Version 5.4 is a pleasant serving of PingPlotter progression. Support for 64-bit architecture improves performance for Windows users. You'll also notice more detail about current focus time and a smoother import/export experience. Professional edition users get the added bonus of new summary screen controls and a setting that makes it easier to identify jitter above or below a certain level. There is, of course, more to discover in the latest release. Check the notes for macOS or Windows for all the details.
This upgrade is free for customers with active maintenance. If your license's maintenance is expired, all it takes is a quick trip to your account to get reactivated. When maintenance is up to date, you can get 5.4 from the download page, or by following the in-program prompt.
The latest PingPlotter release includes two new features for identifying devices to test and improving long-term monitoring. It's available now on Windows and macOS platforms.
Network Discovery scans your local network and makes a list of the devices it finds. Dynamic DNS helps PingPlotter continue collecting data in situations where servers operate without a static IP address.
Customers with active maintenance get upgrades for free. You can update through the in-program message or the download page.
A new PingPlotter beta just became available, and we'd really appreciate your help testing.
This beta includes two new features. Network Discovery lets you see all of the devices connected to your local network, and Dynamic DNS helps you stay connected to targets during IP address changes from DNS servers (handy in long-term monitoring). Visit the beta page for download instructions and more details on how to participate.
Beta testing is complete for PingPlotter's macOS version. Big thanks to everyone who participated! The product wouldn't be where it is without your testing and feedback.
Jitter graphs, UDP packets, remote agent, and web interface are new in this release. The latest version is available on the download page. If you've already installed the beta, you can also upgrade through the notification that appears when you run PingPlotter.
Free trials are available, and active maintenance customers get access to PingPlotter on any platform. That includes macOS, iOS, Windows, and whatever releases in the future.
A PingPlotter iOS update released today. This version includes better IPv6 tracing and several miscellaneous improvements.
Downloads are available on the App Store, and additional features are available through in-app purchase or active maintenance plans. If you are a PingPlotter customer with active maintenance, follow these instructions to enable the in-app purchase.
An official PingPlotter macOS release is closer than ever! Mac Preview just graduated to Beta. We'd be grateful if you tried the new build and let us know how it works. Please share your feedback with beta@pingplotter.com.
Multiple targets, comments, alerts, and sharing are all new in this version. The beta also supports Free, Standard, and Professional Editions. Check out the macOS page for details.
This round of beta testing is open to everyone. Free 14 day trials are available on the download page. If you have active PingPlotter maintenance, you can run Standard or Professional edition with your license key.
The latest update helps network troubleshooting suck a little less with a new sharing feature and improvements to PingPlotter's core superpowers.
Sharing is available in all PingPlotter editions. It only takes a few clicks to put your PingPlotter test results (screenshot and data file) online in a place that makes it easy to download the data on another device or show a network problem to someone you are working with.
The new release also includes improvements related to handling large target lists, live sorting, and jitter graphs. Check out the release notes for the details.
If your PingPlotter 5 experience has been muddled by interface freezes, slow load times, or memory issues, this is the release for you. We've adjusted some PingPlotter innards, and everything runs more efficiently. Especially when multiple targets are involved!
The downside of changing PingPlotter's core is unintended consequences. Those may or may not exist, and that uncertainty is why you're seeing a "beta label" instead of an "official release' stamp. We do know this build performs better than any Version 5 before it. It's loaded with improvements, and if you can handle some unknown, we'd totally appreciate your help testing the build. Email beta@pingplotter.com to let us know how it goes. Thanks for the help!
Making network troubleshooting suck less. That's why PingPlotter exists. The tool has been making that happen since it started graphing pings in the late 90's. It's come a long way, but there's always room for improvement. Some users were having trouble managing alerts. Others needed easier long-term monitoring or a Windows Service that was less of a hassle. Today we're proudly announcing a new version that addresses these issues and more.
