Project Summary: 12-Day Uptime Kuma Monitoring Deployment
Introduction
Over the course of twelve days, I designed, deployed, and refined a comprehensive monitoring framework using Uptime Kuma. This project began with foundational service checks and gradually expanded to include advanced monitoring techniques, cross-platform integration, real-time alerting, and external transparency through public status pages. Each phase introduced new layers of functionality that strengthened system reliability, enhanced visibility, and improved overall resilience.
The journey was not only about building a monitoring system but also about gaining hands-on experience with incident simulations, automation, and proactive alerting. By the end of the twelve days, I had developed a holistic monitoring strategy capable of validating both availability and functionality while ensuring timely communication with stakeholders. This project served as both a technical achievement and a valuable learning journey that deepened my skills in system monitoring, infrastructure management, and operational readiness.
Executive Summary
My Goal
My goal was to design and implement a structured 12-day monitoring deployment using Uptime Kuma. I set out to build a system that went beyond basic availability checks by integrating advanced monitoring, proactive alerts, cross-platform visibility, and external transparency.
What I Achieved
I successfully deployed a holistic monitoring framework that validated both service availability and functional reliability. Over the course of the project, I configured diverse monitors (HTTP, TCP, DNS, API JSON), integrated Telegram for real-time alerts, simulated outages to test readiness, and added a Windows host for cross-platform monitoring. I also enhanced security with a reverse proxy (Nginx) and built a public status page to communicate service health. Collectively, these achievements resulted in a resilient, transparent, and responsive monitoring environment.
The System I Designed & Built
To bring together all the elements of my 12-day monitoring project, I designed a unified system architecture that integrates monitoring, alerting, and security into a single framework. The system was built to ensure service reliability, proactive detection of issues, and transparent communication with stakeholders.
Here is the architecture diagram I created to visualize the system. It clearly illustrates how all the components I configured interact from monitored services, to the Uptime Kuma core, to Nginx as a reverse proxy, and onward to Telegram alerts and the public status page. This architecture highlights the flow of data, alerting mechanisms, and security layers that collectively strengthen the monitoring environment.
Core Technologies Mastered:
Throughout this project, I gained hands-on experience and practical mastery of several core technologies that strengthened both my monitoring and systems administration skills:
- Uptime Kuma: Configured diverse monitors (HTTP, TCP, DNS, API JSON) and implemented public status pages for transparent service visibility.
- Nginx Reverse Proxy: Deployed and configured Nginx for secure traffic routing, SSL termination, and reliability improvements.
- Telegram Bot Integration: Set up proactive real-time alerts for faster incident response.
- Linux (Ubuntu and Kali): Managed server configuration, service deployment, and troubleshooting within Linux environments.
- Windows Host Monitoring: Integrated Windows systems into a unified monitoring framework for cross-platform oversight.
- Networking Protocols: Applied knowledge of DNS, TCP, SSH, and HTTP for both internal and external service monitoring.
- Incident Simulation & Response: Conducted fire-drill outage tests to validate monitoring effectiveness and system readiness.
My Day-by-Day Implementation Journey
This was my phased approach, where each day I added a new, critical skill.
Day 1: Foundation: I set up my Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS VM with a static IP and installed Docker Engine. This was the bedrock of the entire project.
Day 2: Core Deployment: I ran Uptime Kuma as a Docker container for the first time, configuring persistent storage so my data wouldn't disappear on a reboot.
Day 3: Internal Monitoring: I installed and configured services like FTP and SSH on my Linux server and created my first monitors in Uptime Kuma. I learned to validate my work by simulating outages.
Day 4: Expansion & My First Big Hurdle: I hit a snag with a Docker container naming conflict that broke my setup. This was a key learning moment: I troubleshooted by checking logs and ports, then used docker rm to resolve the conflict. This taught me real-world container management.
Day 5: Proactive Alerting: This was a game-changer. I integrated a Telegram Bot API, so my phone now gets push notifications the moment something goes down.
Day 6: Organization: I organized all my monitors into clear groups and launched a public status page. This showed me the importance of usability and transparency in DevOps.
Day 7: "Fire Drill": I deliberately broke things! I stopped services to test my alerting system end-to-end. It worked perfectly, proving the system's reliability.
Day 8 & 9: Conquering Cross-Platform Monitoring: I added Windows machines to the mix. The challenge? Windows Firewall was blocking my probes. I solved this by creating custom inbound rules for ICMP and specific ports (80, 445), proving I can manage heterogeneous environments.
Day 10: Advanced API Checks: I moved beyond simple "up/down" checks by configuring a JSON Query monitor to validate the actual data returned by an API.
Day 11: Security & Polish: I installed Nginx as a reverse proxy and used Certbot to get a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate for my custom domain (status.mydomain.com). This gave the project a professional, secure front-end.
Quantifiable Infrastructure:
- Service Types Monitored: 6+ (HTTP, HTTPS, TCP, Ping, DNS, JSON Query)
- Operating Systems Covered: 3 (Ubuntu Linux, Windows Server, Windows 10)
- Individual Monitors Configured: 15+
- Notification Channel: Telegram mobile push notifications.
Key Challenges I Overcame
- Docker Conflict (Day 4): This taught me to always manage the full container lifecycle and not just run new instances without cleaning up the old.
- Windows Firewall (Days 8 & 9): I learned the intricacies of configuring host-based firewalls for monitoring, a critical skill for any sysadmin/DevOps role.
- SSL Certificate (Day 10): I learned that Certbot failures are often DNS-related. I verified my DNS records and firewall rules, which resolved the issue and granted me a trusted certificate.
The Business Value I Delivered (Through This Project)
- Proactive Awareness: I transformed monitoring from a passive check into an active alerting system.
- Unified Visibility: I now have a single pane of glass for the health of my Linux servers, Windows machines, and external APIs.
- Rapid Response: My MTTR (Mean Time To Resolution) is now near-zero thanks to instant mobile alerts.
- Cost Efficiency: I built an enterprise-capable monitoring system for less than $10/month on a single VM, a fraction of the cost of commercial tools.
My Evidence & Portfolio Checklist
[Day 1] ──► Docker Installed
Terminal output on Ubuntu VM
[Day 2] ──► Uptime Kuma Dashboard
Accessible via IP: Port
[Day 3] ──► Monitor List
TCP checks for FTP & SSH
[Day 5] ──► Telegram Bot Alerts
Successful test notifications
[Day 6] ──► Monitor Groups + Public Page
Organized layout screenshot
[Day 7] ──► Fire Drill Alert
Telegram outage + acknowledgment
[Day 8 & 9] ──► Windows Host Monitors
IIS & Ping show "UP" status
[Day 10] ──► JSON Query Monitor
Advanced config screenshot
[Day 11] ──► Secure Status Page
HTTPS padlock + custom domain
[Final] ──► Architecture Diagram
Full system overview
This project has given me concrete, demonstrable skills in Docker, reverse proxies, SSL, API integration, and cross-platform system administration. It's a cornerstone piece for my technical portfolio.
Top comments (0)