Server status report from local machine !!! Help needed

Hello All,
I manage Linux server from my local machine with ssh.Yesterday my server want down suddenly ,I got to know about it 2hr later from my client.
It was very embarassing situation for a server admin when he got to know about server status from a non admin client.I want to monitor the server for load,traffic,users etc and try to track for problem before any problem appears on it.
Is there any script, or software avaialbe by which I can manage the server load etc and get continuously updated about the status of the server from my local machine.
I have 3 such servers ..so I want to know the status etc about all of then at a time without loging on to server and typing top etc on it.
Please help !!