Monitoring IP Addresses

Pingward supports monitoring endpoints using IP addresses (IPv4 or IPv6) instead of hostnames. This is useful for:

• Testing load balancers directly
• Monitoring services before DNS is configured
• Validating specific server instances
• Testing internal infrastructure endpoints

Basic Usage

Simply enter an IP address in the URL field:

IPv4:

https://192.168.1.100/health
http://10.0.0.50:8080/api/status

IPv6:

https://[2001:db8::1]/health
http://[fe80::1]:8443/api/status

IPv6 addresses must be enclosed in brackets [...] as per RFC 3986.

Virtual Hosts & SNI

If your server uses virtual hosting or SNI (Server Name Indication), you must provide a Host header override:

1. Enter the IP address in the URL field
2. Enter the hostname in the Host Header field

Example: Testing a Load Balancer

Field	Value
URL	https://192.168.1.100/health
Host Header	api.example.com

This sends the HTTP request to 192.168.1.100 but includes Host: api.example.com in the headers, allowing the server to route to the correct virtual host.

Example: Testing Kubernetes Services

URL: https://10.96.0.1:443/healthz
Host Header: kubernetes.default.svc.cluster.local

When to Use IP Addresses

Good Use Cases:

• Load balancer health checks - Test individual backend servers
• Pre-production testing - Validate before DNS cutover
• Internal services - Monitor services without public DNS
• Disaster recovery - Fallback when DNS fails

Considerations:

• SSL/TLS: Using IP addresses with HTTPS requires proper certificate configuration
• Virtual hosting: Always provide a Host header if the server uses name-based virtual hosting
• Firewalls: Ensure Pingward workers can reach the IP address

SSL/TLS with IP Addresses

For HTTPS connections to IP addresses, the server's SSL certificate must include:

1. The IP address in the Subject Alternative Name (SAN) extension, OR
2. A wildcard/hostname that matches the Host header override

If the certificate only contains hostnames, use the Host Header field to match the certificate.

Regional Testing

IP addresses work with all region settings. Tests execute from selected regions, connecting directly to the specified IP address.

Troubleshooting

"SSL handshake failed"

• Verify the SSL certificate is valid for the IP address or Host header
• Check that the Host header matches a name in the certificate's SAN

"Connection refused"

• Confirm the IP address is reachable from Pingward workers
• Check firewall rules allow traffic from Pingward's IP ranges
• Verify the port is correct

"Virtual host not found"

• Ensure you've set the Host header to match the server's virtual host configuration
• Check server logs to see what hostname was received

Security Notes

• Host header values are validated to prevent CRLF injection attacks
• All IP addresses are logged in test results
• Consider network segmentation when exposing internal IPs to monitoring

See Also

• Endpoints - General endpoint configuration
• Headers - Custom HTTP headers
• Authentication - Auth for IP-based tests