Crons are silent by nature. When they fail, nobody knows... until a customer complains that their data hasn't been updated or their invoice wasn't generated.
With MoniTao, each critical cron sends a heartbeat after execution. If the heartbeat doesn't arrive, an email alert is triggered to notify you of the failure.
Why Alert on Cron Failures
- Critical tasks: Backups, report generation, data synchronization - these tasks must run.
- Silent failure: A cron that doesn't run often generates no log. Impossible to detect without external monitoring.
- Delayed effects: The impact of a missed cron may not be visible for hours or days.
Cron Alert Content
- Cron identifier: The name or ID of the task that should have run.
- Last heartbeat: When the cron last ran successfully.
- Exceeded delay: How late the expected heartbeat is.
Detected Failure Types
- Cron not executed: The cron didn't start at all (crontab issue, server down).
- Cron crashed: The cron started but stopped before sending the heartbeat (crash, timeout).
- Cron too slow: The cron takes longer than expected (configure an appropriate grace period).
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I configure a cron to send a heartbeat?
Add a simple curl at the end of your script: curl -s https://monitao.com/ping/your-id
What grace period should I configure?
Allow margin for duration variations. A 5-minute cron should have 10-15 minutes of grace.
Can I be alerted if a cron takes too long?
Yes, configure a maximum timeout in addition to the grace period.
Does the alert indicate why the cron failed?
MoniTao indicates that the heartbeat didn't arrive. For error details, check the server logs.
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