PingPlotter 5 is completely reengineered for a better experience. It includes a friendlier alert system and a Windows Service that just works. Setting up long-term monitoring is a thing of the past too. In Version 5, all it takes to trace indefinitely is a click of a button. You'll also find more precise (sub-millisecond) latency measurements and an interface that's easier on the eyes. As usual, there's more. All the details are on the announcement page, and if you're interested in an inside perspective on the project, a letter from Pingman Tools' founder is available in the release notes.
A PingPlotter that does more work for you is an exciting step toward better network troubleshooting. We're grateful for all the support so far. Thanks for riding along!
An updated PingPlotter beta just hit the web! This one is open to anyone interested in pinging harder.
Beta 2 supports trial, free, and licensed modes. It's loaded with improvements related to data management, user experience, and more. We're incredibly interested in hearing your thoughts on the next version. Please check it out, and let us know what you think.
Information about how to get started is available on the beta page.
PingPlotter's next version targets big opportunities. Architectural stuff that resolves long standing issues **cough** Running in Session 0 and lays foundation for making network troubleshooting suck even less. It's no small undertaking, but the results are exceptional core functionality improvements. Version 5 is designed to ask less from you, to do more for you, and to let you be more specific about its operation. Oh and don't worry. You'll find some new features in there too.
A sneak peak is available free to PingPlotter license owners with active maintenance. If that isn't you, new licenses come with a year of free maintenance. Maintenance for existing licenses can also be renewed from your account.
We'd love to hear your thoughts on the beta. Outside perspective helps build a better PingPlotter, and we are grateful to hear your input. If you're interested in participating, check out the beta page for more information about downloading and what to expect in the release.
You may have already caught inklings of us reengineering a stronger, faster, PingPlotter. We're calling the project Xerek, but you might know it better as PingPlotter iOS or Mac Preview. If you've experienced the awesome of those tools, surprise! You've already touched Xerek's primordial ooze. There's a lot more on the way too. Here a few things we're working on for the first Windows Xerek release.
- Handling samples and auto-saving in a way that basically let's you trace forever
- Effortless experiences for alert management and summary screens
- A Windows service that works the way you (and we) always thought it should
- And of course, so much more!
It's gonna be a helluva ride. We can't wait to unleash PingPlotter 5 on the world. In the meantime, check out the latest Mac Preview. Date sensitivity and a couple other bugs are fixed. Overall, we're pretty happy with how PingPlotter OS X is working. We've heard positive feedback and are using it regularly around the office. The only reason we're calling it a preview is because it's not as feature rich as its Windows predecessor, but that's all going to change soon.
The first PingPlotter point release of 2016 focuses mostly on bug fixing. If you've run into "______ out of range" errors in the past, there's a good chance you won't see them anymore. Make sure to say your goodbyes before updating to the new version.
Details about other issues addressed by v4.12 and information about how to include named configuration titles in screenshots are available in the release notes.
We've received a ton of great feedback about PingPlotter Mac Preview. Everyone who shared their two cents helped us learn a ton about how the tool works out "in the wild" - Thanks!
PingPlotter Mac Preview's latest release incorporates some of the feedback. It also includes lots of under the hood refinement and an auto-update feature. The new version is available free and includes a 30 day trial of upgrade features. Visit the announcement page for downloads and more information.
For the latest PingPlotter release, UDP packet support got a lot of love and the result is significantly more powerful. In version 4.11 you get automatic firewall configuration, removal of admin user requirement, and a pile of squashed bugs that make UDP packets more reliable and easier to set up. You'll also find some usability tweaks, improvements to route change logic, and a streamlined update process in the new version. Check out the announcement page for more information.
If you're the kind of troubleshooter who wants Rick Astley to remind them who's "never gonna let them down" when a target needs attention, the new MultiPing release can help you make that happen. Version 3.2 alerts with MP3 files and adds an "Add Comment to Timeline Graph" alert event along with a handful of sample alerts that can be copied and modified as you need. Visit the announcement page for more detail about the latest version.
Everything required to "See the Network, Pinpoint the Problem" is included in the new PingPlotter Mac Preview. Anyone interested in peeking at the future of the OS X platform is free to trial for thirty days or run free mode as long as they like. License owners can upgrade this, and future, releases (even the imminent official release) as long as their maintenance is active. Check out the announcement page for downloads and more information about Preview #3.
