VO Monitor Tool Help	Hosted by: HEASARC NASA/GSFC

What is get_status.pl

The get_status.pl service is a simple web tool that returns the status of a VO service. The response is a string indicating whether the service or services are up or down. If the service is up, the return will contain the substring "up". If down, the return will contain the substring "down". A complete description of the types of strings returned and what they mean is described under Program Response .

This service only accepts IVO identifiers as inputs. The program tries to match the identifier to a database of services that we check periodically. It is important to note that we do not check every service. Instead we try to query a representative subset of all services for each VO host. If the service does not exist, the program tries to find all services that match the authority portion of the identifier. For example, if "ivo://CDS/simbad" does not exist, then the program will try to match all services that match "ivo://CDS". Consequently, the program returns an overall status of services at CDS. If some services are up and others are down, the program returns a "mixed" status. No information is returned for individual services in this case.

In addition, typos in identifiers will lead to misleading results. If the user queries for "ivo://CDS/simbadd" (incorrect) instead of "ivo://CDS/simbad" (correct), the program will search for "ivo://CDS".

How to use get_status.pl

The URL for the get_status.pl service is:

http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov//vo/monitor/get_status.pl?id=

To build a query, an ivo identifier must be appended to the service URL. The ivo identifier must have the form "ivo://path". For example,

http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov//vo/monitor/get_status.pl?id=ivo://CDS/simbad

If this service is up, the response to this query is the string "match=exact;status=up".

The are seven possible string responses from the program. The responses and their meanings are:

match=exact;status=up - We tested this service. The service is up.

match=exact;status=down - We tested this service. The service is down.

match=exact;status=mixed - We tested this service. The service was composed of multiple tests. This can happen for Image and Spectra services. See the VO monitor help page for details. Some services are up and other services are down.

match=authority;status=up - We did not test this service exactly. We tested some services with the same authority id and all of those services are up.

match=authority;status=down - We did not test this service exactly. We tested some services with the same authority id and all of those services are down.

match=authority;status=mixed- We did not test this service exactly. We tested some services with the same authority id. Some of those services are up and others are down.

match=none;. We did not test any services.

Test Page

For your convenience we've put together a simple test page that will allow you to query the status of a service. Just enter an IVO identifier. The page can be found here.

Developed with the support of the National Science Foundation under Cooperative Agreement AST0122449 with The Johns Hopkins University. The NVO is a member of the International Virtual Observatory Alliance.

HEASARC Director: Dr. Nicholas E. White,

HEASARC Associate Director: Dr. Roger Brissenden,
Responsible NASA Official: Phil Newman

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