When it comes to monitoring, as much as I like scripting languages, it is never my first choice to rely only on a ‘custom’ script. Considering how many variables are involved: requirements, environments, the overall experience of the team that will manage that piece of software, and all efforts to develop, test, and support the solution over time.
I prefer the implementation of any monitoring solution with basic out-of-the-box features and adding on top of some scripts if required to reduce the overall codebase to read/maintain. It is not only an early optimisation of a cost/benefit analysis but it is derived from my professional experiences in different companies and a consideration of the balance needed between the business goal/expectation and the technical value offered by the suggested solution.
In this article you will find something totally different, I wanted to take the opportunity to help somebody solve a real case of a Virtual Printer that was causing issues for users and the ops team. The printer needed to be monitored with a living-off-the-land approach, so without adding any software solution but just a few scripts.
