Monitor-IO network gadget goes to EOL, but at its best

Monitor-IO was a gadget that did one thing: lived next to the router and told how things were on its network. This was done both with detailed reports that could be accessed from the local network, and with a screen that glowed in one of three colors: green for good, purple for problems, and red for dead. This can replace or at least supplement the set of IP addresses in the browser and wait for them to expire.

We loved this device when we reviewed it in August 2018, despite our broad understanding of it as an “oil-transmitting robot,”a device that relays information you might otherwise learn on your own. In addition to being color-coded, it had “obvious technical flaws and real, close attention to detail”in how it measured and what it could report. However, we also noted that the $100 price makes sense for a small business, but “might be a bit on the high side”for a family on a budget.

It looks like Monitor-IO has run out of people willing to pay for better network awareness. In an end-of-service notice posted on its website, the company cites “rising costs and supply chain issues”among other “many headwinds.”With no better option, Monitor-IO is closing its monitoring business and service on April 15, 2023 (Support will be offered until May 30, 2023)

Does this mean that Monitor-IO blocks are bricks? By no means. The company provides an SD card image (minimum 4 GB) that you can use to set up the device for life after the Monitor-IO servers go down. The little box will still access multiple destination IPs to test your network speed and stability, but if you want to change its targets or make any other changes, you can connect to the box via SSH on your local network.

The Monitor-IO fan community seems to be able to do a lot more with the device, based on the README for NetMonitor, a standalone system the company offers. This is a “standard Linux operating system”, so you should consider connecting it to an uninterruptible power supply to avoid file corruption during a power outage. Instead of the colorful and useful charts you saw when the Monitor-IO servers were running, there is now a data file showing a few recent test results. Don’t be surprised if at some point someone comes up with a different, possibly updated, version of this system as a flashable image.

Monitor-IO also notes that it will delete all data from its servers before shutting it down.

“Thank you again for your support over the past many years. We really hope that the service was useful to you. We are very sorry that it had to end,” Monitor-IO wrote on its website.

It’s a polite, honest ending combined with good help for its users after their business is over.