Ping check

Ping is the simplest check to test that an endpoint is available. Target servers must be reachable from the probe’s network and be configured to reply to ICMP echo requests. The time for the endpoint to respond is used to measure latency from each probe location.

Options

The list of common options to all check types:

Option	Description
Enabled	Whether the check is enabled or not.
Job name	Refer to the check name. Check metrics include a `job` label with the value of this option.
Target	Target of the check request. Check metrics include an `instance` label with the value of this option.
Probe locations	The locations where the check should run from. Check metrics include a `probe` label with the value of the probe location running the check.
Frequency	The frequency the check should run in seconds. The value can range from 60 to 3600 seconds. Only the `sm_check_info` metric includes the `frequency` label.
Timeout	Maximum execution time for the check. The value can range from 1 to 60 seconds.
Custom labels	(Optional) Custom labels applied to check metrics. Refer to Custom labels for querying instructions.

Additionally, Ping checks have the following options:

Option	Description
IP version	The internet protocol version to use (V4, V6 or any).
Don’t fragment	Set the DF-bit in the IP header. Only works with IPv4.
Publish full set of metrics	Whether to publish additional metrics to create histograms (used for Apdex scores or heatmaps). Default is false to reduce the number of active series.

These last options don’t produce any additional labels in the resulting check metrics.

Metrics

Checks store their results as Prometheus metrics, including the list of common metrics:

Metric	Description
`probe_all_duration_seconds`	Returns how long the probe took to complete in seconds (histogram).
`probe_duration_seconds`	Returns how long the probe took to complete in seconds.
`probe_all_success`	Displays whether or not the probe was a success (summary).
`probe_success`	Displays whether or not the probe was a success.
`sm_check_info`	Provides information about a single check configuration.

Additionally, Ping checks produce the following metrics:

Metric	Description
`probe_dns_lookup_time_seconds`	Returns the time taken for probe DNS lookup in seconds.
`probe_icmp_duration_rtt_max_seconds`	Maximum duration of round trip time phase.
`probe_icmp_duration_rtt_min_seconds`	Minimum duration of round trip time phase.
`probe_icmp_duration_rtt_stddev_seconds`	Standard deviation of round trip time phase.
`probe_icmp_duration_seconds`	Duration of ICMP request by phase.
`probe_icmp_packets_received_count`	Number of ICMP packets received.
`probe_icmp_packets_sent_count`	Number of ICMP packets sent.
`probe_icmp_reply_hop_limit`	Replied packet hop limit (TTL for IPv4).
`probe_ip_addr_hash`	Specifies the hash of the IP address. It’s useful to detect if the IP address changes.
`probe_ip_protocol`	Specifies whether the probe IP protocol is IP4 or IP6.