# How do you track your own VPS collection



## vanarp (Jun 1, 2013)

Within a year of getting into VPS, I already have four of them. I am sure many here must be owning much higher number of VPSes and could have found an easier way to keep a track of them all.

So what is your method of tracking VPSes? Is there a tool like dAgent or a cool Spreadsheet template or something else?


----------



## Chronic (Jun 1, 2013)

I just made a simple spreadsheet using Google Docs and fill that up with the basic information every time I make a new order. I'm sure there are better ways to do it, but so far it's worked just fine for a small number of VPSs.


----------



## SeriesN (Jun 1, 2013)

After my other days discussion. I was able to hack a nice little system with PHP+SQL+BOOTSTRAP datagrid.


----------



## vanarp (Jun 1, 2013)

Chronic said:


> I just made a simple spreadsheet using Google Docs and fill that up with the basic information every time I make a new order


Could you share a dummy template of yours? 



SeriesN said:


> I was able to hack a nice little system with PHP+SQL+BOOTSTRAP datagrid.


Could you show us what it looks like?


----------



## Mun (Jun 1, 2013)

You can always use this: https://github.com/mojeda/ServerStatus

Make it look like this: http://uptime.munroenet.com/

Mun


----------



## SeriesN (Jun 1, 2013)

Ours has been customized a bit more but this is the basic. You will get the idea.


http://exacttarget.github.io/fuelux/#datagrid


----------



## TruvisT (Jun 1, 2013)

KeyPass and mRemoteNG are nice options.


----------



## A Jump From Let (Jun 1, 2013)

I track bills and uptime through my email, but it's not that good, I'd prefer using any sort of management system to handle related information.


----------



## HostUS-Alexander (Jun 1, 2013)

I need to get a better way :X


----------



## thuvienvps (Jun 1, 2013)

HostUS-Alexander said:


> I need to get a better way :X


LOL h34r:


----------



## tdc-adm (Jun 1, 2013)

Mun said:


> You can always use this: https://github.com/mojeda/ServerStatus


That's nice. I will give it a try


----------



## vanarp (Jun 1, 2013)

Mun said:


> You can always use this: https://github.com/mojeda/ServerStatus
> Make it look like this: http://uptime.munroenet.com/


 
Thanks for mention of this monitoring tool. Will need to setup. However what I asked for is an inventory tracking method for VPSes.



SeriesN said:


> Ours has been customized a bit more but this is the basic. You will get the idea. http://exacttarget.g...uelux/#datagrid


 
Looks interesting. Not being a programmer myself, would love any ready made tools.



TruvisT said:


> KeyPass and mRemoteNG are nice options.


 
mRemoteNG looks awesome. Much better than Putty Connection Manager.



A Jump From Let said:


> I track bills and uptime through my email, but it's not that good, I'd prefer using any sort of management system to handle related information.


 
Exactly! I hope there is something like what *@dAgent* coded for domains.



HostUS-Alexander said:


> I need to get a better way :X


 
As mentioned by *@Chronic* I made a little Google Docs spreadsheet and bookmarked it for now.


----------



## acd (Jun 2, 2013)

HostUS-Alexander said:


> I need to get a better way :X


 
I do it the same way except my editor says -- INSERT -- at the bottom. XD


----------



## willie (Jun 2, 2013)

I just have a nickname for each one, with an /etc/hosts entry for each nickname.  The exception is lowendspirit since I don't have ipv6 at home at the moment, so I have shell aliases to ssh to the NATted ssh ports.  For various reasons I decided not to point any DNS at most of them.  Maybe DNS would simplify things.


----------



## drmike (Jun 2, 2013)

Some interesting stuff on this thread.  

Like the BlueVM script and modifications.  Will have to get that up and tested some time soon.

For tracking my accounts I keep a paper copy (just in case).

Main details electronically, I put in an "advanced" notepad app - KeepNote.


----------



## walesmd (Jun 2, 2013)

I just use a Google Docs spreadsheet for the technical documentation (IP Address, hostname, initial root password, etc), the easily normalized data points, as well as a Google Dos document for what I call "Administrative documentation" which includes the data points that are not so easily normalized (various account details with the providers, provisioning instructions, etc).

I have been playing with Google Apps Script a lot lately; I'll see what I can do to get my stuff cleaned up, more usable, and available for the public's use as a template/Chrome Store app.


----------



## Kris (Jun 2, 2013)

Excel, Dropbox and Adderall.

Gets confusing with 20+ -_-


----------



## rsk (Jun 2, 2013)

Hmm, I am pretty sure there was a product to control all VMs ... just cant remember the name ....

//EDIT: aaah found it : http://www.solusvmcontroller.com/


----------



## mikho (Jun 2, 2013)

rsk said:


> Hmm, I am pretty sure there was a product to control all VMs ... just cant remember the name ....
> 
> 
> //EDIT: aaah found it : http://www.solusvmcontroller.com/


If they are all using the solusvm api.


----------



## acd (Jun 2, 2013)

willie said:


> I just have a nickname for each one, with an /etc/hosts entry for each nickname.[...]