Alerts received a revamp in PingPlotter 4.1. This version includes new event options, easier email setup, and "Sample" alerts that can be copied and modified as needed. Several bug fixes and miscellaneous improvements are also contained in the release along with support for an upcoming subscription option for customers who prefer to pay as they go. More details about the latest version are available on the release notes page.
Customers with active maintenance can update for no charge. Downloads are available in the account system and pingplotter.com.
A year or so ago we abandoned the dream of cross-compiling PingPlotter v3 onto Mac in favor of a ground up rewrite. This decision set back PingPlotter Mac's release date, but the result is a stronger base from which this and future platforms (like the recent iOS release) can emerge. Today, we're excited to invite you to run a preview!
PingPlotter for OS X - Preview Edition is available to PingPlotter (Standard or Pro) license owners on active maintenance through the account system.
We think the new Mac build is awesome, but the preview has some ground to cover as far as features go. If you're using the the old version, there are a few reasons why you might hold off on an upgrade. Find more details on the Pingman Tools Forum.
PingPlotter is finally available in the App Store! Here's what people are saying about it:
- "Great app and great customer service!"
- "... this is the app to have! Way more helpful than running a speed test."
- "it's great... to be able to troubleshoot issues [straight] from my phone."
Everything you need to check network connectivity without booting up your desktop is available in the free version. If you're interested in heavier duty troubleshooting superpowers, a $4.99 upgrade is available. The upgrade unlocks additional abilities related to PingPlotter desktop integration, viewing more data at once, intermediate hop graphing, and alerting via latency sensitive audio.
More information is available on the PingPlotter Mobile page.
Time in the wild identified several improvement opportunities for PingPlotter v4. The latest version capitalizes on many of those opportunities and includes several enhancements related to graph painting speed, web interface, and summary screens. v4.01.1 also loads MultiPing v3 workspaces, hides text on packet loss bars, and squashes a handful of bugs.
If you are a customer with active maintenance, you can update for no charge. Downloads are available in the account system and pingplotter.com.
The latest MultiPing release improves performance (it's reasonable to always sort now), tweaks the GUI a bit, and contains a handful of miscellaneous fixes based on user requests. Customers on active maintenance can update to the new version for no charge, and more information is available on the release notes page. Downloads are available in the account system and multiping.com.
In other news, we've ventured into uncharted territory. The App Store is currently reviewing PingPlotter Mobile. We aren't sure how long the process will take, but we're eagerly awaiting approval and plan on releasing as soon as possible.
Several PingPlotter users have been requesting tutorial videos lately. We think that's a splendid idea, and just uploaded the first video in the PingPlotter Tutorial series - "Getting Started Quickly".
This video visualizes several concepts covered by in the "Getting Started Guide", and you can find it on the newly constructed Pingman Tools Youtube Channel.
If you've been thinking "Wow, PingPlotter or MultiPing REST alert events sure sound interesting, but what should I do with them?", integrating alerts with Slack or HipChat is an excellent first project. So excellent, we just published a couple articles that explain how to post messages to Slack/Hipchat rooms with REST alert events.
Beyond killing your email, we're interested in other ways you're using REST alert events to integrate your Pingman products. If you're imagining another fun integration, let us know about it at help@pingman.com.
iPhone & iPad users rejoice! PingPlotter is making it's first leap to mobile, and we're recruiting beta testers.
Check out the PingPlotter iOS Beta page for more information about the app and beta program!
In order to accommodate some new features (IPv6 compatibility, unicode support, etc), PingPlotter v4 creates .pp2 files that, by default, cannot be opened by any 3.x version of PingPlotter. If you're getting hit with a "That file was created with a newer version of PingPlotter" message - don't worry, we've got a solution for you!
If you're not ready to upgrade to v4 quite yet, but find yourself needing to open a pp2 file that was sent to you by someone using the newest version of PingPlotter - we've got some step-by-step instructions in our knowledge base that should help get that file loaded up.
