Test internet connection while away?

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Nexrus

Honorable
May 28, 2013
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10,530
Hello,

Did a quick Google search and can't find an answer to this.

I oversee a computer lab and we've recently had trouble keeping a constant internet connection. It seems to be very sporadic, with no real pattern. It will go out anywhere from 1 minute up to 30 minutes. Sometimes it will stay up all day.

We contacted our ISP and they need an accurate log of when it goes out, how often, etc.

The only problem with that is the lab is only open about 7 hours a day. The rest of the day is unaccounted for.

Is there a way, or a program, that I can run to test the internet connection when I’m not here? Preferably in time intervals.

All help is much appreciated.
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Mar 16, 2013
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Assuming a Windows environment, a batchfile created thusly:

@ECHO OFF
set IPADDRESS=x.x.x.x
set INTERVAL=60
:pINGINTERVAL
ping %IPADDRESS% -n 1 >> filename.txt
timeout %INTERVAL%
GOTO PINGINTERVAL


The smilyface above should be colonPINGINTERVAL Replace the word colon with the actual :


x.x.x.x is the IP address of some public machine in the lab.
Start it at known time (hour and minute), and you'll have a log of one ping per minute, telling you success or failure. Written out to a file. You can extrapolate what time the connection died from how many pings were sent until then. And when it came back up.

EDIT: To clarify, this could be done in either direction.
1. From a lab machine to a known IP address outside
2. Or to a lab machine, from home or elsewhere.
 
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B

bill001g

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Aug 9, 2012
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Depends how much effort you want to do. There are a number of network monitoring tools that are free or have trials that have limits that will not affect a small user. MRTG is one of the oldest, you could also try cacti or zabbix, PRTG is has some features that the others don't but you will have to live with a trial...or pay big bucks. These do much much more than just tell you if the site is up. They can monitor utilization and even changes in the latency
 
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N

Nexrus

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May 28, 2013
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Thank you both for the reply.

@ USAFRet
The batch file would do exactly what I want but it doesn't seem to work. The pings are timing out. I've tried several known IP address.

@bill001g
I tried both the programs you suggested. Once MRTG is extracted I can't seem to find an executable file to run.

PRTG is just a little too in-depth. I can't quite figure out how to have it test my connection over a long period of time.
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Mar 16, 2013
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This is my result, pinging www.google.com, on a 5 second interval
----------------------
Pinging www.google.com [74.125.26.147] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 74.125.26.147: bytes=32 time=36ms TTL=45

Ping statistics for 74.125.26.147:
Packets: Sent = 1, Received = 1, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 36ms, Maximum = 36ms, Average = 36ms

Pinging www.google.com [74.125.26.147] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 74.125.26.147: bytes=32 time=35ms TTL=45

Ping statistics for 74.125.26.147:
Packets: Sent = 1, Received = 1, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 35ms, Maximum = 35ms, Average = 35ms

Pinging www.google.com [74.125.26.147] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 74.125.26.147: bytes=32 time=37ms TTL=45

Ping statistics for 74.125.26.147:
Packets: Sent = 1, Received = 1, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 37ms, Maximum = 37ms, Average = 37ms

Pinging www.google.com [74.125.26.147] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 74.125.26.147: bytes=32 time=35ms TTL=45

Ping statistics for 74.125.26.147:
Packets: Sent = 1, Received = 1, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 35ms, Maximum = 35ms, Average = 35ms
-----------------------------
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Mar 16, 2013
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Never seen it before.
But:
"Each time the trial version of the program is started it will run for at least 30 minutes but no more than 60 minutes, then it will close automatically."

Pay $9.95 to remove that restriction.
 
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N

Net Uptime Monitor

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Jun 30, 2013
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10,510
Does anyone know if this program/user can be trusted? Looks a little like spam.

[/quotemsg]

Not spam, just a personal response answering your request for a solution. If you have any concerns, I'll be glad to answer them.

I regard it as Commercial Spam and have removed it. Please read teh Rules if you intend to continue posting.
 
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Saga Lout

Saga Lout

Retired Mod
Mar 31, 2010
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New poster, first post and same name as the product he promotes - definitely Commercial Spam and deleted accordingly. I have my eye on him and the next one gets him banned from Tom's.
 
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