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Version: 2.0 (Preview)

Surfmeter Automator 2.0

Preview

Surfmeter Automator 2.0 is not released yet. These pages describe the upcoming version and may change. If you are running Surfmeter Automator 1.x, follow the Surfmeter Automator documentation instead. To check your version, run surfmeter --version (2.x) or ./surfmeter-automator-headless --version (1.x).

Surfmeter Automator runs measurements on Linux machines ("probes") without a graphical display, on a schedule that you define in the Surfmeter Dashboard. It supports these measurement types:

  • Video quality (including YouTube, Netflix, DAZN, and ORF)
  • Web browsing (website loading performance)
  • Speed tests (Fast.com, Nperf, Ookla Speedtest)
  • Network tests such as ping, DNS, and traceroute
  • Conferencing (Google Meet, Microsoft Teams)

Below, we call Surfmeter Automator simply Automator.

For a complete list of supported services and study types, see Available Studies.

What is New in 2.0​

Automator 2.0 is a rewrite. The measurements stay the same, but the way you install and operate it has changed:

  • You manage the configuration in the Surfmeter Dashboard and assign it to probes. Probes download it automatically. You normally do not need to edit files on a probe.
  • The surfmeter program includes Node.js and replaces surfmeter-automator, surfmeter-automator-headless, and surfmeter-automator-gui.
  • Commands are grouped, for example surfmeter study start instead of startStudy. See Commands and Options.
  • A scheduling daemon replaces cron. It supports intervals, study sequences, time zones, and start and end dates.
  • Automator can update itself from the Surfmeter server.
  • One setup script installs Automator and migrates existing 1.x probes, keeping their client ID and measurement history.
  • The registration, configuration, and data are stored in ~/.surfmeter.
  • The format of publicConfig.json has not changed. automatorConfig.json has a new version, described in the Automator Config V2 reference.

32-bit ARM (armv7l) is no longer supported.

Next, check the requirements.