Host Monitoring

Host Monitoring lets SSH Bridge watch selected hosts after a monitor agent is installed on the server. The agent sends heartbeat updates and lightweight metrics such as CPU, RAM, and disk usage. SSH Bridge uses those heartbeats to show whether a monitored host is online, stale, or offline.

Plan Requirement

Monitoring is available only on plans that include Host Monitoring. If your plan does not include it, the Monitoring section and monitoring controls are hidden or disabled. Company workers can use Monitoring when the company owner plan includes it, while monitoring settings are managed by the owner or an admin.

Start Monitoring a Host

1. Open the SSH Bridge desktop app.
2. Go to Hosts.
3. Open the host menu for the server you want to monitor.
4. Choose the monitor action.
5. SSH Bridge connects to the host, installs a fresh monitor agent, creates a monitor record, and starts receiving heartbeats.

After the first successful heartbeat, the host appears in the Monitoring section with a green online status and recent metrics. The host card can also show monitor status in the Hosts view.

What the Agent Sends

• Heartbeat — Confirms that the agent is still running and can reach the SSH Bridge backend.
• Status — The backend records whether the host is online, stale, or offline based on heartbeat age.
• Metrics — Basic CPU, memory, and disk percentages used by the Monitoring list.

Stop Monitoring

Use the delete or stop action from the Monitoring list to stop monitoring a host. SSH Bridge removes the monitor record and updates all connected devices through realtime events. When the host agent sends its next heartbeat, the backend no longer finds the monitor record and tells the agent to stop.

When SSH Bridge can connect to the host during stop, it also removes the local monitor launch configuration so a future start can install a fresh copy.

Enable Email Notifications

Email notifications are managed in the web app by an owner or admin on a plan that includes Monitoring.

1. Open the SSH Bridge web app.
2. Open Settings.
3. Select the Monitoring tab.
4. Turn on Email notifications.
5. Set Missed heartbeat count. This controls how many missed heartbeat intervals are allowed before an alert is sent.
6. Set Max notifications. This limits how many emails are sent for the same missing-heartbeat incident.
7. Set Cooldown minutes. This controls the minimum wait between repeated notifications for the same monitor.
8. Click Save Monitoring Settings.

How Email Alerts Work

The backend scans monitor heartbeat age on a schedule. If a monitor has missed enough heartbeats and email notifications are enabled, SSH Bridge sends the Host Monitor Notification Email template to the owner or company admins. The alert includes the host name, hostname, host ID, monitor ID, last heartbeat time, and missed heartbeat threshold.

When a host recovers and sends a healthy heartbeat again, SSH Bridge resets the alert state and notification count.

Troubleshooting

• If a host never appears online, check that the monitor agent installed successfully and can reach the backend URL.
• If metrics stay at zero, restart monitoring so SSH Bridge installs the latest agent.
• If email alerts do not send, confirm the plan includes Monitoring, the Monitoring settings tab is visible, email notifications are enabled, and the email template is configured in web-admin.
• If an old agent keeps running after stop, wait for the next heartbeat or remove the host launch agent manually on that server.