How to use the Web API tile with Pingdom

This article covers how to use the Web API tile to display live API data from Pingdom on a dashboard or perspective.

SquaredUp uses the Pingdom account that you configure and queries will be updated as the page updates, by default every minute.

This article covers:

1. Adding a Pingdom provider in SquaredUp
2. Walkthrough: Adding a Web API Grid tile to a dashboard to show Pingdom checks
3. Walkthrough: Adding a Web API Scalar tile to a dashboard to show response time

You may also be interested in watching our webinar - "Integrating with Splunk, New Relic, Solarwinds and more" (38 mins) which demos different methods, or jump to the part about Pingdom.

Prerequisites

• The SquaredUp server must have access to your Pingdom instance, since it is the server that connects to Pingdom, and not your users' browser.
• If you use a proxy server you may need to configure the proxy to allow the SquaredUp server to communicate with Pingdom.
• A Pingdom instance. You may need some help from a Pingdom admin to get an account with the correct privileges.

Adding a Pingdom provider in SquaredUp

These steps guide you through how to create a simple provider:

1. Log on to SquaredUp and navigate to the right-hand menu ☰ then system and then click on the web api perspective.
2. Click Add new provider.

3. Leave the provider type as simple

4. In the service name box type in a suitable name, e.g. Pingdom

5. The base URL should be the current Pingdom API URL, for example:
   https://api.pingdom.com/api/3.1/
   We recommend you include the API version here in the base URL, so if the API version changes you only need to update it here, rather than in every tile.

6. Under default headers click add
   
7. Add the following:
   
   name: authorization
   value: Bearer <API token from Pingdom>
   
   You can create an API token by logging in to Pingdom > Integrations > The Pingdom API > Add API token
   
   Copy the API token from Pingdom before closing the window:
   
   
   Paste the API token into the authorization value box in SquaredUp, prepended by the word Bearer
   
   
   
8.  Click add provider.

Walkthrough: Adding a Web API Grid tile to a dashboard to show Pingdom checks

It is important to use http get mode and to set the key path in the response data section to checks.

1. On the top navigation bar in SquaredUp click the + to create a new dashboard, and give your dashboard a title.

2. Click on the Web API tile.
   
   

3. Select Web API (Grid).
   
   

4. Leave the scope section blank for this walkthrough..

5. In the provider section select the Pingdom provider that you created earlier.

   

6. In the http mode section leave the http method set to get.

7. Type checks in the box after the URL. The URL shown here is that specified when you created the Pingdom Web API provider.
   

8. Leave the headers & data section as it is, and in the response data section also type checks into the box.

   

9. Click next to move to the grid columns section.

   Here we are going to use custom labels to make the data more meaningful. For more information see How to use custom labels

10. Click hide next to some of the columns you might not wish to show, e.g. id, created, resolution, ipv6, verify_certifcate.
11. You may like to rename the columns to make them more readable, e.g. name to Check Name, lasttesttime to Last Test, lastresponsetime to Response (ms), status to Status, hostname to URL, type to Type, lasterrortime to Last Error.
12. The time values are currently shown in UNIX time format. Click edit next to Last Test and paste the following in to the custom template box:

    {{timeago(value*1000)}}

    This shows how long ago the event occurred.
    
    
    

13. Repeat the above step for Last Error.
14. Leave the grid options section as it is.
15. You may wish to change the order the columns by dragging them into position.
16. Click done.
    
    

    

Walkthrough: Adding a Web API Scalar tile to a dashboard to show response time

1. Click the orange plus button to add a new tile to the dashboard.

2. Click on the Web API tile.
   
   

3. Select Web API (Scalar).
   
   

4. Leave the scope section blank for this walkthrough..

5. In the provider section select the Pingdom provider that you created earlier.

   

6. In the http mode section leave the http method set to get.

7. In the box following the URL you need to type checks/<check id> where <check id> is the number shown in the URL when you browse to that check in Pingdom.
   
   

8. In the response data section, type check.lastresponsetime into the box.

   

9. Click next to move to the scalar section.

10. In the unit box type ms for milliseconds.
11. Click done.
    

Hints and Tips

• Look at the Pingdom API documentation or speak to your Pingdom expert.
• Use custom labels to improve data formatting see How to use custom labels