Tools

What are Tools?

The Tools section provides a collection of useful network, website, and system diagnostic utilities that help you troubleshoot issues, analyze performance, and gather information about websites and servers. These tools complement your monitoring setup by providing on-demand diagnostic capabilities for deeper investigation and analysis.

Why Use the Tools Section?

Troubleshooting Support

• Instant diagnostics: Quickly diagnose network and website issues
• Root cause analysis: Gather detailed information about problems
• Verification testing: Confirm monitor results with independent tools
• Performance analysis: Analyze website and server performance in detail

Investigation Capabilities

• DNS analysis: Investigate DNS configuration and resolution issues
• SSL/TLS inspection: Examine certificate details and security settings
• Network testing: Test connectivity and network performance
• Website analysis: Analyze website configuration and content

Convenience and Efficiency

• Centralized access: All diagnostic tools in one location
• No installation required: Browser-based tools available instantly
• Consistent interface: Familiar interface across all tools
• Integration: Results complement your monitoring data

How to Access Tools

Access the tools section through:

• Main dashboard → Tools section
• Sidebar navigation → Tools
• Direct URL: /tools
• Individual tool URLs: /tools/[tool-name]

Available Tools

DNS Tools

DNS Lookup

• Purpose: Query DNS records for any domain
• What it does: Retrieves A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, NS, SOA, and other DNS records
• Use cases:
  • Troubleshooting DNS resolution issues
  • Verifying DNS configuration changes
  • Checking email server (MX) records
  • Investigating DNS propagation
• How to use:
  1. Enter the domain name you want to query
  2. Select the DNS record type (or leave as "ALL" for all records)
  3. Click "Lookup" to retrieve DNS information
  4. Review the results showing all DNS records

Reverse IP Lookup

• Purpose: Find domain names associated with an IP address
• What it does: Discovers other websites hosted on the same IP address
• Use cases:
  • Identifying shared hosting environments
  • Security investigations
  • Understanding hosting infrastructure
  • Competitive analysis
• How to use:
  1. Enter the IP address you want to investigate
  2. Click "Lookup" to find associated domains
  3. Review the list of domains hosted on that IP
  4. Analyze hosting patterns and relationships

Network Analysis Tools

IP Lookup

• Purpose: Get detailed information about any IP address
• What it provides: Geographic location, ISP, organization, and network details
• Use cases:
  • Identifying traffic sources
  • Security analysis and threat investigation
  • Understanding user demographics
  • Network troubleshooting
• Information included:
  • Country, region, and city location
  • Internet Service Provider (ISP)
  • Organization name
  • Time zone
  • Latitude and longitude coordinates

Ping Test

• Purpose: Test basic connectivity and measure response times
• What it does: Sends ICMP packets to test reachability and latency
• Use cases:
  • Testing basic network connectivity
  • Measuring network latency
  • Troubleshooting network issues
  • Verifying server availability
• Results provided:
  • Response time measurements
  • Packet loss statistics
  • Network route information
  • Connectivity status

SSL/Security Tools

SSL Certificate Checker

• Purpose: Analyze SSL certificates and HTTPS configuration
• What it checks: Certificate validity, expiration, chain, and security settings
• Use cases:
  • Verifying SSL certificate installation
  • Checking certificate expiration dates
  • Troubleshooting HTTPS issues
  • Security compliance verification
• Information provided:
  • Certificate validity and expiration
  • Certificate authority information
  • Certificate chain verification
  • Supported protocols and cipher suites
  • Security warnings and recommendations

Website Analysis Tools

HTTP Headers Checker

• Purpose: Examine HTTP headers sent by web servers
• What it shows: Complete HTTP request and response headers
• Use cases:
  • Debugging web server configuration
  • Security header analysis
  • Caching configuration verification
  • Performance optimization
• Headers analyzed:
  • Security headers (CSP, HSTS, X-Frame-Options)
  • Caching headers (Cache-Control, ETag)
  • Server information
  • Content type and encoding
  • Redirect information

