Wireless Telegraf Input Plugin

Linux operating systems include the pseudo file system 'proc,' which creates an interface for kernel data structures. These structures contain data on system status. The file /proc/net/wireless stores metrics on your wireless connection. You can use this file to keep track of information such as wifi signal strength and quality.

Why use the Wireless Telegraf Plugin?

The Telegraf Wireless Input Plugin collects metrics on wireless link quality from the /proc/net/wireless file on Linux operating systems. You can use this plugin to monitor the current status of your device, the quality of your reception, the number of packets your system is unable to decrypt, and more. Collecting this information in real time with Telegraf lets you set up alerts so you can take quick action if there's an issue with your wireless connection.

How to monitor wireless networks using the Telegraf plugin

Setting up this plugin is simple. You can either specify the 'proc' directory path or leave it at the default, /proc. There's no other configuration required. Once you have information coming from your Linux operating system into Telegraf, you can monitor your wireless connection over time. If there are any issues with your connection, having this detailed information better prepares you to address them.

Key wireless metrics to use for monitoring

Some of the important wireless metrics that you should proactively monitor include:

• wirelessInterface
  • tags:
    • interface (wireless interface)
  • fields:
    • status (int64, gauge) - Its current state. This is a device dependent information
    • link (int64, percentage, gauge) - general quality of the reception
    • level (int64, dBm, gauge) - signal strength at the receiver
    • noise (int64, dBm, gauge) - silence level (no packet) at the receiver
    • nwid (int64, packets, counter) - number of discarded packets due to invalid
    • network id
    • crypt (int64, packets, counter) - number of packet unable to decrypt
    • frag (int64, packets, counter) - fragmented packets
    • retry (int64, packets, counter) - cumulative retry counts
    • misc (int64, packets, counter) - dropped for un-specified reason
    • missed_beacon (int64, packets, counter) - missed beacon packets

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