===== Ping Driver Configuration =====

The **Ping driver** is a generic driver used to verify whether an equipment is reachable over IP from the probe.

It returns a boolean metric:

  * **true** → the equipment responds to the ping  
  * **false** → the equipment does not respond to the ping  

To configure it, fill in the **IP/Hostname** field with:

  * The equipment’s **IP address**  
  * Or its **hostname**

==== Ping Driver Specific Behavior ====

Ping is a particular type of indicator.

A **Ping failure (KO)** is not an absence of data:  
it is a **valid data point**, simply with the value **false**.

In other words:

  * **ping = true** → equipment is reachable  
  * **ping = false** → equipment is unreachable  
  * **no data on ping** → the probe is no longer reporting the metric  

==== Recommended Alarm Configuration ====

For the Ping driver, it is recommended to:

  * Configure a **“Measure” type** alarm  
  * On the metric **ping = false**

This is the correct approach to detect an unreachable equipment.

**“No data”** alarms are generally intended for drivers where the absence of reporting is meaningful.

For Ping, a “No data” alarm would indicate something different:

  * The probe is no longer reporting the metric  
  * The probe may be offline  
  * Or the probe is no longer able to execute ping requests  

==== Summary ====

  * **ping = false** → equipment-side issue (unreachable device)  
  * **no data on ping** → probe-side issue  

It is important not to confuse these two situations when configuring alerts.