Today is an exciting day at Pingman HQ! The release of PingPlotter v4 is finally upon us! Years of code writing, beta testing, and bug fixing have forged a dramatically enhanced version of PingPlotter. We are pleased to make this new version available to network troubleshooters across the globe.
Hundreds of tweaks, upgrades, and bug fixes went into the new PingPlotter, and the result is a better tool for network troubleshooters of all abilities. PingPlotter Professional adds multi-target management tools like custom groups, multi-select actions, searchable lists, and hidable tabs. Standard's capacity is doubled with support for two simultaneous targets, and Free edition includes a ten minute history graph for better insight into time related problems. All editions now support IPv6 pinging, and unicode characters are enabled in comments, names, and elsewhere.
Beyond new capabilities, v4 features a redesigned interface and a single download for all editions. PingPlotter's fresh look brings new icons and colors along with some control rearrangement to help get more done in fewer clicks. Serving all editions with a single download helps us to better manage our code, while making it easier for new users to evaluate the product. The change also empowers license owners to see the network as a Free user in case they need to do so.
New users can start their free 30 day trial on the download page. Current license owners are encouraged to download custom (license key embedded) builds from the account system. This is a free upgrade for license owners with active maintenance. Customers with expired maintenance can purchase upgrades in the account system. Check your email or in program update notice for information about special upgrade pricing. More information about the release is available on the announcement page.
We hope you enjoy. Thanks for using PingPlotter!
A new version of MultiPing is hot off the griddle and available for download.
The most noticeable enhancements in v3.1 relate to the interface. We've added new graphics, improved visual cues, and made colors friendlier. When you run, you'll also meet an interactive welcome screen that connects with MultiPing information you may not be aware of.
New capabilities in this release include unicode support and HTML formatted alert emails. Unicode support enables tracing for non-English urls and lets you use Mandarin, Cyrillic, or even #%$&@ in comments, names, and elsewhere. HTML formatted alert emails provide an additional level of control to ensure messages communicate exactly the way you want them to. Other than those, v3.1 includes some under the hood related upgrades like a new compiler version and a handful of bug fixes.
This is a free upgrade for customers with active maintenance and a $19.99 upgrade for customers with expired maintenance. License owners can check maintenance status and download custom builds (embedded license key) in the account system. More information about the release is available on the announcement page.
PingPlotter v4 officially releases in April, but a beta version is available to license owners interested in helping us test. Simply login to your account to download.
Version 4 improvements focus on usability and performance. A refreshed interface helps get more done with fewer clicks and hundreds of small tweaks, upgrades, and bug fixes significantly improve speed and reliability. New alert options like REST calls and HTML formatted emails are available along with IPv6 and unicode character support. Professional edition adds several new tools for managing large target lists like user-defined groups, searchable lists, and multiple summary screens.
This is also the first release to serve three editions of PingPlotter with a single download. The shift won't make a big difference to license owners because the program runs as the edition associated with the license. Changing how versions work helps new users evaluate PingPlotter and improves the way we manage our code.
More information about the release is available here. Please, share your beta feedback (we love feedback!) by emailing beta@pingplotter.com.
We hope you enjoy. Thanks for using PingPlotter!
Pretty much everyone with a router knows the power cycle trick, but what do you do when unplugging and replugging fails to bring you back online?
You could call your ISP, but if you’ve done that before, you probably realize how not fun that can be (unless you like that sweet sweet hold music).
Our latest article, Fix Internet Connections Without Calling Tech Support, gives some tips on how to fix common internet connection problems without calling tech support.
Nessoft has evolved into Pingman Tools. Our "new" company provides PingPlotter, MultiPing, and network troubleshooting knowledge, and rebranding helps capture our expanded vision for helping you troubleshoot networks more efficiently.
In our vision, our tools help you be the superhero. Network problems are solvable.
Pingman Tools provides the critical structure required to pursue our passion, continually enhance products, and make network troubleshooting easier for everyone. We may play a few extra rounds of Left 4 Dead (or sip a few rounds from Pingman tumblers) every now and then, but our core values and leadership remain unchanged as the team grows along with the vision.
