17. Watchcat

Watchcat is a ping-watchdog utility that allows you to set up rules for when a ping to a particular host fails. It is recommended that Watchcat be used to continuously monitor device responsiveness, allowing for quick detection and resolution of network issues to prevent downtime. It can trigger automated recovery actions without requiring manual intervention. It can be configured under Services -> Watchcat.

Watchcat can run in four modes: ping reboot, periodic reboot, restart interface, and run script.

Periodic reboot

In this mode, the device is rebooted after an interval of time specified in the period input. The Force Reboot Delay option allows setting a timeout for a soft reboot of the device, after which a hard reboot will be started.

Ping modes

In ping reboot, restart interface, and run script mode, the device will take action after the time specified in the period has passed without a successful ping. Pings are periodically sent at an interval specified in Check Interval to a host, specified by the IP address in the Host To Check parameter. The size of ping packets can be set under Ping Packet Size. The Force Reboot Delay option allows setting a timeout for a soft reboot of the device, after which a hard reboot will be started. Enter the number of seconds to wait for the soft reboot to fail or use 0 to turn off the forced reboot delay. In the Interface parameter set, the interface should be monitored and/or restarted. Depending on the selected mode, an action will be taken on a failed ping.

• Ping reboot. The device will be rebooted. 
• Restart Interface. Restart a network interface selected in the Interface parameter.
• Run script. Run a script specified in the Script to run input. For example: /etc/watchcat.user.sh