Create first LAN monitor

A LAN monitor tracks devices and services on your internal network - those that are not reachable from the internet. They are checked by a small Linux agent that runs on your own hardware (a NAS, Raspberry Pi, mini PC or a regular server) and securely sends the results to ePulz.io.

What you can monitor

• routers, switches, access points, printers, IP cameras,
• NAS devices, local databases, SSH and SMTP servers, VPN gateways,
• internal web apps, dashboards and APIs that are only reachable on the LAN.

Prerequisite: a LAN agent is installed

To create a LAN monitor, you need at least one active LAN agent. The installation takes only a few minutes, following the Installing a LAN agent guide. The agent runs as a Linux service or a Docker container, and the only outbound access it needs is HTTPS to ePulz.io.

Three types of LAN monitor

How to create one

1. In the dashboard, click + Add monitor.
2. Enter a clear name, for example "NAS Synology - backups" or "Reception printer".
3. In the Monitor type field choose lan_ping, lan_tcp or lan_http.
4. In Target enter the IP, hostname or URL according to the table above.
5. In the LAN agent field choose which agent should run the check. If you have agents in several networks, pick the one in the correct network.
6. Set the Check interval (the minimum depends on your plan).
7. Click Create monitor.

What happens after you create it

1. The monitor is saved with the status Pending.
2. At its next check-in (within 30 seconds) the agent picks up the task.
3. It runs the ping, TCP or HTTP test locally.
4. It sends the result back to ePulz.io over HTTPS. In the dashboard you will see the status Up or Down along with the response time.

Troubleshooting

• The monitor stays in the "Pending" state - check that the agent is running. For a systemd install use journalctl -u epulzio-agent -f, for Docker use docker logs epulzio-agent.
• The agent reports DOWN, but ping from your PC works - with the Docker variant --network host is missing; the container is in an isolated network and cannot see your LAN.
• lan_http reports an SSL error - the target has its own (self-signed) certificate. For internal apps you can simply use http:// instead of https://.
• Too many false alarms - in the monitor detail, increase the "Alert after N failed checks" value (for example 3 means an alert only after three consecutive failures).