# Network connection detection

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/network-connection-detection/178777
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 31, 2003, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/network-connection-detection/178777 "2003-05-31T15:13:49Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)
#### Post date: [May 31, 2003, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/network-connection-detection/178777/1 "2003-05-31T15:13:49Z")

</div>

I have googled a bit and whas unable to find what I was looking for. I am trying to locate some kind of a simple network monitor that would allow me to plug in an IP addy and it would ping every 30 seconds or so and be able to alert when a connection dropped. Logging capability would be cool but just something that would chirp at me or something if a ping did not return. Only needs to handle 1 address so I hope its not asking too much to find a freeware utility that does it.

Thanks.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)
#### Post date: [May 31, 2003, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/network-connection-detection/178777/2 "2003-05-31T15:16:12Z")

</div>

Neotrace is probably more than you need, but it will do it. They used to offer a limited-function unlimited-use free trial version. Worth looking into.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![MikeRochenelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/49beb7/32.png) [@MikeRochenelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeRochenelle)
#### Post date: [May 31, 2003, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/network-connection-detection/178777/3 "2003-05-31T18:22:07Z")

</div>

Try MRTG:

[http://people.ee.ethz.ch/~oetiker/webtools/mrtg/](http://people.ee.ethz.ch/~oetiker/webtools/mrtg/)

I don’t know about the playing a sound part, but poke around the site, I have to imagine someone has had to do that before.

If MRTG doesn’t do it, go to [http://www.tucows.com](http://www.tucows.com) and search their list of networking utilities.

Or you could just write a BATCH FILE, fanboy!! 😃  
-Ben

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2003, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/network-connection-detection/178777/4 "2003-06-01T05:23:57Z")

</div>

On Windows, PingPlotter (www.pingplotter.exe) does what you want and more, but it’s $15.

Or on unix, check out Nagios ([www.nagios.org](http://www.nagios.org))

Or try this batch file:

```auto

@echo off

echo Wscript.Sleep 30000 > sleep.vbs

:start

ping 1.2.3.4 |find "TTL" >NUL
if errorlevel 1 echo error pinging 1.2.3.4

start /w wscript.exe sleep.vbs

goto start

```

Sorry about the sleep kludge. If you want it to email you on failure, check out the simple blat utility at [http://www.interlog.com/~tcharron/blat.html](http://www.interlog.com/~tcharron/blat.html)