Is there a method or tool(s) to prove network outages?

Sun Dec 1 17:20:51 UTC 2013

>Hi Everyone

>Please I have a very problematic radio link which goes 
> out and back on again every few hours.
>The only way I know this is happening is from my gateway 
>device: a Sophos UTM that sends email anytime there's been an outage.

>The ISP refuses to accept this as outage/instability 
> proof, and I'm wondering if there's something I can run 
> behind the gateway UTM that can provide output information 
> over time. They seem to be a primarily Windows+Cisco shop 
> (as is common here in the 4th world). We are primarily Linux.
> Is there some set of command incantations I can run who's output I can
> collect and send to them (besides some sort of sustained ping)?

I'm a big fan of smokeping personally. (http://oss.oetiker.ch/smokeping/)
it will install on practically any linux device, and i've even installed
it on ~$50 consumer NAS or router type devices (e.g. a pgoplug nas)
if it has enough ram (128MB is dicey but works).

shows you loss + latency.

you set it up to ping e.g. the near and far end of the radio link, and then
maybe a few sentinel sites.

it can do ICMP and also TCP.