C# Check Remote Server

Question

Can anyone advise what the best way to check (using .NET 3.5) if a remote server is available?

I was thinking of using the following code but would like to know if

Answer 1

I'm guessing you want to check to see if a website is available. You could just use a System.Net.WebRequest and check the result.

Update: Based on your comment, if you've got a few servers (and services) to monitor, then maybe it'd be a better idea to use a package such as Nagios, HostMonitor or IPSentry instead of rolling your own.