Check out the about us page for more information about Pingman Tools. If any questions or comments come up while you get to know our new brand, we'd love to hear from you at info@pingman.com.
Thanks for being a customer!
Pete, Larry, Gary, Ed, Matt, and Taylor
Nobody notices the network until something goes wrong. That's why network troubleshooting sucks. As soon as something gets fixed, the people hounding you about "when will we back online?" disappear. It's a thankless endeavor, but the world couldn't function the way it does without people willing to carry the torch. At Pingman Tools, we understand your difficulties and want to make the network troubleshooting process suck a little less. To make that happen, we are building new tools to help you keep networks in check. Here's a preview of what's to come.
The upcoming PingPlotter 4 release includes a streamlined interface, IPv6, Unicode, better multi-target capabilities, ease of use features and a whole lot more. We'll also be expanding the well-received account system from MultiPing into PingPlotter (allowing you to download custom builds with you license key embedded, easily add more licenses to a single key, priority support, and more).
Concurrent with the release of PingPlotter 4, we're working on the next big thing (for us), which starts by extending to new platforms like iOS, Android and Mac, plus a lot more network troubleshooting wisdom (during our 18 years of business, we've learned a bit and would love to have our tools take some of that wisdom and use it to help make you more powerful). Having a new cross-platform code base also puts us in a better position to offer new functionality and better performance, and built in wisdom means more network troubleshooting automation for faster solutions. Altogether our roadmap for the future leads to a world where network troubleshooting is easier for everyone. We hope you are as excited as we are about it!
A few months ago PingPlotter.com left it's comfort zone in search of a less turn-of-the-millennium feel.
In the spirit of iterative development, we landed on this short-lived (but beautiful in it's own way) proof of concept.
After much CSS slaying (and possibly hair loss), we made it to the pingplotter.com design you see today.
We are excited to share our new site with the world. This design is the result of months of planning and collaboration. Special thanks to J. and Mirko, the design junkies from Valitics. Hopefully you find everything more useful and easier to discover. This new look and feel is one small component of a greater effort to make network troubleshooting easier, faster, more effective, and fun. Stay tuned for future developments.
Do you live in (or near) Boise, Idaho USA? We're looking for a motivated, mentally quick software developer to join our team. For more details, see our job listing.
We've been "hotly" working on MultiPing this summer, implementing the features you've been asking for. We're proud to announce that V3 is ready to go, and it's now publicly available.
Head over to our announcement page for more information!
We've released new versions of PingPlotter Standard and PingPlotter Pro - version 3.42.0.
We've added in some new features and squashed a few bugs, and now each download comes with 6.5% more network nirvana! You can find more information in our release notes:
This point release is free for all users with a license key, so download it, install, and enjoy!
(Please note: there's no need to uninstall your old version, it will automatically upgrade everything)
We just released version 3.30.2 for PingPlotter Standard and Pro. This release adds a few features, fixes a couple of problems and streamlines a workflow or two.
This is a free upgrade for all current licensees, and you can get it from our download page.
We just released a minor update for MultiPing, which fixes a small handful of bugs. Have a look at our release notes, or head right over to the download page.
This is a free update for all licensed users. If you already have MultiPing installed, just launch the installer and follow the prompts.
We've released a new version of MultiPing, which adds features, improves compatibility with Windows Vista/7, and fixes several issues.
For a complete list of changes, visit the release notes, or go directly to the download page to get it!
This is a free update for all MultiPing license holders.
We just released version 3.30.1 for PingPlotter Standard and Pro. It's a minor release, but fixes a couple of nagging bugs, adds a new graph metric, and solves some false positive virus warnings (which AVG has since fixed on their side too, but ... oh well)!
This is a free upgrade for all current licensees, and you can get it from our download page.
PingPlotter Pro 3.10.0p, just released, has a great collection of new features and fixes (see the release notes for details). Here's a sampling of changes:
- The remote trace capabilities have been significantly enhanced.
