Monitoring Windows Server Availability and Uptime
For every Windows Server you add to the Windows Server Monitoring Agent, Nodinite creates exactly one Resource in the Windows Server Category, named after that server's configured display name. That resource continuously evaluates three things: whether the server is reachable over the network, how long it has been running since the last reboot, and whether a restart is already queued by Windows Update or Component-Based Servicing.
This focused view means your Monitor View always shows one row per monitored server — a clear signal for each machine, with actionable Remote Actions available directly from the view.
Example list of monitored 'Windows Servers' as resources in a Monitor View.
Example of the Windows Server category as a filter in a Monitor View.
Windows Server Monitoring Capabilities
The Windows Server Monitoring Agent covers many aspects of your Windows infrastructure. This page documents the Windows Server resource — server availability, uptime thresholds, and pending reboot state. The table below is a reference to all monitoring capabilities the agent offers, each documented on its own dedicated page.
| Monitoring Area | What It Covers | Learn More |
|---|---|---|
| Certificates | Installed server certificates, expiry and validity | Certificates Monitoring |
| CPU | Processor details and performance information | CPU Monitoring |
| Disk | Free space on all volumes | Disk Monitoring |
| Event Log | Windows Event Log entries and patterns | Event Log Monitoring |
| IIS | Application pools, websites, and bindings | IIS Monitoring |
| Memory | RAM utilization and availability | Memory Monitoring |
| Network | Network interface status and configuration | Network Monitoring |
| Ping | Network connectivity and latency | Ping Monitoring |
| PowerShell | Custom PowerShell script execution results | PowerShell Monitoring |
| Scheduled Tasks | Task execution status and history | Scheduled Tasks Monitoring |
| Windows Server | Server availability, uptime thresholds, pending reboot state | This page |
| Windows Services | Service status, startup type, and dependencies | Windows Services Monitoring |
State Evaluation for Windows Server
Each monitored server is presented in Nodinite as a Resource and evaluated with a state: OK, Warning, Error, or Unavailable. The Application name shown for each resource is the Display Name from the Windows Server configuration.
You can reconfigure state evaluation at the Resources level using the Expected State feature.
Uptime Monitoring Feature
The Uptime feature evaluates how long a monitored server has been running since its last boot and maps that duration to a monitor state:
- OK - Current uptime is below the configured warning threshold
- Warning - Current uptime exceeds the configured warning threshold
- Error - Current uptime exceeds the configured error threshold
Set these thresholds in Edit configuration for the resource. Use days.hours:minutes:seconds format (for example 365.00:00:00).
Pending reboot detection can also raise Warning. Unavailable connectivity or access issues raise Unavailable regardless of uptime.
Note
Depending on the user-defined synchronization interval for the Windows Server Monitoring Agent, there may be a delay before Nodinite Web Client/Monitor Views reflect changes. Click Sync All (or use the dropdown for individual agent selection) to force a resynchronization.
Option to force Nodinite to request a resynchronization with the monitoring agent.
Uptime Normal Checking --> Warning: Uptime Threshold Breached
or Pending Reboot Checking --> Error: Uptime Error Threshold
Exceeded Checking --> Unavailable: Network/Security Issue
or Bad Configuration OK --> Warning: Uptime Warning Warning --> Error: Uptime Error Warning --> OK: Server Rebooted Error --> OK: Server Rebooted Unavailable --> OK: Issue Resolved
Diagram: Windows Server monitoring state flow — from initial check to health states based on reachability, uptime thresholds, and pending reboot.
State Evaluation Table
| State | Status | Description | Actions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unavailable | Service not available |
|
Review prerequisites | |
| Error | Error state raised | Uptime exceeded the configured error threshold (see Uptime Monitoring Feature) | Restart Edit Details |
|
| Warning | Warning state raised | Uptime exceeded the warning threshold, or a pending reboot was detected | Restart Edit Details |
|
| OK | Online | The 'Windows Server' is up and running | Restart Edit Details |
Pending Reboot Detection — Technical Reference
Nodinite probes three registry locations via WMI remote registry access to determine whether a restart is waiting. Results are cached for 5 minutes to limit remote registry load, and the cache is invalidated automatically when the server's LastBootUpTime changes.
