Here’s a summary of the steps taken to build the Flask-based device monitoring and ping dashboard application:
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Set up Flask App: • Created a Flask app instance using Flask(name).
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Defined Devices to Monitor: • A dictionary called devices was created to store device names and their associated IP addresses.
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Set Up SQLite Database: • A SQLite database (ping_data.db) was initialized with a table named devices to store ping results (device name, IP address, status, and timestamp). • The init_db() function checks if the devices table exists and creates it if necessary.
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Ping Function: • Defined the ping_device() function to send a ping to each device's IP address using the os.system() command. • The function checks the platform (Windows or Linux/macOS) and uses the appropriate ping command (ping -n 1 for Windows, ping -c 1 for Linux/macOS). • Based on the ping response, the function determines if the device is "Online" or "Offline". • The result (along with a timestamp) is then stored in the SQLite database.
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Fetch Ping History: • The get_ping_history() function retrieves the most recent ping results from the database, ordered by timestamp.
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Flask Routes: • Dashboard Route (/): Displays a dashboard with the ping history pulled from the database and lists all the devices to monitor. • Ping Route (/ping): Triggers a ping to each device in the devices dictionary, returns their status (Online/Offline) as a JSON response.
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Running the Flask App: • The app is run on host='0.0.0.0' and port 5000, making it accessible from the local network.
Key Components: • Flask: Used to create web routes and serve the dashboard. • SQLite: Used to store and retrieve ping data. • OS and Platform: Used to run system-specific ping commands. • Jinja Templates: Used to render HTML on the dashboard. Result: • The app runs a Flask server, pings devices to check their status, stores the results in a database, and shows a dashboard with real-time device statuses and ping history.