What Is Network Monitoring? Tools, Telemetry & Trends (2026) | Kentik

What Is Network Monitoring? Tools, Telemetry & Trends (2026)

Table of contents

Reviewed for technical accuracy by: Eric Hian-Cheong, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Kentik, who leads go-to-market strategy for Kentik AI, NMS, and flow solutions.

Network monitoring is the continuous measurement and analysis of a network’s health, performance, and traffic so teams can detect, diagnose, and prevent issues before users are affected. In 2025, effective programs unify device metrics (SNMP + streaming telemetry), traffic visibility (flows/packets with BGP/cloud context), synthetic testing (DEM), and cloud‑provider telemetry into one platform to optimize reliability, security, and cost.

Network monitoring has evolved from its humble beginnings as a basic troubleshooting tool using Internet Protocol (IP) to a sophisticated system essential for maintaining optimal network health and performance. As networks expand with digital transformation, IoT, multicloud, and SaaS dependencies, understanding and managing their complexities becomes critical. This article provides a 2025‑aware overview of network monitoring—its significance, techniques, challenges, and where it’s heading into 2026.

What is Network Monitoring?

Network monitoring is the continuous measurement and analysis of a network’s health, performance, and traffic, enabling teams to detect, diagnose, and prevent issues before users are affected. Modern network monitoring unifies device metrics (SNMP and streaming telemetry), traffic visibility (flows, packets, BGP, cloud context), synthetic testing (DEM), and cloud-provider telemetry.

Beyond immediate alerts, modern network monitoring solutions correlate multiple telemetry sources and visualize topology, traffic paths, and dependencies. That correlation matters more in 2026, as hidden functional failures and configuration cascades can break specific functions even while surface metrics look “green,” underscoring the need for outside‑in visibility alongside device health.

In this short video, Kentik technology evangelist Leon Adato explains the basics of network monitoring and the three technology pillars of modern network monitoring.

Click for sound

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Introduction to Network Monitoring and Observability

Explaining Network Monitoring and Observability

Getting Started with Network Monitoring

Fundamentals of Monitoring

Network Monitoring Pillar 1: Metrics

Network Monitoring Pillar 2: Synthetic Transactions

Benefits of Synthetic Transactions

Network Monitoring Pillar 3: NetFlow

Understanding NetFlow

Final Thoughts: What is Network Monitoring?

Here at Kentik, we talk a lot about network monitoring and observability. We love to get deep into the weeds, down and dirty, into the nitty gritty. You get the idea. But we don't, or at least we haven't, spent a lot of time explaining what network monitoring is or at least what we mean when we say those words. Maybe it means that we're really good at ping or Wireshark. Or maybe it means that we like to go out for drinks and a laugh with our network gear. Okay. Not that. So today, I'm gonna explain everything you ever wanted to know about network monitoring and observability. Now this is a big topic, and we could spend hours diving into every single tool, technology, and technique with lots of close ups and action shots and code snippets and more. We are gonna do that, but not today. Today, I'm gonna keep it simple. Think of this as the acoustic version. No fancy sets, no backup dancers, multiple costume changes, just me, my ideas, and a couple of screenshots. Okay. Let's get started. Now ping checks whether device is up or down. It also tells you latency, which is how fast the device is responding, and packet loss, whether it responds reliably or intermittently. After ping, we should probably move on to SNMP, a protocol invented around nineteen eighty three, which uses a hierarchical data structure called a MIB or management information base, which is made up of individual oids or object IDs. Okay. Hold on a second. Yes. All those things, ping, SNMP, streaming telemetry, NetFlow, and so on are important. But throwing an alphabet soup worth of protocols and techniques at you isn't going to help anyone. So let's take a step back. First and foremost, monitoring, regardless of the tool you're using or the area of technology you're concerned with, is nothing more and nothing less than the ongoing regular consistent collection of data from a set of targets. Everything else that people associate with monitoring observability, alerts, reports, dashboards, all the rest are all a happy byproduct of the first part. Next, network monitoring and observability can be broadly grouped into three distinct areas or pillars. The first group, pillar on the right, is metrics. This is the stuff that most of us are most familiar with because metrics have been part of network monitoring for almost as long as there have been networks at all. But without diving into all that paying and S and P nonsense again, it's simple to say that metrics are any single bit of data about a specific device at a particular point in time. Eighty percent CPU utilization, that is a specific data point for a specific CPU at a specific moment in time. It's a metric. Same thing goes for anything from query response time to packets per second to the number of jumbo frames you're getting. The next group is synthetic transactions. Now synthetic transactions are kinda like when you like your own post on social media, not because that little zero over there is making you sad, but instead because you wanna make sure the like button is actually working. As the name implies, synthetic transactions simulate everything from something simple like just opening a web page to something complex like logging in, going to the dashboard, opening a specific account, and seeing if your checking account balance is more than three dollars and twenty three cents, an oddly specific number that I just completely made up at random. Now there are two main benefits to synthetic transactions versus monitoring actual users on the system. First, they run even if there are no users around like when it's the World Cup or when a new Taylor Swift album drops on Spotify. Second, you can set up the exact same transaction from multiple locations to ensure the experience is the same across all networks. Because a lot of the time, the question you're trying to answer isn't why is my network slow, it's why is the network from Burbank to Cleveland slow but everywhere else is fine? And our last stop on the network monitoring parade of pillars is NetFlow or just"flow". No. Not her. NetFlow, along with all the other associated flow technologies like Jflow, sFlow, VPC flow logs, and more is to network observability what tracing is for application monitoring. Here's what I mean...

