Overview

Kerio Control has recently gained a new Watchdog feature in the latest version 9.4.5. The Watchdog monitors all key services of GFI KerioControl, and in case of any irregularities, it restores the product's full functionality. 

It can be enabled via CLI, with future releases bringing control through the GFI AppManager UI.

How Watchdog Works

The Watchdog feature continuously monitors the operational status of key Kerio Control services. When it detects a service failure or system issue:

• It automatically initiates a restart of the affected services

• Creates a crash dump in the VAR folder for later analysis

• Restores network functionality without manual intervention 

This significantly reduces downtime and eliminates the need for on-site visits to physically restart hardware.

Enabling and Controlling Watchdog

Enabling SSH Access to Kerio Control

To use the command line for enabling Watchdog, you must first enable SSH access, as indicated in the article for Accessing Kerio Control's Shell Using SSH:

1. Log in to the Kerio Control web administration interface.

2. Hold the SHIFT key and click on Status > System Health in the left menu.

3. While holding SHIFT, an “Enable SSH” option will appear—click it.

4. Confirm to enable SSH access.

5. IMPORTANT: Add a traffic rule to allow SSH (TCP port 22) from your admin PC to the firewall—without this, SSH will not work.

6. You can now use an SSH client (e.g., PuTTY or macOS/Linux Terminal) to connect to the appliance.

💡Tip: The SHIFT key step is essential and often missed by new users.

Current Method (CLI)

The Watchdog feature is disabled by default in Kerio Control. To enable it, use the following CLI command:

/opt/kerio/winroute/tinydbclient "update AutoRecoveryWatchdog set AutoRestart=1"

Locating and Downloading Crash Dumps

When the Watchdog detects a critical failure, it creates crash dump files for analysis.

• Directory: /var/crash/winroute/

• What to Collect: Download all files in this folder and provide them to support troubleshooting.

Core Services Monitored

The Watchdog monitors all key Kerio Control services and restores full functionality in case of any irregularities. These include:

• Network Connection Services - Ensures internet connectivity remains active, preventing situations where a device becomes frozen with no internet access 3

• Firewall Services - Monitors the core security services that enforce traffic rules and provide network protection

• VPN Services - Watches services related to Virtual Private Network connections 4

• Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) - Monitors the services responsible for detecting and preventing network attacks

Benefits of Using Watchdog

The primary benefit of the Watchdog is preventing scenarios where a device becomes unresponsive

• Improved System Reliability: Automatically recovers from service failures

• Reduced Downtime: Minimizes network interruptions by quickly addressing issues

• Enhanced Troubleshooting: Creates crash dumps for later analysis and issue resolution

• Peace of Mind: Provides automated safeguards for your network infrastructure

GFI Kerio Control offers a comprehensive suite of features to maintain its stability and performance. By actively monitoring resources, configuring alerts, and implementing best practices, administrators can ensure the optimum performance from Kerio Control.