how-to · watch Open this in the console

Add a custom metric.

A custom metric lives on the hub, not on the agent. A command on the machine — a speedtest — measures something and POSTs the number back. The fleet shows it, and warns when it crosses a threshold.

The machine heartbeat URL and a named metric URL are different. Post the heartbeat when the checker itself is alive. Post the named URL with the number the command measured.

Open Health › custom metrics

Select the machine, then health › custom metrics. The list is only the machine heartbeat and the named metrics. Nothing is created until you press Add custom metric.

Custom metrics tab with the machine heartbeat URL and an Add custom metric button — Custom metrics on Accounts server. Heartbeat only, until you add one.

Name the number the command will send

Value type is Number or Yes / No. A number needs the JSON key the command will send, a label for the tile, a unit, and an optional time key for the graph. Download speed is one custom metric. Upload speed and latency are others, each with its own URL. Yes / No is its own custom metric too: Yes means Up or Down, and No is the other state.

Add custom metric window set to a number named Download speed — Download speed, in Mbps. The JSON key is download. Expect a post every hour.

Warn when the speed drops

A speedtest is worse when the number is smaller, so the comparison is below, not at least. Leave a row blank when the number does not set that state. If several match, the worst one wins. Posting down, or the /fail URL, still wins over a healthy number.

Threshold rows: OK not set, Warn below 50, Down below 10 — Warn below 50 Mbps. Down below 10 Mbps. OK is blank, so a fast result stays ok.

Create the URL and post the speedtest back

Create URL mints a URL that is only this metric. Copy it into a command on the machine. The Ookla speedtest CLI prints bandwidth in bytes per second, so megabits per second is that figure times 8, divided by 1,000,000. Pipe the result back: speedtest -f json --accept-license --accept-gdpr | jq -c '{status:"ok",data:{download:(.download.bandwidth*8/1000000|round),time:.timestamp}}' | curl -fsS -X POST 'PASTE_URL' -H 'content-type: application/json' -d @- Replace PASTE_URL with the URL on the card. The tile stays new until the first post. If nothing arrives within the hour plus the grace, it goes down and opens a custom-metric alert.

Custom metric card for Download speed with its own URL and a new status — The named URL and a curl of the same shape. Still new — the speedtest has not reported yet.

A status that is only yes or no is Add a yes or no custom metric. Rotate URL if it leaked — the old one answers 404. Remove deletes that metric. A customer login can copy a URL and cannot create, edit, rotate, or remove one — that page is Read custom metrics on your machine. Edit opens the same window. Changing the name or minting a new URL is Change or remove a custom metric. The confirm on remove is Remove a custom metric.