2.12Ping
What it checks#
A ping monitor sends three ICMP echoes (ping messages) to a host and times the answers. This is the test the ping command runs. The check is up if any echo is answered. The response time is the average round trip of the answered echoes.
When it is up, degraded or down#
- Up: at least one echo was answered.
- Degraded: the average was slower than your slow limit, if you set one.
- Down: no echo was answered (
no reply from <ip> (3 echoes sent)), or the name did not resolve (resolve <host>: …). - Could not run: the result says The ping could not be sent. This is a fault on obsrvly's side, not on your host.
Configuration#
| Dashboard field | Default | Limits and notes |
|---|---|---|
| name | Empty | Required. Up to 200 characters, on one line. |
| check interval | 60 seconds | At least 1 second. Your plan's minimum interval still applies: below it the form shows Your plan checks at most every N seconds. |
| timeout | 10 seconds | Covers all three echoes together. A value above 60 seconds counts as 60 seconds. |
| locations | None (runs from us-west) | Choose from the regions shown. The check runs from each one you pick. |
| on failure — notify | None (all team channels) | Pick channels to limit who is alerted. Shown only when your team has channels. |
| host | Empty | Required. A host name or IP address, such as edge.acme.io or 203.0.113.7. A scheme, port or path gives Host only — no scheme, port or path. IPv6 is allowed. |
Assertions supported#
None. Use the slow limit if response time matters to you (chapter 3).
Example#
{"name": "edge.acme.io ping", "host": "edge.acme.io", "intervalSeconds": 60}Good to know#
- Many servers and firewalls block ping. If your host never answers, use a TCP monitor on an open port instead (2.10).
- One lost echo does not fail the check; only losing all three does. When a name has both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, IPv4 is used.