AutoIT script for Big Brother server monitoring

This post is for those who like to tinkle with scripts to run mundane errands for them.

I use Big Brother from Quest Software to monitor servers at my workplace.

In the past, I would open an Internet Explorer/Firefox browser window to view the status of my servers as reported by Big Brother. An open web browser consumes at least 30MB of memory and goes up to 80MB or more after some time.

Recently, I decided to use AutoIT to script a tool for this purpose. It replaces the need to keep a browser window open, and consumes just over 2MB of memory. What this tool does is to check and report back the status of your Big Brother monitor, as shown in a screen shot below:

The script goes like this:

#cs ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

AutoIt Version: 3.2.2.0
Author:         Thomas Tan

Script Function:
Template AutoIt script.

#ce ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

; Script Start - Add your code below here
;this script will poll big brother pc at your BB host IP/bb and return the status
;use this instead of opening Firefox which can consume up to 60MB or more memory
;checks Big Brother status every 60 seconds
#include <INet.au3>

AutoItSetOption ( "TrayMenuMode",1) ;turns off tray menu options
while 1
$read = _INetGetSource('your BB host IP/bb')
if $read="" Then
TrayTip("Big Brother Status", "Big Brother site not contactable", 15, 1)
sleep(15000)
Else
sleep(10000)
;ConsoleWrite($read)
$t1 = StringInStr($read, "<TITLE>")
$t2 = StringInStr($read, "</TITLE>")
$status = StringMid($read, $t1+7, $t2-($t1+7))
TrayTip("Big Brother Status", $status, 15, 1)
sleep(15000)
EndIf
WEnd

My next project would be a script to check the status of our corporate website and notify me via email or display a tray alert like the above should the website be unresponsive. Stay tuned :)

Thomas