Troubleshooting Common Issues in Revolver Server MonitorRevolver Server Monitor is a robust tool designed to track server health, performance, and availability across diverse environments. However, like any monitoring solution, it can encounter issues that impede accurate alerts, data collection, and dashboard functionality. This article walks through the most common problems users face with Revolver Server Monitor, diagnostic steps, and practical fixes to restore reliable monitoring quickly.
1. Data Not Updating or Delayed Metrics
Symptoms
- Dashboard shows stale timestamps or no recent data.
- Alerts triggered late or not at all.
Common causes
- Agent-to-server communication failures.
- High network latency or packet loss.
- Collector service or database lag on the monitoring server.
- Time synchronization issues between monitored hosts and the server.
Diagnostics
- Check agent logs on monitored hosts for connection errors or authentication failures.
- Verify network connectivity: ping, traceroute, or test TCP port used by the agent.
- Inspect Revolver Server Monitor server logs for errors and queue backlogs.
- Confirm NTP/time settings on all hosts (agents and server).
Fixes
- Restart the agent service on affected hosts. Example (Linux): sudo systemctl restart revolver-agent
- Ensure firewall rules allow traffic on the agent port; update security groups if in cloud environments.
- Increase collector or database resources (CPU, memory, I/O) if the server is overloaded.
- Configure or correct NTP settings; ensure clocks are within a few seconds of each other.
- If the environment has intermittent connectivity, enable buffering on agents (if supported) so metrics are cached and forwarded when connection resumes.
2. Missing Hosts or Devices in Inventory
Symptoms
- Expected servers are not listed in the Revolver inventory.
- Newly provisioned hosts never appear.
Common causes
- Agent not installed or failed registration.
- Incorrect credentials or discovery settings.
- Network segmentation preventing discovery protocols.
Diagnostics
- Confirm agent installation status on the host.
- Review registration logs; check for authentication errors.
- Validate discovery rules, IP ranges, and credentials.
- Test reachability from the monitoring server to the host using SSH, WMI, or the protocol used for discovery.
Fixes
- Reinstall or re-register the agent using the correct token/credentials.
- Update discovery ranges and credentials; run a targeted discovery for the host’s IP.
- If using gateway/proxy for cross-segment discovery, ensure it’s configured and reachable.
- For cloud instances, confirm the instance metadata and API permissions if Revolver integrates with cloud provider APIs.
3. False Positives / Flapping Alerts
Symptoms
- Alerts repeatedly trigger and resolve in short cycles.
- Notifications for transient load spikes or temporary network blips.
Common causes
- Thresholds set too tightly for normal variability.
- Short polling intervals combined with transient load.
- Unstable network causing intermittent packet loss.
Diagnostics
- Examine the alert history to identify patterns and timing.
- Review metric graphs around the alert times to see if spikes are brief or sustained.
- Check network metrics for packet loss or jitter during flapping windows.
Fixes
- Increase alert thresholds or add hysteresis/state persistence (e.g., require X consecutive breaches before alerting).
- Lengthen polling intervals for noisy metrics or apply smoothing/rolling averages.
- Implement suppression windows or maintenance mode during expected disturbances (deployments, backups).
- Address underlying network instability with appropriate network diagnostics and fixes.
4. Authentication and Permission Errors
Symptoms
- Agents failing to authenticate with the server.
- API calls or integrations returning ⁄403 errors.
Common causes
- Expired or rotated API tokens/keys.
- Misconfigured TLS/SSL certificates.
- Incorrect role or permission assignments within Revolver.
Diagnostics
- Check server and agent logs for authentication error messages.
- Validate API tokens and certificate expiry dates.
- Review user/role permissions for the API account or integration.
Fixes
- Renew or regenerate API tokens and update agents or integrations with the new values.
- Replace expired TLS certificates and ensure the certificate chain is trusted by agents.
- Adjust roles/permissions in Revolver to grant required access to the API or service accounts.
- Ensure system clocks are correct so token validation and certificate checks succeed.
5. High Resource Usage on Monitoring Server
Symptoms
- Revolver services consume high CPU, memory, or disk I/O.
- Slow dashboard loading or delayed processing.
Common causes
- Large number of monitored metrics or very short collection intervals.
- Inefficient queries or lack of database indexing.
- Log rotation not configured, causing disk saturation.
- Background tasks (reports, large exports) running during peak times.
Diagnostics
- Use OS tools (top, htop, iostat, vmstat) to identify resource bottlenecks.
- Review Revolver’s internal metrics for collection rates, queue sizes, and query times.
- Inspect database health and slow query logs.
Fixes
- Reduce metric collection frequency for non-critical metrics; prioritize key indicators.
- Archive or delete old metrics and enable retention policies.
- Tune database configuration (indexes, cache sizes) or scale vertically/horizontally (add replicas).
- Enable log rotation and monitor disk usage; move logs to a separate volume if needed.
- Schedule heavy background tasks during off-peak hours.
