- Auto-Select by Tags
- Group Down / Alert Conditions
- Uptime % Calculation
- Response Time Calculation
- Copy Response Time from a Single Check
- Average Response Time of Check Type
- Sensitivity and Retries
- Use IP Version
- Timeout
- Checker Version
- Include in Metrics
- Uptime SLA %
- Response Time SLA
- Escalations
- Maintenance
Check Fields At A Glance
Optional fields to increase the functionality of even basic checks.
Extensive customization options for differing Checks.
Bulk options for assigning, editing, and updating checks.
Adding/Editing Checks
The following describes the fields provided when adding or editing a check:
Name
Provide a name for your check. Useful for quick searching or grouping your checks alphabetically.
Check Interval
Set or alter the interval between each check. We will run the check from every location you’ve selected at the rate specified here. If a check fails, we will run additional retries based on the number of retries you've configured to verify the failure before recording the location as “down”. If the check is a Transaction or API check, and the check fails, we will then run the additional retries at two-minute intervals to verify the failure before recording the location as "down".
Editing check intervals can be done in bulk.
Contacts
Select the contact group(s) for your check. The contacts you assign to a check will be notified of any incidents related to your checks via email, SMS message, phone call, and/or any of our integrations.
Assigning contacts can be done in bulk.
Locations
Select the probe server locations which will be used in monitoring your checks. At each interval defined by your Check Interval, we will run the check from every location you select here. Note we highly recommend selecting at least 3 locations to prevent false positives due to a location-specific anomaly.
Please Note: Location accessibility is dependent on which plan you are subscribed to.
Editing probe server locations can be done in bulk.
Check Type
Select your check type. Please refer to Overview of Checks for more information on the types of checks Uptime.com can run.
Run Test
Use the Run Test button to confirm a check is working as intended. Select your desired location, including any of your configured Private Location probe servers as well as all Uptime.com probe servers allocated to your account tier. Once a location is selected, click Run Test.
Note: Run Test for single location and advanced checks is limited to test servers and private location probe servers only.
Optional Parameters
These parameters are required or optional fields based on the check type selected.
Required Parameter Screenshot Example (from the HTTPs Check)
Optional Parameters Screenshot Example (from the HTTPs Check)
URL/Domain/IP
The URL or IP you wish to check (example: https://google.com or 10.0.0.123).
Username
The username required for authentication, for example Basic Auth for HTTP or email credentials for SMTP. Note: We highly recommend that you create unprivileged test credentials for your checks.
Password
The password required for authentication, for example Basic Auth for HTTP or email credentials for SMTP. Note: We highly recommend that you create unprivileged test credentials for your checks.
String to POST/Send
Data to send to the server your are checking. For example, URL-encoded HTTP POST data for HTTP checks, or raw data for TCP/UDP checks. Be sure to format data in a way the server will understand.
String to Expect
Data that must be present in the server’s response, otherwise the check will fail. Different check types return different types of data; for example, for HTTP checks this is any text present in the returned HTML. For TCP/UDP checks this is the raw data returned by the server. For DNS/WHOIS checks it ensures your records have not been maliciously tampered with.
String Comparison
How to match the String to Expect, relevant for HTTP checks only. “Exact match” means the text must be present exactly in the returned HTML. “Regular expression” supports matching by patterns. “Fail if regular expression matches” means the check is successful only if the pattern is not matched.
Proxy URL
The address of an HTTP(S) proxy to use. See this use case in action here.
Expect Status Codes
A comma delimited list of successful HTTP status codes that a check can register as UP. Use of this setting disables the check’s ability to follow URL Redirects.
HTTP Headers
HTTP headers to send, one per line, in regular HTTP format (eg Content-Type: application/json). You may set the Content Type, Cookies and other HTTP headers using this field. Please note the user-agent is not settable to prevent abuse or masquerading.
