How to Monitor Applications: Real-Time Uptime, DNS & HTTP Analytics Guide | Nife

The Monitoring dashboard in Nife Deploy provides comprehensive real-time visibility into your applications' performance, availability, and traffic patterns. Track uptime, analyze HTTP traffic, monitor DNS performance, and identify potential issues before they impact your users.

Overview#

The Monitoring dashboard consolidates four key monitoring perspectives:

  • HTTP Traffic - Analyze request patterns, bandwidth usage, and traffic distribution
  • DNS Metrics - Monitor DNS query performance and resolution times
  • DNS Analytics - Deep dive into DNS query patterns and statistics
  • Uptime - Track application availability and response times

HTTP Traffic Analysis#

The HTTP Traffic tab provides detailed insights into your application's web traffic patterns and performance.

Configuration#

Before viewing traffic data, you need to configure your Cloudflare Zone ID:

  1. In the Configuration card, enter your Cloudflare Zone ID

    • Find your Zone ID in your Cloudflare dashboard under Domain → Overview → API
    • Format: A 32-character hexadecimal string (e.g., b032a57f01eac20ad3c4e8ba2a05bb19)

  2. Select your desired Date Range

    • Default: Last 30 days
    • Adjust the range using the date picker for custom analysis periods

  3. Click Fetch Data to retrieve traffic analytics

    • First-time fetch may take a few seconds
    • Data updates based on your selected date range
note

You need valid Cloudflare API credentials and appropriate permissions to fetch traffic data. Demo mode displays sample data for testing.

Key Metrics#

The HTTP Traffic tab displays three primary metric cards:

Total Requests#

  • Shows: Complete count of HTTP requests in your date range
  • Why It Matters: Indicates traffic volume and application popularity
  • Interpretation: Compare across time periods to identify growth or anomalies

Cache Hit Rate#

  • Shows: Percentage of requests served from cache (%)
  • Why It Matters: Higher cache hit rates reduce server load and improve user experience
  • Optimal Range: 80-95% is considered excellent
  • Total Bytes: Displayed below the percentage shows total bandwidth transferred

Security Threats#

  • Shows: Number of requests blocked by security rules
  • Why It Matters: Indicates attack attempts and malicious traffic
  • What to Do: Review and adjust security rules if legitimate traffic is blocked

Traffic Charts#

Traffic Over Time#

An area chart showing:

  • Blue Area: HTTP request volume over time
  • Green Area: Unique visitor count over time
  • Use: Identify traffic spikes, patterns, and correlations with business events

Cache Distribution (Pie Chart)#

Shows the proportion of cached vs. un-cached requests:

  • Cached Requests: Served from edge servers (faster, lower cost)
  • Un-cached Requests: Processed by origin server (more resource-intensive)

Optimize By: Increasing cache hit rate through better cache rules and TTL configuration.

Top Countries (Bar Chart)#

Horizontal bar chart displaying your top traffic sources by geographic location:

  • Uses: Content localization, CDN optimization, market analysis
  • Action: Deploy edge servers in high-traffic regions for better performance

Daily Statistics Table#

A detailed daily breakdown showing:

ColumnDescription
DateThe day of the statistics
RequestsTotal HTTP requests processed
CachedRequests served from cache
Cache RatePercentage of cached requests (green highlighting)
BandwidthTotal bytes transferred (human-readable format)
VisitorsUnique visitors that day
ThreatsSecurity threats blocked

Export Data: Use the Export button to download this data as CSV for external analysis, reporting, or archival.

DNS Metrics Monitoring#

The DNS Metrics tab tracks the performance and health of DNS resolution for your applications.

