# Term for data packet other than "keepalive" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 19, 2022, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-data-packet-other-than-keepalive/964684 "2022-05-19T13:57:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-data-packet-other-than-keepalive/964684/1 "2022-05-19T13:57:56Z")
OK, I know there are lots of EEs/network-savvy people here. I need a recognizable term for a data packet sent at (very short) regular intervals from a device to a network that lets the network know both where the device is and its battery status. My company has been calling it a heartbeat, but the medical providers using our products don’t like this term since it’s too easy to confuse with a patient’s status. (One does not want a maintenance tech saying “I can’t find a heartbeat” when referring to a patient tag.) I have suggested that we use the industry-recognized term of “keepalive signal”, but they don’t like that either because, again, used in medical facilities. Do any of you know of other common ways of referring to this sort of signal that can’t be confused with medical terminology? Need answer kinda fast. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-data-packet-other-than-keepalive/964684/2 "2022-05-19T14:14:59Z")
Heartbeat is the correct industry term for a message like that, so I think if that’s not appropriate, it’s going to be necessary to invent an alternative, and to understand that it’s going to need explaining to anyone else outside of this context. Maybe ‘witness’ or something? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-data-packet-other-than-keepalive/964684/3 "2022-05-19T14:16:59Z")
Ping? We get Ping Failure alerts for servers our monitoring system can’t see. I guess “Proof of Life” also wouldn’t be awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-data-packet-other-than-keepalive/964684/4 "2022-05-19T14:17:14Z")
Maybe just something like “status” or “update” (or status update). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-data-packet-other-than-keepalive/964684/5 "2022-05-19T14:18:09Z")
Ping is more related to an outgoing query and its reponse - it sounds like the OP is talking about a message that appears, unbidden, from the remote device, confirming (without being asked) that it is functioning ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-data-packet-other-than-keepalive/964684/6 "2022-05-19T14:18:21Z")
“still on/stay on”? ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-data-packet-other-than-keepalive/964684/7 "2022-05-19T14:18:23Z")
In all honesty, I want to call it a Horton. Because all the devices are saying, “we’re here, we’re here, we’re here”… to the server software. If any of you are familiar with Real-Time Location Services systems (RTLS), that’s what this is. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-data-packet-other-than-keepalive/964684/8 "2022-05-19T14:19:18Z")
It’s a signal that basically says, “I’m here” at regular intervals and, yes, goes from the device to the server software. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-data-packet-other-than-keepalive/964684/9 "2022-05-19T14:20:03Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Ping? This sounds like a good candidate to me. It has precedent in network technology. Of course that is also a downside – when someone talks about pinging the server, do the mean the standard ICMP ping packet, or one of the Application’s diagnostic pings? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-data-packet-other-than-keepalive/964684/10 "2022-05-19T14:20:22Z")
It would be nouning a verb, but maybe Phone Home (as in ‘I can’t find a phone home signal’). ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-data-packet-other-than-keepalive/964684/11 "2022-05-19T14:22:05Z")
It sounds like they need something to call out when they don’t get good news, and “we didn’t get a ping from that server lately” is pretty close. Awkwardly, any standard-use term for “we see that that server is [sick/dying/dead/stupid]” isn’t going to be acceptable, even though they’re usually pretty accurate and generally understood by everybody involved. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-data-packet-other-than-keepalive/964684/12 "2022-05-19T14:22:23Z")
I searched for various synonyms for ‘alive’ and ‘active’ and my best suggestion is that you call the message ‘spunk’. Status OK - Device 00F5E2 is still emitting spunk ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-data-packet-other-than-keepalive/964684/13 "2022-05-19T14:26:03Z")
I just searched for “synonyms for death” and launched myself headfirst into a Monty Python sketch. “That server is no more.” ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-data-packet-other-than-keepalive/964684/14 "2022-05-19T14:30:45Z")
‘Still active’? ‘Sign of activity’? ‘Here I am’ ‘Status update’ Or if you want to be more metaphorical: ‘Christmas card/postcard’ (traditional periodic sign where you were and that you were o.k.) ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-data-packet-other-than-keepalive/964684/15 "2022-05-19T14:56:11Z")
That would amuse the hell out of me, but I don’t think TPTB would appreciate it. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-data-packet-other-than-keepalive/964684/16 "2022-05-19T15:00:28Z")
I guess ‘dead man’s switch’ would probably be right out too. I like the Horton Hears a Who reference idea. “Yopp!” > **[Everything Seuss](https://everything-seuss.tumblr.com/post/119870006498/cowabara-the-onceler-is-the-stand-of-jojo)** > > I would posit since the character’s defining moment is when he yells YOPP therefore saving his town from fiery beezlenut stew boiling hell: > That his stand would in fact be some variation of a “Yop”... ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-data-packet-other-than-keepalive/964684/17 "2022-05-19T15:07:17Z")
I heartily endorse calling it a yopp. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-data-packet-other-than-keepalive/964684/18 "2022-05-19T15:10:00Z")
‘token’ (by extension of the token in a token ring network, which admittedly doesn’t exactly have this meaning, but is something you’d see pass regularly) ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-data-packet-other-than-keepalive/964684/19 "2022-05-19T15:29:03Z")
“Ping” was my first thought. Admittedly it is usually used in the opposite sense of checking whether the other end is there, but it is a pretty universally understood term, and would not be out of place. (Not unless the medical company are Monty Python fans, and don’t want it to be confused with the machine that goes ping\*.) Some systems will return a “pong” when “pinged.” The description isn’t of a heartbeat or a token. When you say “sent to the network” it isn’t clear what it meant. Is it a broadcast packet, or do you mean sent to a central server via the network? Indeed, what sort of network? When you say location as well as battery, that suggests it is mobile. Asynchronous Device Status. ADStat? \*You see, we lease this back from the company we sold it to - that way it comes under the monthly current budget and not the capital account. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-data-packet-other-than-keepalive/964684/20 "2022-05-19T15:49:45Z")
Status online? Positive link? Synchronization verfication? Duplex complete? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-data-packet-other-than-keepalive/964684.md?page=2)