- The web interface can now be set to read only.
- The named configuration in use for a target can now be displayed on the summary screen (and other areas).
- Added some right-click menu options.
- Significantly improved reliability of scripted events and extensions.
- Fixed bug when running web interface under Windows 2003 with IIS (this didn't work with 3.00.2p).
- Lots of other changes and tweaks.
PingPlotter Pro 3.10.0p is a free upgrade for anyone with a PingPlotter Pro 3.x license. It's also available as a 30 day trial, for those interested in checking out its capabilities.
Download 3.10.0p from the download page. There is no need to uninstall your current version.
Current PingPlotter Standard (a.k.a PingPlotter 2.60) and MultiPing users interested in upgrading to PingPlotter Pro can see details on our upgrade page.
We just released a bugfix for PingPlotter Pro, including the following changes:- An access violation would occur at startup if using an operating system and CPU that supported DEP (for more information about DEP, see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875352).
- Trying to remove PingPlotter as a windows service when running as a windows service caused problems. This now shows an appropriate error message.
- If the windows service failed to start, it would sometimes log no errors. Errors are now logged and shown in this situation.
- When resizing the main form, then minimizing or maximizing, the resize wouldn't be saved on close.
- The "Save data on shutdown, reload on startup" switch only disabled saving, not loading. Loading always happened - now switch is honored.
- The summary screen didn't show script-based columns (ie: Jitter, Std Dev, MoS).
- On some computers, CPU use was higher than it should be.
- A couple of other minor updates / fixes.
Download 3.00.2 from the download page. There is no need to uninstall your current version.
We're incrementally getting the PingPlotter Tutorial and Reference Manual site updated with the new features in Version 2.5x. If you haven't been to our tutorial site lately, you really should check it out. We've specifically added new articles in the Interpreting Results section. In particular, the Recognizing Bandwidth Saturation and Service Provider / Bad Hardware scenarios take you step by step through the use of PingPlotter with two more great examples of how to leverage the powerful diagnostic and troubleshooting capabilities of PingPlotter.
As always, we welcome any feedback you may have in regards to the Tutorial in general, as well as feedback on any specific problems you may have solved using PingPlotter, or it's sister product MultiPing. If you have any specific topics you'd like covered within the Tutorial, please pass them along. Any of the above can be sent to support@nessoft.com.
Ping Plotter got an Honorable Mention in the December 2002 edition of Microsoft Certified Professional magazine in their "Tools We Can't Live Without" feature.
Totally not networking related but... For the past couple of years we've helped sponsor a local stock car here in Boise, Idaho. The end of the season was 9/21/02, and the PingPlotter car (though we're not the sole sponsor...it's the PingPlotter car anyway *grin*) took 9th out of 25 total cars in the class. Congratulations Scott! To check out the Murri Racing site, and see some pictures of the car, you can go to the Murri Racing home page.
The tutorial has been converted into a PDF file for those of you that would like to print a copy. The web version is being updated constantly, so please check there first with any questions. There will always be a little lag between the web version and the updating of the Acrobat version, but we'll be doing our best to keep both versions in sync.
We've cleaned up the FAQ. If you've been in there before looking something up, unfortunately it was quite unwieldy (uh, in short it was a mess). As always, if you have comments, suggestions or gripes please drop us a line.
We've been seeing some notable press mentions for the shareware version of Ping Plotter lately. We were in Lockernome last month, University of Oregon's Computing News for Fall 2001, the September edition of Law Technology News and the December edition of Windows 2000 Magazine. Pretty cool stuff.
Since the release of the shareware version of Ping Plotter (in 1998), we've not done any updates for the freeware version. This has now changed, however, with the release of Ping Plotter version 1.10 Freeware.
The new freeware version sports a significant re-engineer of its internals, bringing it up to date with the shareware version. There have also been a few handy new features added.
If you're interested in new features in the latest freeware version, check out the release notes. If you're interested in seeing the differences between the freeware and shareware versions, check out the feature comparison. If you're looking to download the latest version of either the shareware or freeware versions, go to the download page.
