TCP_ping_monitor/README.md

TCP Ping Network Monitor

A PowerShell-based monitoring tool that checks port 80 connectivity for specified IP addresses while simultaneously monitoring network traffic. This tool provides real-time visibility into both web service availability and network bandwidth usage.

Features

• Port 80 Connectivity Monitoring: Tests TCP connections to port 80 on specified IP addresses
• Parallel Processing: Uses PowerShell runspaces for efficient concurrent monitoring
• Network Traffic Analysis: Monitors upload/download speeds on a specified network interface
• High Traffic Detection: Alerts when network traffic exceeds defined thresholds
• Performance Metrics: Tracks min/max/mean response times and success rates
• Traffic Correlation: Links connection failures with high traffic events

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Windows with PowerShell 3.0 or later
• Administrative privileges (recommended for WMI access to network interface data)
• Network interface named "Intel[R] I210 Gigabit Network Connection _2" (or modify the script to match your interface)

Installation

1. Download the Port80Monitor.ps1 script
2. No additional installation required

Usage

Run the script in PowerShell with administrator privileges:

.\TCP_Ping_Monitor.ps1

The script will continuously monitor the specified IP addresses and network traffic until manually stopped by pressing Ctrl+C.

Configuration

IP Addresses

Modify the $addresses array at the top of the script to monitor your desired IP addresses:

$addresses = @(
    "1.1.1.1",
    "1.0.0.1"
    # Add more IP addresses as needed
)

Network Interface

The script is configured to monitor a specific network interface. Modify the Get-NetworkTraffic function to match your system's network interface name:

$stats = Get-WmiObject Win32_PerfFormattedData_Tcpip_NetworkInterface | 
         Where-Object {$_.Name -eq "Intel[R] I210 Gigabit Network Connection _2"}

To find your network interface names, run:

Get-WmiObject Win32_PerfFormattedData_Tcpip_NetworkInterface | Select-Object Name

Traffic Thresholds

The high traffic threshold is set to 80 Mbps for both upload and download. Modify these values as needed:

$isHighTrafficNow = ($uploadMbps -gt 80) -or ($downloadMbps -gt 80)

And:

if ($uploadMbps -gt 80) {
    $trafficStats.HighUploadInstances++
    $uploadAlert = "HIGH UPLOAD ALERT: $([math]::Round($uploadMbps, 2)) Mbps"
}

Console Display

The console display shows:

Network Traffic Section

• Current download and upload speeds in Mbps
• Count of high traffic instances detected
• Alerts when traffic exceeds thresholds (displayed in red)

Port 80 Connectivity Section

• IP Address: The address being monitored
• Status: UP (green) or DOWN (red)
• Min: Minimum response time in milliseconds
• Max: Maximum response time in milliseconds
• Mean: Average response time in milliseconds
• Success%: Percentage of successful connections
• Fails: Total count of failed connections
• HTFails: Count of failures during high traffic periods

Log Files

The script creates a log file named network_traffic.log in the current directory with CSV-formatted data containing:

• Timestamp
• Bytes received per second
• Bytes sent per second
• High download alert flag (true/false)
• High upload alert flag (true/false)

This log can be used for later analysis and correlation between network traffic and service availability.

Performance Considerations

• The script uses a runspace pool with a maximum of 20 concurrent runspaces, which balances efficiency with system resource usage
• Monitoring frequency is set to approximately 500ms (adjustable via the Start-Sleep parameter)
• The script maintains a rolling 60-sample window for calculating statistics

Advanced Usage

Monitoring Web Services

This tool is particularly useful for monitoring web services that:

• Run on port 80 (HTTP)
• May be affected by network congestion
• Require continuous availability monitoring

Network Troubleshooting

Use this tool to:

• Identify correlation between network congestion and service failures
• Detect patterns in high traffic occurrences
• Monitor the impact of network changes on service availability

Integration with Other Tools

The CSV log file can be:

• Imported into Excel or PowerBI for visualization
• Processed by other monitoring tools
• Used to generate reports on service levels and network performance

Troubleshooting

Common issues:

1. WMI Access Errors: Ensure you're running PowerShell as Administrator
2. Network Interface Not Found: Verify the interface name in the Get-NetworkTraffic function
3. Inaccurate Traffic Data: Some virtualized environments may not report network statistics accurately

Customization

Adding Additional Metrics

You can extend the script to monitor additional metrics by:

• Adding new fields to the $stats hashtable
• Implementing additional WMI queries in the Get-NetworkTraffic function
• Expanding the display to show the new metrics

Monitoring Different Ports

To monitor a different port (e.g., port 443 for HTTPS):

• Modify the port number in the $TestPort80ScriptBlock scriptblock:

$result = $tcpClient.BeginConnect($ComputerName, 443, $null, $null)

License

This script is provided as-is with no warranty. Use at your own risk.

Acknowledgments

• PowerShell runspace pattern for efficient parallel execution
• Windows WMI for providing network performance data