Pingularity offers self-hosted internet monitoring with scheduled speed tests

Released on September 25, 2026, Pingularity introduces a self-hosted solution for monitoring internet connectivity and performance. This open-source tool allows individuals and small teams to run continuous ping checks and scheduled speed tests from their own infrastructure. It addresses the common frustration of unverified outages by providing concrete data on downtime, latency, and throughput without relying on third-party cloud services.

What happened

Pingularity functions as a local agent that continuously samples network health metrics. It pings several always-on anchors over both IPv4 and IPv6 every few seconds, recording round-trip time, DNS lookup duration, jitter, and packet loss. The system uses a quorum mechanism to detect outages, meaning multiple landmarks must agree that the connection is down before an incident is logged. This approach prevents false alarms caused by temporary glitches or single-point failures in the monitoring path itself.

Beyond simple uptime tracking, the tool performs scheduled speed tests using either Ookla servers or user-defined iperf3 endpoints. These tests measure download and upload speeds, bufferbloat, and other quality-of-service indicators at configurable intervals, such as during off-peak hours. All data is stored locally in a SQLite database, allowing users to retain history indefinitely. The interface includes a calendar heatmap for visualizing downtime and detailed graphs for performance trends, enabling users to correlate speed drops with specific times of day or network events.

Key details

• Continuous sampling: Pings multiple anchors every few seconds to track latency, jitter, and DNS resolution times.
• Quorum-based outage detection: Requires agreement from several landmarks to confirm an outage, reducing false positives.
• Scheduled speed testing: Supports automated tests via Ookla or iperf3 to measure throughput and bufferbloat on a set schedule.
• Local data storage: Uses a single binary with a local SQLite file for history, ensuring zero telemetry and full data ownership.
• Integration capabilities: Exposes metrics via a Prometheus endpoint with Grafana dashboards and supports webhook alerts for Slack or Discord.
• Customizable configuration: Users can tune test engines, alert thresholds, retention policies, and UI themes through a central settings panel.

Background

Network monitoring typically falls into two categories: external services that ping your server from the internet, and internal tools that check your local network health. Most consumer-grade routers offer basic uptime logs but lack detailed performance metrics like bufferbloat or consistent speed testing. Enterprise solutions often require complex setups or cloud subscriptions. Self-hosting a monitor like Pingularity bridges this gap by placing the measurement point inside the local network, providing a true view of the last-mile connection quality as experienced by local devices.

Bufferbloat is a common issue where excessive buffering in network equipment causes high latency during heavy usage, affecting real-time applications like video calls or gaming. Traditional speed tests only capture a snapshot, missing these dynamic conditions. By running tests on a schedule and continuously sampling latency, tools like Pingularity help identify patterns that single-point tests miss. This data is crucial for diagnosing whether performance issues stem from the ISP, local hardware, or specific network congestion periods.

Why it matters

For teams managing remote offices or home labs, verifying ISP performance is often a reactive process triggered by complaints. Without historical data, it is difficult to distinguish between a brief glitch and a systemic issue. Pingularity provides objective evidence of service quality, which is essential when negotiating with providers or deciding to switch ISPs. Having a log of exact downtime durations and speed degradation patterns transforms subjective frustration into actionable technical data.

Self-hosting this monitoring stack ensures privacy and control over sensitive network metadata. Unlike cloud-based monitors that may aggregate user data, Pingularity keeps all records local. This is particularly important for organizations with strict compliance requirements or those who simply prefer not to share their network topology and usage patterns with external vendors. The ability to export raw data via CSV or API also facilitates custom analysis and long-term archiving beyond the built-in dashboard.

What you can do

• Deploy Pingularity on a low-power device like a Raspberry Pi or a local server to ensure it remains active even if main workstations are off.
• Configure speed tests to run during off-peak hours to avoid impacting daily bandwidth usage while still capturing baseline performance.
• Set up webhook alerts to notify your team channel only when a quorum-confirmed outage occurs, minimizing noise from transient errors.
• Use the Prometheus endpoint to integrate network health metrics into your existing Grafana dashboards alongside server and application stats.
• Review the calendar heatmap monthly to identify recurring downtime patterns that may indicate infrastructure maintenance or hardware fatigue.
• Export historical data periodically to create long-term reports for ISP reviews or internal capacity planning discussions.