| # | Registry Path | Type | What it means | How it is checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\RebootPending | Key existence | Component-Based Servicing has staged changes requiring a reboot. | Remote registry: RegistryKey.OpenRemoteBaseKey(...) then reg.OpenSubKey(...) — if key exists (!= null) → reboot pending. |
| 2 | HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update\RebootRequired | Key existence | Windows Update installed updates that require a reboot to finalise. | Remote registry: reg.OpenSubKey(...) — if key exists (!= null) → reboot pending. |
| 3 | HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager → value PendingFileRenameOperations |
Value (REG_MULTI_SZ) | Files scheduled for rename/delete at next boot via MoveFileEx with MOVEFILE_DELAY_UNTIL_REBOOT. | Read key.GetValue("PendingFileRenameOperations") — flagged only if value is a string[] with at least one non-empty entry. |
If any of the three checks is positive, the resource state is set to WARNING and the log text contains: "Windows reboot is pending". An existing ERROR state is never downgraded to WARNING by a pending-reboot detection alone.
Example of the Windows Server view highlighting resources with a pending reboot.
Actions for Windows Server
The following Remote Actions are available for the Windows Server Category:
(View server info)"] restart[" Restart
(Reboot server)"] edit[" Edit Configuration
(Change thresholds)"] server --> details server --> restart server --> edit details --> info[" Server Info
(Hostname, OS, Uptime)"] restart --> confirm[" Confirm Restart"] edit --> config[" Uptime Thresholds
Restart Duration"] style details fill:#87CEEB style restart fill:#FFD700 style edit fill:#90EE90
Diagram: Remote actions available per Windows Server resource — Details for health inspection, Restart for reboot, and Edit Configuration for threshold adjustments.
| Action | What It Does | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
| Details | View server information including hostname, OS, uptime, and pending reboot status | Daily health checks, verify server state, confirm uptime |
| Restart | Remotely reboot the Windows Server with a configurable delay | Apply updates, resolve performance issues, clear a pending reboot state |
| Edit Configuration | Modify uptime thresholds and restart duration | Adjust warning/error thresholds to match maintenance schedules |
Available remote actions for the Windows Server category.
Details
View details for any Windows Server resource by clicking the Action button and selecting Details in the Control Center section.
Open the details modal by clicking the 'Details' action menu item.
Example of the 'Details' modal for the Windows Server.
The Server tab displays core information about the Windows Server instance:
- Computer Name – The Windows Server hostname
- Operating System – Windows version and edition
- Last Boot Time – When the server was last restarted
- Uptime – Current uptime duration
- Pending Reboot – Whether a restart is required
The modal also exposes read-only metadata and controls commonly used by operators:
- Refresh — Request an immediate refresh of the resource status (useful after performing remote actions).
- Group configuration, Application, Address, Install date/time — Additional server metadata presented in the modal.
- Info tabs (CPU / Disks / Memory / Network interfaces) — Quick tabs providing essential configuration and status information for each area. These tabs do not display live metrics — for live monitoring of those areas, see the dedicated pages: CPU Monitoring, Disk Monitoring, Memory Monitoring, and Network Monitoring.
Restart
If the Administrator has enabled the restart server feature in the Remote Configuration, the Restart button is visible on the Details page.
Restart the Windows Server using the 'Restart' action.
You will be prompted to confirm the operation:
Example of the 'Restart' prompt.
A modal will present the result of the operation:
Example of a successful request to restart Windows Server.
Edit Configuration
Manage the Windows Server resource by clicking the Action button and selecting Edit configuration in the Control Center section.
Edit configuration using the 'Edit' action.
Example of the 'Edit configuration' modal.
The following fields are available:
- Restart Duration – Duration in seconds until the server reboot actually starts (0–10000)
- Description – User-friendly description
- Uptime Warning TimeSpan – Warning threshold for the Uptime feature (see Uptime Monitoring Feature)
- Uptime Error TimeSpan – Error threshold for the Uptime feature (see Uptime Monitoring Feature)
Example of a Windows Server resource in Warning or Error state once the configured uptime threshold has been reached.
Configuration
Use the General tab in the Remote Configuration to manage Windows Server configuration.
Next Step
Add or manage Monitor View
Monitor Disk Space
Monitor Windows Services
Monitor IIS
Related Topics
Windows Server Monitoring Agent
Disk Monitoring
Memory Monitoring
Network Monitoring
CPU Monitoring
Windows Services Monitoring
IIS Monitoring
Scheduled Tasks Monitoring
Event Log Monitoring
PowerShell Monitoring
Ping Monitoring
Resources
Monitoring
Monitor Views