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Ping Monitor

The Ping Monitor provides continuous monitoring of critical hosts with real-time status updates and latency tracking. Located in the center pane of the main window, it allows you to track the availability of important network resources at a glance.

Ping Monitor Overview

Overview

The Ping Monitor continuously pings specified hosts and displays:

  • Status - Visual indicator of host availability
  • IP Address/Hostname - The target being monitored
  • Label - Optional friendly name for the host
  • Latency - Round-trip time in milliseconds

Status Indicators

Each monitored host displays a color-coded status indicator:

Status Indicators

Green Indicator

Alive - Host is responding to ping requests

Meaning: Network connectivity to this host is working properly

Example: Your gateway, DNS servers, or critical services are reachable

Red Indicator

Dead - Host is not responding to ping requests

Meaning: Host may be: - Powered off - Disconnected from network - Blocking ICMP traffic (firewall) - Experiencing network connectivity issues

Action: Investigate the cause of the outage

Gray Indicator

Not Yet Pinged - Initial state before first ping completes

Meaning: Monitor just started, waiting for first response

Duration: Typically appears for only 1-2 seconds on launch

Default Monitored Hosts

When you first launch PingStalker or select a new interface, four default hosts are automatically added:

1. Level 3 DNS (4.2.2.2)

Purpose: Verify internet connectivity to a fast, reliable public DNS resolver

Expected Latency: Varies by location, typically 5-50ms

If Down: Internet connectivity may be impaired or Cloudflare is experiencing an outage (rare)

2. Google DNS (8.8.8.8)

Purpose: Secondary check for internet connectivity using Google's public DNS

Expected Latency: Varies by location, typically 10-50ms

If Down: Internet connectivity issues or Google DNS is unavailable (rare)

Latency Display

The latency column shows round-trip time in milliseconds (ms).

Latency Display

Interpreting Latency

Latency Assessment Typical For
< 1 ms Excellent Local machine, loopback
1-5 ms Excellent Local network devices (gateway, switches)
5-20 ms Very Good Nearby internet servers, fast connections
20-50 ms Good Regional internet servers
50-100 ms Fair National internet servers, VPN connections
100-200 ms Poor International connections, slow links
> 200 ms Bad Very slow connections, congested links
--- Down Host not responding

Latency Updates

Latency values update with each ping cycle:

  • Update Frequency: Approximately every 1 second per host
  • Real-time: Values refresh as new ping responses arrive
  • Historical: Only the most recent latency is displayed (not averaged)

Managing Monitored Hosts

Adding Hosts from Scan Results

You can easily add your gateway by clicking the "+" icon next to the gateway box in the Interface Details section

Add Gateway

The easiest way to add hosts to monitor is from Network Scan results:

  1. Run a network scan (⌘S or click Scan button)
  2. Right-click any discovered device in the results table
  3. Select Add to Ping Monitor from the context menu
  4. The host is immediately added with its IP address and hostname (if available)

Add from Scan

Labeling Hosts

Assign friendly names to monitored hosts for easier identification:

  1. Right-click the host in the Ping Monitor
  2. Select Set Label from the context menu
  3. Enter a descriptive name (e.g., "Office Printer", "NAS Server", "Bedroom AP")
  4. Click Save or press Enter

NOTE: You can clear a label by clicking "Clear Label". This will go back to the default of showing the IP address/DNS name. Set Label

Benefits: - Easier to identify hosts at a glance - More meaningful than IP addresses - Labels persist between application launches - Especially useful for devices without DNS names

Examples: - 192.168.1.50 → "Living Room TV" - 192.168.1.100 → "Network Storage" - 10.0.0.5 → "VoIP Phone"

Removing Hosts

To stop monitoring a host:

  1. Right-click the host in the Ping Monitor
  2. Select Remove from Monitor from the context menu
  3. The host is immediately removed from the list

Remove Host

Note: Removing a host does not affect the actual device—it only stops PingStalker from pinging it.

Manually Adding Hosts

While the most common method is adding from scan results, you can also manually add hosts:

  1. Right-click anywhere in the Ping Monitor pane
  2. Select Add Host from the context menu
  3. Enter the IP address or hostname
  4. Optionally set a label
  5. Click Add

Add Manually

Accepted Formats: - IPv4 address: 192.168.1.50 - Hostname: server.local - FQDN: www.example.com

Alerts and Notifications

PingStalker can alert you when monitored hosts change status.

Configuring Alerts

  1. Open Settings (⌘O)
  2. Go to the Alerts tab
  3. Enable Ping Host Up/Down notifications

Alert Settings

Alert Behavior

When enabled:

Host Goes Down: - macOS notification appears: "Host [IP/Label] is down" - Red status indicator in Ping Monitor - Event logged to Network Logs

Host Comes Up: - macOS notification appears: "Host [IP/Label] is up" - Green status indicator in Ping Monitor - Event logged to Network Logs

Notification Actions: - Click notification to bring PingStalker to front - Dismiss notification (doesn't affect monitoring)

Use Cases for Alerts

  • Server Monitoring: Get notified if critical servers go offline
  • Network Outages: Immediate alert when internet connectivity is lost
  • Remote Sites: Monitor VPN endpoints or remote office connectivity
  • IoT Devices: Know when smart home devices become unreachable
  • Printer/Scanner: Alert when network printers go offline

Persistence

Between Sessions

The Ping Monitor automatically saves:

  • All monitored hosts (IP addresses/hostnames)
  • Assigned labels
  • Your configuration persists between application launches

Note: Default hosts (Cloudflare, Google DNS, Gateway, Local IP) are always present.

Across Interface Changes

When you switch interfaces in the toolbar:

  • Custom hosts remain in the monitor
  • Gateway and Local IP update to reflect the new interface
  • Internet hosts (1.1.1.1, 8.8.8.8) remain unchanged

Ping Monitor Events in Network Logs

All ping monitor events are logged to the Network Logs pane:

Ping Monitor Logs

Logged Events: - Host added to monitor - Host removed from monitor - Host status change (up/down) - Label assignments

Log Type: PING (gray/green/red depending on status)

Search: Use the Network Logs search box to filter for "PING" or specific host IPs

Troubleshooting

Host Shows as Down But Is Working

Possible Causes:

  1. ICMP Blocked - Some devices/firewalls block ping (ICMP) traffic

  2. Solution: The device may still be reachable via other protocols (HTTP, SSH, etc.)

  3. Network Congestion - Temporary packet loss

  4. Solution: Wait for a few ping cycles; status should recover

  5. Firewall Rules - Host-based firewall blocking ICMP

  6. Solution: Check firewall settings on the target device

Don't Overload

While PingStalker can monitor many hosts:

  • Too many hosts can create excessive network traffic
  • Focus on critical hosts rather than every device
  • Use Network Scan for comprehensive device discovery

Recommended: 5-15 hosts for typical monitoring

The Ping Monitor provides essential at-a-glance visibility into your most critical network resources. Combine it with Network Logs for detailed event tracking, and use Network Scan to discover hosts to monitor.