Selecting an Application#

  1. Click the DNS Metrics tab
  2. From the dropdown, select the application you want to monitor
  3. DNS metrics load automatically for the selected application

Understanding DNS Metrics#

DNS metrics help you understand:

  • Query Response Times: How quickly DNS servers respond to queries
  • Query Volume: Number of DNS lookups being performed
  • Record Types: Distribution of A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, and other DNS records
  • Geographic Performance: DNS resolution speed by region

Performance Indicators#

  • Green: Healthy response times (< 100ms)
  • Yellow: Acceptable but potentially slow (100-500ms)
  • Red: Slow or problematic (> 500ms)

When to Take Action#

  • If you notice increased query times, contact your DNS provider
  • If a specific region shows poor performance, consider regional DNS optimization
  • High query volume spikes may indicate DNS issues or security attacks

DNS Analytics#

The DNS Analytics tab provides deeper insights into DNS query patterns and statistics.

Analytics Overview#

This tab shows:

  • Query Pattern Analysis: Time-series trends in DNS queries
  • Query Type Distribution: Breakdown of different DNS record types
  • Recursive vs. Non-Recursive Queries: Query behavior patterns
  • DNSSEC Status: Security posture of your DNS configuration

Using Analytics for Optimization#

  • Identify peak DNS query times
  • Understand query patterns to optimize caching strategies
  • Monitor for unusual query behavior indicating potential attacks
  • Track DNSSEC implementation effectiveness

Uptime Monitoring#

The Uptime tab provides real-time monitoring of your application's availability and performance.

Selecting an Application#

  1. Click the Uptime tab
  2. Select your application from the dropdown menu
  3. Uptime data loads automatically

Time Range Selection#

View uptime data for different periods:

  • Last 1 Hour - Immediate monitoring and troubleshooting
  • Last 3 Hours - Identify recent patterns
  • Last 24 Hours - Comprehensive daily overview

Uptime Metrics#

Response Time (ms)#

  • Current: The most recent response time measurement
  • Shows: Current application latency to your monitoring endpoint
  • Healthy Range: < 200ms for optimal user experience

Average Response Time#

  • Shows: Average response time across all measurements
  • Use: Identify performance trends and degradation
  • Track: Set baseline for alerting on degradation

Uptime Percentage#

  • Shows: Percentage of time your application was available
  • Calculation: Successful responses ÷ total monitoring checks × 100
  • Target: Maintain 99.9% or higher for production applications
  • SLA Alignment: Different service tiers have different uptime guarantees

Certificate Expiration#

  • Shows: Days remaining on your SSL/TLS certificate
  • Action Required: Renew when < 30 days remaining
  • Alert: System warns when expiration approaches

Visual Status Indicator#

The horizontal colored bar shows real-time status:

  • Green Segments: Successful responses (application up)
  • Red Segments: Failed responses (application down)

Hover over segments to see:

  • Response time (ping) in milliseconds
  • Exact timestamp of the check

Uptime Chart#

An area chart displaying response times over your selected period:

  • X-Axis: Time progression
  • Y-Axis: Response time in milliseconds
  • Peaks: Higher spikes indicate slower responses
  • Pattern: Look for consistent patterns that might indicate scheduled jobs or traffic spikes

Interpreting Uptime Data#

Healthy Status:

  • Green indicators throughout
  • Response times consistently under 200ms
  • Uptime percentage 99.5% or higher

Warning Signs:

  • Red indicators appearing
  • Response times increasing over time
  • Uptime dropping below 99%

Critical Issues:

  • Multiple consecutive red indicators
  • Response times exceeding 1000ms
  • Uptime below 95%

Common Monitoring Scenarios#

Scenario 1: Investigate Traffic Spike#

  1. Go to HTTP Traffic tab
  2. Adjust date range to include the spike period
  3. Review the Traffic Over Time chart to identify peak times
  4. Check Top Countries to see if spike is geographic
  5. Review Daily Statistics table for the affected day
  6. Export data for detailed analysis if needed

Scenario 2: Debug Slow Performance#

  1. Navigate to Uptime tab for your application
  2. Select Last 3 Hours to see recent trends
  3. Look for the time period with elevated response times
  4. Check if the slow period correlates with:
    • Traffic spike in HTTP Traffic tab
    • DNS resolution issues in DNS Metrics tab
  5. If consistent pattern, check application logs for errors

