NetPing Monitor

Problem

macOS lacks a built-in tool for continuous network monitoring. System engineers and power users needed a lightweight, always-on monitor that could track multiple hosts simultaneously, alert on degradation, and stay out of the way in the menu bar — without sending data anywhere.

Solution

NetPing Monitor is a native macOS app that continuously sends ICMP pings to configured hosts and visualizes the results in real time. It lives in the menu bar with configurable alert thresholds, and opens a full monitoring dashboard on demand.

Engineering Highlights

• Custom ICMP engine: raw socket-based ICMP implementation using Network.framework, delivering sub-millisecond ping resolution without third-party dependencies.
• Live RTT charts: SwiftUI Charts rendering continuous round-trip time data per host with gap detection for packet loss visualization.
• Smart alerts: configurable thresholds for RTT, jitter, and packet loss with native macOS notifications.
• Network scanner: CIDR range scanner discovers live hosts on a subnet — useful for LAN auditing.
• Traceroute: hop-by-hop path visualization for any target host.
• Menu bar integration: compact status indicator shows aggregate network health at a glance; no Dock presence required.
• Widgets: macOS widget support for quick RTT snapshots from the desktop.
• Privacy-first: zero telemetry, zero cloud sync. All data is stored locally. App Sandbox compliant.

Platform Constraints

Raw ICMP requires careful entitlement handling in the Mac App Store sandbox. Background network operations needed proper capability declarations. The app uses Apple’s Network.framework exclusively to avoid App Store rejections from lower-level socket approaches.

Outcome

A lightweight but complete network monitoring tool trusted by macOS power users and network engineers for always-on latency monitoring, alerting, and LAN diagnostics. Available on the Mac App Store.