Write Linux server monitoring tool for Windows

Question

Hi guys,

I have a couple of Linux servers that I want to monitor. I've been searching for good, and free monitoring software but have not really found what I'm looking for. Now I want to see if I can build it myself.

I was wondering if anyone has done something similar before. How should I start, what do I need to keep in mind? Do I need to code something that goes on the server too? 

I want to be able to monitor the server load, memory used, CPU used, if the server is up, if specific ports are up and disk space.

I know that it is possible to get connected with the server over SSH from .NET, but is there an other way? If so, how?

I hope someone can help me, or at least give me some pointers!

yours,

Bernhard