SmokePing on Debian: Monitor Internet Latency and Packet Loss

Last updated: Feb 18, 2026

This guide explains how to install and configure SmokePing on Debian to monitor network latency, packet loss, and jitter over time.

SmokePing provides detailed graphical metrics that help visualize round-trip time variations and detect instability or micro-outages on an Internet connection.

If you suspect reliability issues with your ISP or want continuous latency monitoring, SmokePing offers an efficient and lightweight open-source solution.

Tested Environment and Versions

Operating System: Debian 13 (Trixie)
SmokePing: 2.8.2

How to Install SmokePing on Debian

Install SmokePing on Debian using the official package repository:

Update the package index:

root@server:~# apt update

Install SmokePing and its dependencies:

root@server:~# apt install smokeping

Once installed, the SmokePing service and Apache configuration are enabled automatically.

Access the web interface:

http://A.B.C.D/smokeping/

By default, SmokePing collects data every 300 seconds. After one or two polling cycles, latency graphs should begin to appear.

SmokePing graphs displaying Internet latency metrics such as max roundtrip time, standard deviation, packet loss, and median roundtrip time. — SmokePing Charts view

Configure SmokePing Targets on Debian

In this section, we configure SmokePing targets to monitor external DNS servers and compare their latency over time.

For this example, we will monitor Cloudflare DNS (1.1.1.1), Google DNS (8.8.4.4), and create a MultiHost entry to visualize their combined latency metrics.

Edit the /etc/smokeping/config.d/Targets file to define monitored hosts:

*** Targets ***

probe = FPing

menu = Top
title = Network Latency Grapher
remark = Welcome to the SmokePing website of xxx Company. \
         Here you will learn all about the latency of our network.

+ Local

menu = Local
title = Local Network
#parents = owner:/Test/James location:/

++ LocalMachine

menu = Local Machine
title = This host
host = localhost
#alerts = someloss

++ CloudflareDNS

menu = Cloudflare DNS
title = Cloudflare DNS server
host = 1.1.1.1

++ GoogleDNS

menu = Google DNS
title = Google DNS server
host = 8.8.4.4

++ MultiHost

menu = Multihost Google and CloudFlare
title = CloudflareDNS and Google DNS
host = /Local/CloudflareDNS /Local/GoogleDNS

Restart the SmokePing service to apply the new target configuration:

root@server:~# systemctl restart smokeping.service

After one or two polling cycles (default: 300 seconds), the new latency graphs should appear in the web interface:

SmokePing interface displaying local network latency graphs, including Cloudflare DNS, Google DNS, and a combined multihost view. — SmokePing Local view

Configure FPingContinuous Probe in SmokePing

SmokePing supports multiple probe types depending on the monitoring method required. The complete list of available probes is documented on the official website: SmokePing probe documentation.

In this section, we configure the FPingContinuous probe. Compared to the default FPing probe, it improves scalability and provides more consistent latency measurements when monitoring multiple targets.

Unlike the standard FPing probe, FPingContinuous runs fping in continuous mode and streams results directly to SmokePing. This reduces process overhead and improves the detection of packet loss, jitter, and short-lived network instability.

SmokePing probes documentation page showing the left navigation menu with the 'Probes' section highlighted. — SmokePing documentation — “Probes” section in the left navigation menu.

Copy the FPingContinuous probe configuration from the official documentation:

SmokePing FPingContinuous probe configuration example from the official documentation, showing parameters such as binary, hostinterval, pings, step, timeout, and tos. — Example configuration block for the SmokePing FPingContinuous probe from the official documentation.

Edit /etc/smokeping/config.d/Probes and add the following probe section (keep existing probes unchanged):

*** Probes ***

+ FPing

binary = /usr/bin/fping

+ FPingContinuous

binary = /usr/bin/fping # mandatory
hostinterval = 1.5
offset = 50%
#packetsize = 5000
packetsize = 64
pings = 20
# sourceaddress = 192.168.0.1
step = 300
timeout = 1.5
tos = 0x20
usestdout = false

Edit /etc/smokeping/config.d/Targets to assign the FPingContinuous probe to a specific monitored host:

*** Targets ***

probe = FPing

menu = Top
title = Network Latency Grapher
remark = Welcome to the SmokePing website of xxx Company. \
         Here you will learn all about the latency of our network.

+ Local

menu = Local
title = Local Network
#parents = owner:/Test/James location:/

++ GoogleDNS

menu = Google DNS
title = Google DNS server
probe = FPingContinuous
host = 8.8.4.4

This overrides the default FPing probe and applies FPingContinuous only to the Google DNS target.

Finally, restart the SmokePing service to apply the new probe configuration:

root@server:~# systemctl restart smokeping

Troubleshooting and Debugging SmokePing

If SmokePing fails to start or does not collect data correctly, you can run it in debug mode to identify configuration errors.

First, stop the systemd service:

root@server:~# systemctl stop smokeping

Then start SmokePing manually in debug mode:

root@server:~# smokeping --debug

This will display configuration parsing errors and probe-related issues directly in the terminal.

The Smokeping working folder location:

root@server:~# ls /var/run/smokeping/

You can also inspect service logs:

root@server:~# journalctl -u smokeping