Skip to main content

ThingConnect Pulse Quick Start

ThingConnect Pulse is a free, on-premises network availability monitoring solution designed specifically for manufacturing environments. It provides continuous monitoring of your critical IT/OT infrastructure with zero external dependencies - all data stays on your premises.

Key Features:

  • Real-time monitoring of network devices using ICMP ping, TCP port checks, and HTTP/HTTPS requests
  • Intelligent alerting with flap damping to prevent false alarms from temporary network issues
  • Historical data with automatic 15-minute and daily rollups for trend analysis
  • Web dashboard for live status monitoring and historical reporting
  • YAML configuration with validation and version tracking
  • User management with role-based access control
  • Windows Service that runs continuously in the background

Perfect for:

  • Manufacturing plant IT/OT administrators
  • Production supervisors monitoring critical systems
  • Maintenance engineers tracking equipment connectivity
  • Any organization needing reliable, local network monitoring

This guide covers installation and basic configuration to get you monitoring your network devices in minutes.

System Requirements​

  • Windows Server or Windows 10/11
  • .NET 8.0 Runtime (included with installer)
  • Administrator privileges for installation
  • Network access to devices you want to monitor

Installation​

Download and Run​

  1. Download the ThingConnect Pulse installer
  2. Run as Administrator: ThingConnect Pulse - Setup 1.0.0.exe
  3. Follow the installation wizard
  4. Service will be automatically installed and started

Installation Details​

The installer will:

  • Install to C:\Program Files\ThingConnect.Pulse
  • Create data directory at C:\ProgramData\ThingConnect.Pulse
  • Register ThingConnectPulseSvc Windows service
  • Create Start Menu shortcuts

First Login​

  1. Open browser to http://localhost:8080
  2. Create admin account on first visit
  3. Login with your credentials

ThingConnect Pulse Login Page

The login page welcomes you with key features and a clean interface for accessing your monitoring dashboard.

The web interface provides:

  • Live status dashboard
  • Historical data and charts
  • Configuration management
  • User administration

Basic Configuration​

1. Access Configuration Page​

  • Navigate to Configuration in the main menu
  • Click Edit Configuration to open the YAML editor

Configuration Management Interface

The configuration page provides a YAML editor with syntax highlighting and helpful documentation panels.

2. Add Your First Endpoints​

Replace the sample configuration with your network devices:

# ThingConnect Pulse Configuration
endpoints:
  - name: "Main Router"
    host: "192.168.1.1"
    probes:
      - type: icmp
        interval: 30s
        timeout: 5s

  - name: "Web Server"
    host: "10.0.0.100"
    probes:
      - type: tcp
        port: 80
        interval: 60s
      - type: http
        url: "http://10.0.0.100/health"
        interval: 300s

  - name: "Database Server"
    host: "db.company.local"
    probes:
      - type: tcp
        port: 5432
        interval: 30s

groups:
  - name: "Infrastructure"
    endpoints: ["Main Router", "Database Server"]

  - name: "Web Services"
    endpoints: ["Web Server"]

3. Apply Configuration​

  1. Click "Apply Configuration"
  2. Review the validation results
  3. Confirm to activate monitoring

4. Monitor Results​

  • Go to Dashboard to see live status
  • Check History for trends and outages
  • View individual Endpoint Details for specific devices

Main Dashboard

The dashboard provides real-time status monitoring with system overview, endpoint status table, and sparkline trend charts.

Monitoring Features​

Probe Types​

  • ICMP Ping: Basic connectivity testing
  • TCP Port: Service availability checks
  • HTTP/HTTPS: Web service monitoring with status codes

Discovery Options​

Monitor entire network ranges:

endpoints:
  - name: "Office Network"
    host: "192.168.1.0/24"  # Monitors entire subnet
    probes:
      - type: icmp
        interval: 60s

  - name: "Server Range"
    host: "10.0.0.*"        # Wildcard expansion
    probes:
      - type: icmp
        interval: 30s

Status Logic​

  • UP: 2 consecutive successful probes
  • DOWN: 2 consecutive failed probes
  • Flap damping prevents status oscillation

Data and Reporting​

Historical Data​

  • Raw data: 60-day retention
  • 15-minute rollups: Automatic aggregation
  • Daily rollups: Long-term trends
  • CSV export: Download historical data

Dashboard Features​

  • Live status with real-time updates
  • Sparkline charts showing recent history
  • Grouping and filtering capabilities
  • Search by endpoint name or IP address

User Management​

For detailed user account management, role assignment, and security features, see the User Management guide.

Service Management​

Windows Service Control​

# Check service status
sc query ThingConnectPulseSvc

# Start/stop service
net start ThingConnectPulseSvc
net stop ThingConnectPulseSvc

Log Files​

Service logs are stored in:

  • Location: C:\ProgramData\ThingConnect.Pulse\logs
  • Format: JSON structured logging
  • Rotation: Daily rotation with cleanup

Next Steps​

Getting Help​

  • Check logs in C:\ProgramData\ThingConnect.Pulse\logs
  • Verify service is running: sc query ThingConnectPulseSvc
  • Test connectivity from the Pulse server to target devices
  • Review configuration for syntax errors

Summary​

You now have: ✅ ThingConnect Pulse installed and running ✅ Basic network monitoring configured ✅ Web dashboard access for live status ✅ Historical data collection active ✅ User accounts set up

Your devices are being monitored continuously with automatic outage detection and data rollups.