UDP Monitoring Use Cases
DNS Servers
Monitor UDP port 53 to ensure your DNS servers are responding to queries. Detect DNS failures before they cascade into widespread outages.
NTP Servers
Monitor UDP port 123 to verify time synchronization services. NTP failures can cause authentication issues and log inconsistencies.
Game Servers
Many multiplayer game servers use UDP for real-time communication. Monitor game server availability to maintain player experience.
SNMP Services
Monitor SNMP agents on UDP port 161. Ensure network management and monitoring tools can still poll devices.
RADIUS / TACACS+
Monitor authentication services. RADIUS (1812/1813) and TACACS+ (49) use UDP — failures mean users can't authenticate.
Custom UDP Protocols
Monitor any UDP port with custom probe configurations. Works for proprietary protocols, IoT devices, and legacy systems.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is UDP monitoring?
UDP monitoring sends probe packets to UDP ports and checks for responses. Unlike TCP, UDP is connectionless — there's no handshake. UDP monitoring is essential for services that use UDP protocols like DNS (port 53), NTP (port 123), SNMP (port 161), and game servers.
Which UDP protocols can be monitored?
UptimePoint supports monitoring any UDP port. Common use cases include DNS (53), NTP (123), SNMP (161), RADIUS (1812/1813), TACACS+ (49), and custom application protocols on any port.
How is UDP monitoring different from TCP?
TCP checks verify that a port accepts connections via a three-way handshake. UDP checks send a probe packet and wait for any response. A port can be TCP-up but UDP-down (or vice versa), so both checks provide different visibility into your infrastructure.