My login box has a file in ~/.ssh/config with contents like so:


Host blxt
    HostName 192.x.x.249
    Port 9450
    User acd

Host projweb
    HostName 70.x.x.231
    Port 2552
    User tw
then I can ssh blxt or ssh projweb and it goes to the right user-at-host-and-port. This might help keep from cluttering up your bash aliases.


----------



## bizzard (Jun 2, 2013)

I keep a page in our dokuwiki to list all the vps, the locations, IP(s) and payment details. Along with that, monitors ping and SSH using uptimerobot and all other needed ports using statuscake.


----------



## vanarp (Jun 3, 2013)

walesmd said:


> I have been playing with Google Apps Script a lot lately; I'll see what I can do to get my stuff cleaned up, more usable, and available for the public's use as a template/Chrome Store app.


 
That would be awesome!


----------



## HalfEatenPie (Jun 3, 2013)

My personal VPSes are all on my internal Observium script.  

Well, by "all" I mean all that I know of.  I guarantee you there are several out there that I still pay for that I don't know where they are.

I'm at 3 dedicated servers and about 21 VPSes... Excluding the ones I get from Catalyst, although before I joined Catalyst I had three VPSes with... well... us.


----------



## jcaleb (Jun 3, 2013)

i track using my /etc/hosts file

when i buy a new one, i put an alias there. when i cancel, i remove.


----------



## walesmd (Jun 3, 2013)

I keep a /.ssh/config and /etc/hosts too, but no backups anywhere else? Nowhere detailing how to rebuild a certain box, what software / versions? I wouldn't be able to sleep at night...


----------



## jcaleb (Jun 3, 2013)

walesmd said:


> I keep a /.ssh/config and /etc/hosts too, but no backups anywhere else? Nowhere detailing how to rebuild a certain box, what software / versions? I wouldn't be able to sleep at night...


I store .ssh/config and hosts to a git repo =) Email of VPS Welcome message is also a backup for me. Im so lazy


----------



## vanarp (Jun 3, 2013)

Okay, this is how I do it using a Google drive spreadsheet. I know they are bare minimum details to keep a track... I really want to know if you do it any better than this.


----------



## HalfEatenPie (Jun 4, 2013)

*@**vanarp*: I actually do have an unfinished one lying around somewhere here.  Then I switched to just using a monitoring script for it.


----------



## notFound (Jun 4, 2013)

Scaleextreme, although it's a bit rubbish. I hardly ever login, it is useful for notifying you when the load hits a certain limit and uptime monitoring. Generally I use Excel but it's also a bit rubbish.


----------



## arieonline (Jun 4, 2013)

using Dropbox and Simple Text File


----------



## fusa (Jun 4, 2013)

Perhaps this could be useful : http://racktables.org/


----------



## ihatetonyy (Jun 4, 2013)

mRemoteNG is really, really great for keeping track, just delete/add as needed:


----------



## jcaleb (Jun 4, 2013)

a wife could be useful to track these. but she may find out most vps idles and terminate them without notifying me


----------



## Magiobiwan (Jun 5, 2013)

I tossed all mine into a Webmin Cluster. Like this.


----------



## mikho (Jun 5, 2013)

I keep the interesting parts in Keepass.

thats how I keep track of them and the invoices that keeps getting emailed to me.


----------



## vanarp (Jun 5, 2013)

ihatetonyy said:


> mRemoteNG is really, really great for keeping track, just delete/add as needed:


That is an interesting way.


----------



## D. Strout (Jun 10, 2013)

I'm working on a project that will integrate VPS tracking (hostnames, providers, billing info, IPs, etc.) with DNS (add A and AAAA records autocompleted from stored VPS info). When it's done, tracking VMs will be trivial.


----------



## vanarp (Jun 10, 2013)

D. Strout said:


> I'm working on a project that will integrate VPS tracking (hostnames, providers, billing info, IPs, etc.) with DNS (add A and AAAA records autocompleted from stored VPS info). When it's done, tracking VMs will be trivial.


Do you plan to release it as open source? Any ETA?


----------



## D. Strout (Jun 10, 2013)

The domain tracking/DNS portion is finished. Server tracking is just getting started. Domain part (with full DNS system) took a month, I expect the server portion, which is more just listing, will take two weeks, then another week integrating the two. After that I'll release as open source donationware under the "Do WTF you want" license.


----------



## stim (Jun 22, 2013)

A combination of Multi-Tabbed Putty (MTPutty), Kitty, Keypass with keyagent.

MTPutty has a tree view where you can organise servers into folders. Server nicknames appear in the tabs.
You can also send commands/scripts to all open terminals simultaneously.

And the whole thing can be made portable.


----------



## Master Bo (Jul 2, 2013)

Billing/similar info: I keep a list stored within encrypted container.

Availability/status: I use VPS-based scripts posting to Amazon SQS; another script reads the above messages and keeps a real-time status of every VPS reporting. Very simple and efficient.

Zabbix/Nagios for monitoring.


----------

