Managing Multiple Joomla Sites with jMonitoring

Joomla is a fantastic CMS but if, like me, you have multiple deployed sites you must spend alot of time maintaining, updating and monitoring them. Tools like Akeeba’s AdminTools help with the updating part but that’s just for the Joomla core. Most websites are compromised via 3rd party extensions, not the core at all (or by poorly secured file systems). So I always preach that extensions must be kept up to date. That’s easier said than done however as it’s easy to lose track of what is installed where unless you are exceptionally well organised.

I was recently browsing the Joomla extensions directory for a user monitor application and came across an interesting tool called JMonitoring. Not what I was looking for but after reading the description we just had to try it out. Basically this extension allows one to monitor the core and extension base installed on multiple remote websites. The administrator can see each component, module and plugin installed on each website along with the relevant version numbers. This removes the necessity to create and maintain a separate component list.

OK, so for the detail. The extension comes in two parts, a “master” component that is installed on your main website and a “slave” component that one would deploy to each of the websites that need to be monitored. Once installed and configured the slave components regularly update the master with the relevant information. Note that this component can monitor Joomla 1.5, Joomla 1.6 and Joomla 1.7 plaftorms (and their point releases) but the master component is Joomla 1.7 compatible only, i.e. your admin website must run the J1.7 flavour of the platform. If that’s a problem just install a new 1.7 for this purpose only.

Here’s a shot of the main management console and the extensions list for an old website (that is curtently being updated!):

I’m really just using it for monitoring joomla, php and extension versions at the moment but this system is also capable of alerting one if certain things like the addition or deletion of a user on a remote website or the addition / modification of an article and checking for the modification of various sensitive files – not sure what those files are but presumably the component verifies the contents or size of important core files. This may be useful on particularly sensitive websites.

Compatibility: Joomla 1.5, Joomla 1.6, Joomla 1.7. Master component will only work on Joomla 1.7.x.

You can get JMonitoring from http://www.jmonitoring.com

Update: JMonitoring has been updated to support Joomla 2.5.