Meta Tags Checker

• Purpose: Extract and analyze website meta tags
• What it extracts: SEO and social media meta tags
• Use cases:
  • SEO optimization and verification
  • Social media sharing configuration
  • Website metadata analysis
  • Competitive research
• Meta tags checked:
  • Title and description tags
  • Open Graph tags (Facebook)
  • Twitter Card tags
  • Robots and canonical tags
  • Viewport and mobile tags

Website Text Extractor

• Purpose: Extract clean text content from web pages
• What it does: Removes HTML tags and extracts readable text
• Use cases:
  • Content analysis and monitoring
  • Text processing and analysis
  • SEO content evaluation
  • Accessibility testing

Performance Analysis Tools

Time to First Byte (TTFB) Checker

• Purpose: Measure server response time performance
• What it measures: Time from request to first byte of response
• Use cases:
  • Server performance analysis
  • CDN effectiveness testing
  • Backend optimization verification
  • Performance troubleshooting
• Metrics provided:
  • DNS resolution time
  • Connection establishment time
  • SSL handshake time
  • Server processing time
  • Total TTFB measurement

HTTP/2 Checker

• Purpose: Verify HTTP/2 protocol support and configuration
• What it checks: HTTP/2 availability and performance benefits
• Use cases:
  • Protocol upgrade verification
  • Performance optimization validation
  • Modern web standard compliance
  • CDN configuration verification

Domain and Registration Tools

WHOIS Lookup

• Purpose: Retrieve domain registration information
• What it provides: Domain ownership, registration, and expiration details
• Use cases:
  • Domain ownership verification
  • Expiration date checking
  • Contact information lookup
  • Domain history investigation
• Information included:
  • Domain owner contact information
  • Registration and expiration dates
  • Registrar information
  • Name server details
  • Domain status codes

Redirect and URL Tools

URL Redirect Checker

• Purpose: Follow and analyze URL redirects
• What it tracks: Complete redirect chain and status codes
• Use cases:
  • Redirect chain analysis
  • SEO redirect verification
  • Troubleshooting redirect loops
  • Performance impact analysis
• Information provided:
  • Complete redirect sequence
  • HTTP status codes
  • Redirect types (301, 302, etc.)
  • Final destination URL
  • Total redirect time

Google Cache Checker

• Purpose: Check if and when Google cached a webpage
• What it shows: Google's cache status and last cache date
• Use cases:
  • SEO troubleshooting
  • Indexing verification
  • Content freshness analysis
  • Search engine visibility checking

Using Tools Effectively

Troubleshooting Workflow

1. Start with basic connectivity: Use Ping to test basic reachability
2. Check DNS resolution: Use DNS Lookup to verify domain resolution
3. Analyze HTTP response: Use HTTP Headers Checker for server response analysis
4. Examine SSL/TLS: Use SSL Checker for HTTPS-related issues
5. Investigate performance: Use TTFB Checker for performance analysis

Security Analysis Workflow

1. Certificate verification: Check SSL certificate validity and configuration
2. Header analysis: Examine security headers and configuration
3. IP investigation: Use IP Lookup for geographic and ownership information
4. Domain research: Use WHOIS for registration and ownership details
5. Infrastructure analysis: Use Reverse IP to understand hosting environment

Performance Optimization Workflow

1. Response time measurement: Use TTFB Checker to measure server performance
2. Protocol verification: Check HTTP/2 support for modern performance
3. Caching analysis: Examine HTTP headers for caching configuration
4. Redirect optimization: Use Redirect Checker to minimize redirect chains
5. Content analysis: Use Text Extractor for content optimization

Integration with Monitoring

Complementing Monitor Data

• Deep dive analysis: Use tools to investigate monitor alerts in detail
• Verification testing: Confirm monitor results with independent tool checks
• Root cause identification: Use tools to understand underlying causes of issues
• Performance correlation: Compare tool results with monitor performance data

