UDP / DNS Monitor

Probe a DNS server or UDP endpoint at a regular interval and measure response time. Useful for monitoring the health of your DNS infrastructure.

What it is for

The UDP / DNS widget sends a real UDP packet to a host and port and waits for a response. In DNS probe mode (the default), it sends a valid DNS query and expects a DNS response back, making it ideal for monitoring DNS server availability and latency. In Generic UDP mode, it sends an empty packet and treats any response as success.

How to add it

1. Click + Add widget and select UDP / DNS.
2. Choose a probe type: DNS server probe (recommended) or Generic UDP.
3. Enter the host to probe (e.g. 8.8.8.8 for Google DNS).
4. Set the port (default: 53 for DNS).
5. Click Add widget.

DNS probe mode

Sends a valid DNS query for a test domain and expects a valid DNS response. This is the most reliable mode because DNS servers always respond to well-formed queries. If no response is received within 5 seconds, the widget shows Down.

Generic UDP mode

Sends an empty 4-byte UDP packet and waits for any response. Note that many UDP services silently drop packets they don't understand, so this mode may show Down even when the service is running. It is best used for services known to respond to empty probes.

Credit cost

0.02 credits per check