Smokeping_probes_skel(3)

💅 NAME 💅

okay so this is the Smokeping_probes_skel(3) page, and the module is Smokeping::probes::skel — literally a skeleton for Smokeping Probes. It’s giving blueprint bestie, not a finished probe. 🦋

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

Here’s the config vibe, copied exactly because we do not paraphrase config in this house:

*** Probes ***

+skel

forks = 5
offset = 50%
step = 300
timeout = 15

# The following variables can be overridden in each target section
/^influx_.+/ = influx_location = In the basement
pings = 5

# [...]

*** Targets ***

probe = skel # if this should be the default probe

# [...]

+ mytarget
# probe = skel # if the default probe is something else
host = my.host
/^influx_.+/ = influx_location = In the basement
pings = 5

🛠️ DESCRIPTION 🛠️

This is a non-functional module that is intended to act as a basis for creation of new probes. See the smokeping_extend document for more information. So like, if you’re building a new probe, this is your starter skeleton — it’s not out here measuring stuff on its own, no cap.

⚠️ Bestie, the key word is skeleton: this is a base for making new probes, not a functional probe you run for real measurements.

🌸 VARIABLES 🌸

💖 Supported probe-specific variables

okay so these are the probe-specific knobs, and yes, every single one is here:

• forks — run this many concurrent processes at maximum.
  • Example value: 5
  • Default value: 5
• offset — okay so if you’ve got a bunch of probes running concurrently, you might not want them all slamming your network at the exact same second. That’s where the probe-specific offset parameter comes in: it moves the point in time when each probe runs. You can give the offset as a % of the total interval, or as 'random', and if you don’t set anything here, the offset from the 'General' section is used. Big caveat: this does NOT touch the rrds themselves — it only changes when data acquisition kicks off. (Only applies when 'concurrentprobes' is set in the 'General' section.)
  • Example value: 50%
• step — this sets the duration of the base interval this probe should use, if it needs to be different from the one in the 'Database' section. Important: the step inside the RRD files is locked in when they’re first generated, so if you change the step parameter later, you’ll have to delete the old RRD files or somehow convert them. (Only applies when 'concurrentprobes' is set in the 'General' section.)
  • Example value: 300
• timeout — the maximum time a single 'ping' can take.
  • Example value: 15
  • Default value: 5

🎯 Supported target-specific variables

Now the target-specific ones, bestie:

• /^influx_.+/ — this is a tag sent to influxdb; it has zero impact on the probe measurement. The tag name goes out without the "influx_" prefix — that gets replaced with "tag_" instead. Tags are useful for filtering.
  • Example value: influx_location = In the basement
• pings — how many pings go to each target, if you want a different number than the global value in the Database section. Same RRD caveat: the number of pings in the RRD files is fixed when they’re originally generated, so changing this parameter later means deleting the old RRD files or somehow converting them.
  • Example value: 5

👑 AUTHORS 👑

Niko Tyni <ntyni@iki.fi>, — yes, the trailing comma is in there, because we keep the details, periodt. 💅

🔍 SEE ALSO 🔍

smokeping_extend — that’s the doc to read next, bestie. 🫶

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okay that’s the whole page, bestie 🫶 — this is Smokeping_probes_skel(3) from SmokePing 2.9.0, dated 2025-06-30. ✨