6. Integration Failures (PagerDuty, Slack, Cloud APIs)
Symptoms
- Notifications not delivered to third-party services.
- Cloud inventory sync failing or returning errors.
Common causes
- Changed webhook URLs, expired credentials, or revoked API permissions.
- Network egress restrictions preventing outbound connections.
- Rate limits or throttling on third-party APIs.
Diagnostics
- Check Revolver outbound integration logs for HTTP status codes and error messages.
- Test webhooks and API calls manually using curl or API clients from the Revolver server.
- Review third-party account dashboards for rate-limit or auth warnings.
Fixes
- Update webhook URLs, API keys, and OAuth tokens as required.
- Whitelist Revolver server IPs in outbound firewall rules or proxy settings.
- Implement exponential backoff and retry logic for integrations prone to rate limiting.
- Use dedicated integration users/keys so permissions are explicit and manageable.
7. Incorrect or Missing Dashboards and Visualizations
Symptoms
- Graphs show unexpected values or missing data points.
- Custom dashboards not rendering widgets.
Common causes
- Broken queries after schema changes.
- Timezone mismatches between data and dashboard settings.
- Permissions preventing users from viewing certain data.
Diagnostics
- Inspect the underlying queries for each widget or panel.
- Compare raw metric tables to visualization outputs.
- Check dashboard and data source time zone settings.
Fixes
- Update queries to match current schema and field names.
- Align dashboard timezone settings with metric timestamps or convert timestamps consistently.
- Adjust user permissions or share dashboards properly so intended users can view them.
- Rebuild or re-import dashboards if they were corrupted during upgrades.
8. Upgrade-Related Problems
Symptoms
- Services fail to start after an upgrade.
- Data migration errors or feature regressions.
Common causes
- Incompatible configuration files or missing migration steps.
- Insufficient downtime planning for schema migrations.
- Plugin or extension incompatibility.
Diagnostics
- Review upgrade/migration logs for errors.
- Check version compatibility matrices and release notes.
- Test upgrade in staging first to reproduce issues.
Fixes
- Roll back to the previous stable version if needed and follow documented upgrade steps.
- Apply required configuration changes or migration scripts provided in release notes.
- Update or disable incompatible plugins until compatible versions are available.
- Maintain backup snapshots of the database and configuration before upgrades.
9. Agent Crashes or Memory Leaks
Symptoms
- Agents repeatedly crash or consume increasing memory over time.
- Monitored host stops reporting after some uptime.
Common causes
- Bugs in older agent versions.
- Resource exhaustion on the host due to other processes.
- Corrupted agent cache or state files.
Diagnostics
- Check agent crash logs and core dumps.
- Monitor agent memory usage over time and correlate with host activity.
- Run the agent in debug/verbose mode to capture detailed traces.
Fixes
- Upgrade agents to the latest stable release containing bug fixes.
- Clear or rotate agent cache/state files if corruption is suspected.
- Constrain agent memory usage via configuration limits if supported.
- If a memory leak is suspected, collect diagnostics and report to Revolver support with logs and reproduction steps.
10. Security Alerts or Unexpected Access
Symptoms
- Unrecognized configuration changes.
- Alerts of suspicious API usage or failed login attempts.
Common causes
- Compromised credentials or unauthorized access.
- Misconfigured automation scripts making unintended changes.
- Insufficient auditing and alerting for configuration changes.
Diagnostics
- Review audit logs for configuration changes, API calls, and login attempts.
- Identify IP addresses and user agents involved in suspicious activity.
- Verify keys/tokens issued recently and their scope.
Fixes
- Rotate compromised credentials and revoke unused tokens immediately.
- Tighten access controls: enable MFA, apply least-privilege roles, and restrict IP access where possible.
- Enable and review audit logging regularly; set alerts for unusual admin actions.
- Conduct a security review of automation scripts and scheduled tasks.
Best Practices to Prevent Common Issues
- Keep Revolver server and agents patched on a regular schedule.
- Standardize agent installation and configuration via automation (Ansible, Terraform, etc.).
- Apply sensible default thresholds and use alert grouping/hysteresis for noisy metrics.
- Monitor the monitor: create internal checks for agent heartbeat, processing queues, and integration health.
- Maintain regular backups of configuration and time-series data.
- Test upgrades and major configuration changes in a staging environment first.
- Use role-based access control (RBAC) and rotate credentials periodically.
When to Contact Support
Contact Revolver support when:
- You’ve collected logs and reproduction steps but cannot resolve the issue.
- There are unexplained data corruption or migration failures.
- You suspect a critical security breach.
Provide support with:
- Relevant logs (agent, server, integration), timestamps, and screenshots of problematic dashboards.
- Exact versions of Revolver server and agents, and the steps to reproduce the problem.
- Recent configuration changes or upgrades that preceded the problem.
Troubleshooting Revolver Server Monitor is often a process of isolating where data stops flowing — agent, network, server ingest, storage, or integrations — and applying targeted fixes. Systematic diagnostics, sensible alerting policies, and proactive maintenance will minimize downtime and false alarms.
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