Verify Certificates
Verify SSL/TLS certificates (for HTTP(S) checks only) using standard system CA’s. You may use the dropdown to enable or disable certificate verification for the purposes of your check. Please note, certificate verification for the HTTP(S) check is available only in Checker Version V2.0 which can be selected in Advanced Settings.
* The HTTP(S) check will default to the newest version. If HTTP is specified in the provided URL, the checker will not verify certificates.
Max Load Time (RUM Check only)
Raise an alert if your site’s average response time (in seconds) is more than this value.
Port
Available for many check types, specifies the port number you would like to use. The default is sensible - 80 for HTTP, 22 for SSH etc.
Block URLs (Page Speed Check only)
Prevent resources from being loaded based on their URL. Regular expressions are supported.
Emulate Device URLs (Page Speed Check only)
Choose which device you would like to perform this check with. This is useful if you would like to test out the mobile version of a webpage vs the desktop version.
Connection Throttling (Page Speed Check only)
Choose which network you would like to perform this test with. Using this option allows for performance testing over different networks to determine how your webpage will load.
Uptime Grade Threshold URLs (Page Speed Check only)
If enabled, any contacts listed on this check will be alerted if your webpage performance goes below a specific grade.
Record Type (DNS Check only)
Specifies the type of DNS record (eg. A, AAAA, TXT) you would like to test for.
DNS Server (DNS Check only)
Address of the DNS nameserver which should be used to query for DNS records (example: ns1.registrar.com or 8.8.8.8).
Encryption
Where relevant, use STARTTLS to check over a secure connection.
Before Expiry (Whois and SSL Checks only)
Raise an alert if there are less than this many days before the domain or SSL certificate needs to be renewed.
Protocol (SSL Checks Only)
Select a protocol for SSL Check verification (TLS or STARTTLS). For a full list of supported protocols, see our support article SSL Certificate Expiry Check Basics.
Minimum SSL/TLS Versions (SSL Checks Only)
Select a minimum required SSL or TLS version.
Match Certificate Fingerprint (SHA-1) (SSL Checks Only)
Require that the certificate matches a specific SHA-1 fingerprint/hash value.
Validate Certificate/CRL at URL (SSL Checks Only)
Specify the location of the certificate or CRL by URL, instead of defaulting to the provided domain.
Match Issuer Name (SSL Checks Only)
Require that the certificate matches the configured Issuer Name value (case sensitive).
Force host IP address resolution (SSL Checks Only)
Provide a custom IP address for the specified host when resolving your domain
Match Additional Name(s) (SSL Checks Only)
Require that the certificate matches the configured common or alt names(s), which can be listed once per line.
Manually Select Checks
Select the checks you would like to include in this group.
Auto-select by Tags
Include all present or future checks with any of the selected tags.
Group Down / Alert Conditions (Group Check only)
Determine the Group Check alert conditions.
Uptime % Calculation
Assign an uptime % representing Group Check’s SLA performance.
Response Time Calculation (Group Check only)
Select a Group Check’s response time calculation mode, from “No Response Time” (default), “Copy from single assigned check”, or “Average by single check type”.
Copy Response Time from a Single Check (Group Check only)
Select a single check as a source for a Group Check’s displayed response time metrics, as seen in the Check Report, Dashboard cards, Status Page components, and Check screen.
Average Response Time from a Single Check (Group Check only)
Select a single check type to display the averaged response times of all corresponding checks within the Group Check. Available check types for this calculation mode are HTTP(s), Transaction, API, ICMP(Ping), Heartbeat, or Incoming Webhook.
Please note: Average response times in this mode are calculated by averaging all response times for all Locations per check (in the Group Check) of the selected check type, and then averaging each check’s average for a final response time graph.
Advanced Tools
These tools are useful but may not apply to every potential check. Some are also dependent on the needs of your organization.
Sensitivity
Sensitivity designates how many locations can register as down before an alert is sent. When using fewer than 3 locations, a check will return to UP status once all locations have returned to UP status. When using 3 or more locations with a sensitivity of 3 or higher, the check will return to UP status once all but one location has returned to UP status. We highly recommend a minimum of three locations with the recommended default value of “2”. Note that setting a value of 1 location will likely result in false positives as anomalies in individual locations do occur from time to time.
