ThousandEyes, a network monitoring company, today launched general availability of a network device health layer added to its Path Visualization platform.

The Device Layer software automatically discovers and maps network devices from Layer 7 to Layer 2, enabling companies to monitor and actively probe their network and devices for common device issues within the branch or data center.

The Device Layer pinpoints where problems occur and provides real-time insight on the error.

“Previously, when there was a network issue, a customer had to pretty much peruse through different tools for the information, manually. That’s a lot of time lost just getting into where the problem is,” said Gopi Gopalakrishnan, senior product manager at ThousandEyes. “[Device Layer] simplifies this and provides visibility all the way from the users, the application layers, down to the network layer, down to the interface level in a single pane of glass, on a single dashboard.”

By mapping from end-to-end, ThousandEyes is able to identify historic, as well as real-time changes in network infrastructure. It then monitors each individual device, pairing that alongside data about internal networks, applications, and routing information, without having to change platforms.

Gopalakrishnan noted that today's enterprise networks, in their complexity and wide distribution, have increased the need for this real-time data. ThousandEyes' Device Layer also provides metrics to troubleshoot these issues.

The platform’s enterprise agents can monitor SNMP v2 and v3 to poll routers, switches, firewall, load balancers, and wireless access points. It detects changes in the network and infrastructure, for example, if a device goes offline, an interface is overloaded, or if a new device is detected within branch offices and a company’s WAN.

“That provides visibility from a user to the application, identifying issues at every hop along the way,” said Gopalakrishnan. “Pinpointing if it’s an issue within your own premise, getting all the way down to a network device and a network interface, where the user might be connected, or if it’s an issue with Internet ISP, or even if it’s an issue with the actual application provider’s infrastructure.”