Network Monitoring: Benefiting You and Your Customers

My name is Dennis Burgess, Chief Technology Officer at Link Technologies, Inc. Since 2006, I’ve been designing networks, solving complex challenges, and helping ISPs do more with less. With over 23 years of hands-on experience—from leading teams to pulling CAT5 cable—I bring practical, real-world insight into building reliable networks.

Network monitoring is the lifeblood of any ISP. It not only ensures operational visibility but directly impacts customer experience and service reliability. A properly monitored network allows for faster issue detection, proactive maintenance, and improved uptime.

A high-level monitoring system provides a single-pane view of network health. Tools like MikroTik’s The Dude are ideal for visualizing topology and determining whether core infrastructure is operational.

• Monitor loopbacks on routers and switches at POP locations
• Use visual maps to document routing paths and topology
• Quickly identify outages with clear status indicators

A deep monitoring platform, such as Zabbix, is essential for collecting and analyzing detailed performance metrics across the network.

• Monitor thousands of data points via SNMP and other protocols
• Track historical metrics like signal levels and bandwidth
• Integrate with helpdesk systems for automated ticketing
• Trigger alerts and automate remediation actions

External monitoring validates your network from the public internet perspective, ensuring customers can reach services and identifying upstream or routing issues.

• Detect outages and prefix issues using global vantage points
• Provide public status pages for customer transparency
• Reduce support calls by directing users to real-time status updates

For ISPs with multiple upstream providers, BGP monitoring is critical for maintaining routing integrity and redundancy.

• Detect missing or improperly advertised prefixes
• Identify upstream routing inconsistencies
• Prevent silent failures that impact redundancy

ISPs should deploy at least three core monitoring systems, with BGP monitoring added when applicable. Together, these tools provide comprehensive visibility, faster troubleshooting, and improved customer experience.

Investing in proper monitoring ensures a resilient, scalable network. A well-monitored network is not just easier to manage—it is fundamentally more reliable.