Ping Plotter 2.30 has received a 10 Gearteeth out of 10, plus commendation, in Network World Magazine's Gearhead column!
The next release of Ping Plotter is now available. Download the shareware version, or update your registered version at the Ping Plotter Download Site.
Version 2.30 has the following new features and bug fixes (since 2.20):
- The timeline graphs now show packet loss percentages. This adds information to time periods greater than a few hours (where it used to just show that there was at least one packet lost), and can help show trending quite a bit better. If you prefer the old style graphs, hold down the shift key while right clicking on a timeline graph and enable "Old style timeline graphs".
- Packet loss percentages can now be shown on the upper graph.
- Added ability to turn on/off min/max lines on the upper graph. This can help during long term monitoring where a single bad response could change the scale of the entire graph.
- The lower timeline graphs can now be scrolled using ALT-LEFT, ALT-RIGHT, ALT-HOME, ALT-END, ALT-PGUP, ALT-PGDN. These keys work when the upper graph is selected (because the lower graphs don't actually accept focus). Clicking on the lower graph will focus the upper graph.
- The lower timeline graphs now resize based on their current size when adding a new graph - rather than resizing to 65 pixels always.
- Added an option to use high performance timers when tracing. This increases the accuracy when using Windows NT/2000 - where the best accuracy reported by ICMP.DLL is 10 ms.
- Added ARIN Block IP lookups to see who owns an IP address. This works even if the IP doesn't resolve to a name.
- All Open/Save dialogs have been updated to have the "Places" bar for Windows 2000/ME users.
- Added automatic version checking. Ping Plotter will now check to see if there's an update available and let you know if there is.
- Added support for multiple INI files. This is useful when you automatically start multiple instances of Ping Plotter and want the output to be different between instances.
- Added "zooming" logic so when you decrease the time shown in the timeline graph it tries to keep your selected time period in focus. This can be useful to focus in on a period in the 48 hour graph, and then zoom down to the 30 minute (or similar) graph to see the period in more detail.
- Changed the alert system to no longer use averages. Averages were hard to understand in the context of lost packets, and in all cases we reviewed, the alternate method was superior.
- Added ability to change the Subject line in alert e-mail messages. $host can be included to show the final destination.
- Exporting to text files was substantially improved.
- Can ping only the final destination (rather than tracing all hops between you and the final destination). While this turns off some of the core functionality of Ping Plotter, it can be handy if you're using alerts, or only want to graph performance to the final destination and don’t want to use the extra bandwidth required to trace the intermediate hops
- Registration codes are now validate against a server database. See here for more details on this.
- Changing packet cargo options now take affect immediately.
- Stability improvements (as always). Several access violations fixed; a problem with save files was fixed; Improved alert reliability; minor graph overdraw no longer happens; PNG files now come out with better color; WhoIs processing cleaned up a bit; Minimizing to the tray works more reliably (including improved tray "click" behavior).
John Gillett posted a really good article about Ping and Trace Route for Speedcorp.net. It has some great theory - and talks about Ping Plotter as well. It's a pretty good read - so if you're curious about how Ping, Trace Route, and Ping Plotter do their thing, you might check out that article!
Note added December, 2003: Speedcorp.net seems to be defunct now. Planetquake republished the article, which is what is linked above.
This version is *mostly* a bug fix version. It includes the following changes:
Bugs Fixed
Fixed case sensitivity on registration code bug.
Fixed occasional access violation when tracing
Fixed occasional lockup under Win95
Fixed so DNS name doesn't ever return your own computer's name when a hop times out.
Fixed so DNS lookups always happens - even if the first hop times out.
Fixed the alert system so it works correctly now. Alert system is much more reliable.
Fixed the alert system so more than one alert can be tied to any IP address
Fixed problem where saving a sample set would sometimes not work (when there was no DNS name).
Minor changes to registration code system.
Fixed "Sample Index too High" error when exporting to text file.
New Features
Export to text file now allows exporting with the samples in rows rather than columns (to overcome Excel's 255 column limit).