Scenario 3: Monitor Security Threats#

  1. Go to HTTP Traffic tab
  2. Monitor the Security Threats metric
  3. If threats spike, review:
    • Which countries/IPs are attacking (check logs)
    • Attack pattern in Traffic Over Time chart
  4. Consider:
    • Enabling stricter security rules in Cloudflare
    • Rate limiting suspicious sources
    • Updating WAF rules

Scenario 4: Optimize Cache Strategy#

  1. Check Cache Distribution pie chart in HTTP Traffic
  2. If cache hit rate is below 80%:
    • Review cache rules in Cloudflare dashboard
    • Increase TTL for static content
    • Check if dynamic content is incorrectly cached
  3. Export historical data to identify cache patterns
  4. Re-test after changes

Export & Reporting#

Exporting HTTP Traffic Data#

  1. Click the Export button in the HTTP Traffic tab
  2. A CSV file downloads with the filename: http-traffic-YYYY-MM-DD.csv
  3. CSV includes all columns from the Daily Statistics table

CSV File Contents#

The exported CSV contains:

  • Date, Requests, Cached, Un-cached
  • Total Bytes, Unique Visitors, Threats

Use Cases:

  • Import into spreadsheet applications for further analysis
  • Create custom reports combining multiple exports
  • Archive historical monitoring data
  • Share with stakeholders or auditors

Refresh & Real-Time Updates#

Manual Refresh#

Click the Refresh button to:

  • Update all monitoring data immediately
  • Fetch latest available metrics
  • Useful after investigating an issue to confirm resolution

Automatic Updates#

  • Uptime data: Updates every 1-5 minutes
  • HTTP Traffic: Updates daily (based on Cloudflare sync)
  • DNS Metrics: Updates every 5-15 minutes

Best Practices#

Daily Monitoring Routine#

  • ✅ Review uptime percentage each morning
  • ✅ Monitor traffic trends across your active regions
  • ✅ Check for security threats and unusual activity
  • ✅ Verify certificate expiration dates (weekly)

Performance Optimization#

  • ✅ Maintain cache hit rate above 80%
  • ✅ Keep average response time below 200ms
  • ✅ Monitor top traffic sources for optimization opportunities
  • ✅ Review DNS performance metrics weekly

Security & Alerts#

  • ✅ Review security threats regularly
  • ✅ Set up alerts for uptime degradation
  • ✅ Monitor for unusual traffic patterns
  • ✅ Keep SSL certificates renewed

Reporting#

  • ✅ Export monthly data for stakeholder reports
  • ✅ Track uptime trends across quarters
  • ✅ Document major incidents with timestamps
  • ✅ Archive data for compliance requirements

Troubleshooting#

No Data Showing#

Problem: "No Uptime Data Available" message

  • Solution 1: Ensure application is selected and deployed
  • Solution 2: Wait 5+ minutes for initial data collection
  • Solution 3: Verify DNS records are properly configured

Problem: "Failed to login to uptime service"

  • Solution: Check internet connection and try refreshing
  • Solution 2: Contact support if issue persists

Cloudflare Zone ID Not Working#

Problem: "Failed to fetch traffic data"

  • Solution 1: Verify Zone ID is correct (32 characters)
  • Solution 2: Confirm API token has appropriate permissions
  • Solution 3: Check that domain is active in Cloudflare

Inaccurate Metrics#

Problem: Metrics seem off or incomplete

  • Solution 1: Ensure correct date range is selected
  • Solution 2: Re-fetch data by clicking "Fetch Data" button
  • Solution 3: Check that your application is receiving traffic

Limits & Considerations#

ItemLimit
HTTP Traffic HistoryLast 30 days (configurable)
DNS Metrics HistoryLast 7 days rolling window
Uptime Data Granularity1-5 minute intervals
Response Time Accuracy±50ms
Export File SizeUp to 10,000 rows per export
Concurrent MonitorsUnlimited