When to use it
- Confirm a server or network device is online
- Watch a VPN endpoint or router that has no open TCP port
- Pair with Port and HTTP monitors to see at which layer a problem is
Ping checks run from UptimeIO’s probe locations over the public internet. The target must be publicly reachable: private and internal targets (private IP ranges such as 10.x, 172.16-31.x and 192.168.x,
localhost, and names ending in .local, .internal or .lan) are rejected with a VALIDATION_ERROR.Create a ping monitor
1
Enter the target
A public hostname or IP address, for example
vpn.yourcompany.com or 203.0.113.10.2
Set interval and timeout
The interval minimum depends on your plan (Free 300 seconds, Pro and Scale 60 seconds).
3
Choose probe locations
UptimeIO probes from multiple locations. Pro and Scale can choose which locations run regular checks (at least one); Free uses automatic selection.
Settings
Each check sends 3 echo requests. The check succeeds if at least one reply is received and fails when every packet is lost, the host cannot be resolved, or the timeout passes.
icmp_config.packet_count and icmp_config.packet_size are accepted by the API but do not change the probe.Example
Results
Each check records whether it succeeded, the round-trip time, and packet statistics (packets sent and received, packet loss). An incident opens when the host stays unreachable. Because incidents need confirmation from several probe locations, a failure seen from only one location does not open one (see Understanding incidents).Firewalls
Allow inbound ICMP echo requests (type 8) and echo replies (type 0) to the host. Many cloud providers block ICMP by default, so add an explicit rule in your security group, network security group or firewall.Ping or port?
Troubleshooting
100% packet loss
100% packet loss
The host is down, ICMP is blocked, or the target is wrong. Check that the host is online, that the firewall allows ICMP, and try
ping hostname from your own machine.Unknown host
Unknown host
The name does not resolve. Check the spelling and the DNS records (
nslookup hostname).Timeouts
Timeouts
Raise
timeout_ms, check for a firewall that silently drops ICMP, and try with a probe location closer to the host.VALIDATION_ERROR on the target
VALIDATION_ERROR on the target
The target is private, internal, a test domain or one of UptimeIO’s own domains. Use a public hostname or IP.
Next steps
Port Monitoring
Monitor specific service ports
Notifications
Configure alerts for ping monitors