Incident Investigation

• Initial assessment: Use tools to quickly assess problem scope
• Technical analysis: Gather detailed technical information about issues
• Impact evaluation: Understand the full impact of detected problems
• Resolution verification: Confirm that fixes have resolved issues

Proactive Analysis

• Regular health checks: Use tools for periodic manual verification
• Configuration validation: Verify settings and configurations regularly
• Performance baselines: Establish performance baselines using tool measurements
• Security audits: Regular security analysis using security-focused tools

Common Use Cases

Website Launch Verification

Scenario: Verifying a new website deployment

1. DNS verification: Use DNS Lookup to confirm proper DNS configuration
2. SSL validation: Check SSL certificate installation and configuration
3. Performance baseline: Measure TTFB and response times
4. SEO verification: Check meta tags and content extraction
5. Security review: Analyze HTTP headers and security configuration

Performance Troubleshooting

Scenario: Investigating slow website performance

1. Response time analysis: Use TTFB Checker to identify slow components
2. Protocol optimization: Verify HTTP/2 support and configuration
3. Caching analysis: Examine caching headers and configuration
4. Redirect analysis: Check for unnecessary redirect chains
5. Network testing: Use Ping to test basic connectivity and latency

Security Investigation

Scenario: Investigating potential security issues

1. IP analysis: Use IP Lookup to investigate suspicious IP addresses
2. Domain research: Use WHOIS to research domain ownership
3. Certificate verification: Check SSL certificate validity and chain
4. Header analysis: Examine security headers and configurations
5. Infrastructure analysis: Use Reverse IP to understand hosting relationships

DNS Migration Verification

Scenario: Verifying DNS changes and migration

1. Record verification: Use DNS Lookup to confirm new DNS records
2. Propagation checking: Verify DNS changes have propagated globally
3. Connectivity testing: Use Ping to test connectivity to new servers
4. Service verification: Use HTTP tools to verify web services are working
5. Performance testing: Measure performance after migration

Best Practices

Tool Selection

• Choose appropriate tools: Select tools that match your investigation needs
• Use multiple tools: Combine different tools for comprehensive analysis
• Start simple: Begin with basic tools before moving to advanced analysis
• Consider impact: Be mindful of the impact of tool usage on target systems

Result Interpretation

• Understand baselines: Know what normal results look like
• Consider context: Interpret results in the context of your specific situation
• Cross-reference data: Compare tool results with monitoring data
• Document findings: Keep records of tool results for future reference

Efficient Usage

• Bookmark frequently used tools: Quick access to commonly needed tools
• Learn keyboard shortcuts: Faster navigation and tool usage
• Batch similar tests: Group related testing activities together
• Automate where possible: Use monitoring for routine checks, tools for investigation

Limitations and Considerations

Geographic Perspective

• Testing location: Tools test from specific geographic locations
• Results may vary: Results might differ based on user location
• CDN effects: CDN configuration can affect tool results
• Network routing: Internet routing can impact test results

Timing Considerations

• Point-in-time testing: Tools provide snapshot results, not continuous monitoring
• Caching effects: Results may be affected by various caching layers
• Load variations: Server load can impact tool performance measurements
• Network conditions: Internet conditions can affect test accuracy

Rate Limiting

• Usage limits: Some tools may have usage restrictions
• Target protection: Be respectful of target systems with testing frequency
• Fair usage: Use tools reasonably to ensure availability for all users

Tips for Effective Tool Usage

• Combine with monitoring: Use tools to complement, not replace, continuous monitoring
• Regular verification: Periodically verify monitor results with tool checks
• Document procedures: Create standard procedures for common tool usage scenarios
• Train team members: Ensure team members know how to use relevant tools
• Keep tools updated: Stay familiar with new tools and features
• Understand limitations: Know what each tool can and cannot tell you
• Use during incidents: Leverage tools for faster incident investigation
• Baseline establishment: Use tools to establish performance and configuration baselines
• Security focus: Regularly use security tools for proactive security assessment
• Performance optimization: Use performance tools to identify optimization opportunities