SmokePing on FreeBSD

Smokeping is an open-source network latency monitoring tool created by Tobias Oetiker (the same author as MRTG). It measures, records, and graphically displays network latency, packet loss, and jitter over time.

Smokeping sends repeated pings (ICMP, TCP, HTTP, or other probe types) to a set of targets and stores the results in RRD (Round Robin Database) files. It then generates time-series graphs showing:

• Median latency (how long packets take to return)
• Packet loss (percentage of lost probes)
• Jitter (variation in response times) 

In this blog post we will install simple implementation of Smokeping to test quality of internet line.

How to run iperf as a service

On my FreeBSD routers I wan to run iperf as an always running service (daemon). The reason is to have possibility to test network throughput anytime I need it. Here is the rc script to do so.

How to create an iSCSI target on FreeBSD

Creating an iSCSI target on FreeBSD, particularly with ZFS, is typically done by exporting a ZFS Volume (ZVOL), which is a block-level device, not a ZFS filesystem/dataset. iSCSI targets present themselves as raw block devices to the initiator (client), which is the intended use for a ZVOL.

Here is a step-by-step guide to create an iSCSI target on FreeBSD 14.3 using a ZFS Volume and the CAM Target Layer (CTL) daemon, ctld. 

Installing, enabling, and initializing FreeBSD/Bhyve

In this blog post, I will install and configure FreeBSD/Bhyve to set up a FreeBSD virtualization host. I use FreeBSD 14.3. The installation of FreeBSD and the preparation of networking and storage are not covered here, as they are already in place and described in my other blog posts.

Let’s explore the installation and configuration of Bhyve, a process that is simple and straightforward.

ZFS Managability

In this blog post, we will focus on ZFS from a manageability perspective. We will cover following topics

• ZFS Storage Status Monitoring
• Physical Disk Monitoring
• ZFS Capacity Monitoring
• ZFS Performance Monitoring
• Periodic and E-mail notifications