Configuring the Number of Retry Attempts
The number of retry attempts determine how many times a check should be re-run before a location is considered down. The default setting is 2, but Uptime.com allows users to choose from 1-3 attempts. We recommend using 2 retries for fast alerting that avoids false positives.
Please note: The retry intervals for API and Transaction checks are two minutes, as opposed to one minute for other checks.
Setting retry attempts and sensitivity can be done in bulk.
Use IP Version
Whether IPv4 or IPv6, or any available address should be used for connection. By default, all checks will go over IPv4 with ANY set, apart from the Transaction and API check, unless IPv4 is specifically selected.
Timeout
Raise an alert if the check takes longer than this many seconds to complete. Timeout errors can signal anything from a firewall issue, a high volume of users, a temporary outage or slow connection, so use of this feature provides more context for certain outages.
Uptime SLA %
Determine the minimum percentage availability the check needs to meet up to 2 decimal places. Gain additional statistical insights into the check through SLA reporting.
Response Time SLA
Set the minimum average SLA Response Time (in seconds) that the check needs to meet. Value limited to 3 decimal places. View statistics per check through SLA reporting.
Checker Version HTTP(S)
Select the checker version to use for the HTTP(S) check type. Choose between V1.0 Legacy, or V2.0 curl which supports certificate verification for SSL/TLS, as well as HTTP/2, SSL v3 and chunked content.
Include in Metrics
Include this check in uptime/response time calculations for the dashboard, SLA report, and public status pages.
Escalations
Escalations let you notify additional contacts if a check stays down for a longer period of time (from one minute up to several days). You have a wide range of options for escalating an outage.
Designated contacts for escalation will receive notifications with relevant technical data about the downtime after the time interval specified, and only for downtime that occurs after the escalation was created.
See our article on creating smart escalations to see this in action.
Escalations can be configured in bulk.
Maintenance
During Maintenance, failed checks will be ignored in uptime calculations and alerts are logged but not issued to check contacts. This includes checks with escalations. In the alert listings you will be able to see any alerts detected during maintenance as faded out, indicating they are ignored.
The wrench icon indicates the check is in maintenance state
Options Include:
- No maintenance window
- Apply the maintenance state immediately (alerts will be suppressed until you change this setting)
- Use a maintenance schedule. When scheduling, alerts will be suppressed based on a predefined schedule. This schedule can be a single block of time with a Start and End; can be defined by day(s) of the week, or by a single date or date range of the month (using HH:MM format for your Timezone).
If you need to change your account's preferred timezone, you may do so so from Settings >Account Details. Select your preferred timezone, and click Update Details.
It is possible to set maintenance windows in bulk.
Bulk Update Checks
Uptime.com allows users to make certain updates to multiple checks simultaneously. Bulk check updates can help save time and remove the odds of human error when making changes to many checks.
Click Monitoring > Checks to view the checks you’ve created. To update check(s) in bulk, tick the box next to the necessary checks, or tick the highest box to select all.
Please note: The “select all” checkbox next to Name will only select checks visible in the current page. To select more, increase the number of checks per page with the “X Per Page” drop-down.
After check selection, individual icons of the Bulk Actions menu will appear. Hover over each icon to see a quick tool-tip.
The icons are as follows.:
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Pause the selected checks
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Resume the selected checks
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Set Maintenance Windows
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Change or set new Locations
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Change or set check Interval
The "three dots" button for "More Bulk Actions" will show the following additional actions:
- Set Contacts
- Set Sensitivity, Retries, and Timeout
- Set SLA
- Set Escalations - See our article on creating responsive escalations to see this in action.
- Set Tags
- Upgrade Checker Versions
- Create a Group Check
- Add to Group Check
- Delete Selected Checks
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