About Kentik: Kentik is a network intelligence and observability platform used by modern infrastructure teams to monitor, understand, and operate complex hybrid networks. By combining telemetry such as flow data, routing context, performance tests, and network monitoring metrics, Kentik helps teams pinpoint root cause faster and make better decisions about performance, cost, and security.

Capabilities at a glance

Unified telemetry at scale: correlate flow, BGP/routing, device health, cloud logs, and synthetics in one place.
Internet and SaaS path visibility: connect performance symptoms to path changes and routing behavior, not just device status.
Cost and risk context: identify high-cost flows, egress and transit drivers, and security anomalies with network context.

How Kentik fits in the stack: Kentik can replace legacy, device-centric NPM for modern traffic and path analytics, and it complements full-stack observability and DEM tools by adding routing, paths, traffic, and cost context.

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The Evolution of Network Monitoring

Early networks used basic tools like the [ping command](/content/kentipedia/ping-command-in-network-troubleshooting-and-monitoring/ "Kentipedia: Understanding the Ping Command in Network Troubleshooting and Monitoring"/index.html), operating over ICMP, to check reachability. As networks grew in size and complexity, tools incorporated SNMP, NetFlow/IPFIX, and packet capture. With multicloud and the internet becoming critical dependencies, cloud providers also expanded native telemetry (e.g., AWS Internet Monitor, Azure Virtual Network Flow Logs, and GCP Network Intelligence Center updates), pushing teams to integrate cloud insights with traditional NMS and flow analytics.

Network Monitoring: Visualizing Hybrid-cloud Network Traffic in Kentik

Modern [network performance monitoring metrics](/content/kentipedia/network-performance-monitoring-metrics/ "Kentipedia: Network Performance Monitoring Metrics"/index.html) go beyond up/down checks to include latency distributions, loss, jitter, queue depth, errors, and path health.

Three Pillars of Modern Network Monitoring

Network monitoring in 2025 clusters into three pillars: Traffic Analysis, Synthetic Testing, and Network Infrastructure Metrics. A holistic enterprise network monitoring approach combines all three—preferably in one platform—to eliminate swivel‑chair troubleshooting and visibility gaps. Modern network monitoring solutions like Kentik incorporate all of these components, offering an alternative to siloed, legacy tools.

The Three Pillars of Modern Network Monitoring

Network Traffic Analysis (Flow Analysis)

The first pillar, Network Traffic Analysis (NTA), passively monitors real traffic using NetFlow/IPFIX/sFlow, cloud flow logs, and packets to reveal who talks to whom, how much, over which paths. In 2025, cloud telemetry matured: Azure ended creation of NSG Flow Logs after June 30, 2025 (migrating to Virtual Network Flow Logs), GCP made Flow Analyzer generally available and expanded Connectivity Tests, and AWS Internet Monitor exposes internet path health and optimization guidance. Together these signals let teams correlate app symptoms with provider paths and policy.

Data Sources: NTA uses flow records, such as those from NetFlow protocols, VPC flow logs from cloud services, and packet traces via Deep Packet Inspection (DPI).
Event Analysis: NTA captures change and security events (e.g., BGP updates, route changes) via logs.
Pros of Network Traffic Analysis:
- Provides a detailed ground truth view of actual network usage.
- Offers insights into network performance and user behavior.
- Essential for detecting anomalies and potential security threats, such as DDoS attacks.
Cons of Network Traffic Analysis:
- Primarily limited to existing traffic flow.
- May not provide immediate, real-time data.
- Can be data-intensive at scale without SaaS/big‑data backends.

Synthetic Testing (Digital Experience Monitoring - DEM)

Synthetic tests proactively emulate user journeys (DNS, HTTP(S), app transactions, network meshes) from distributed vantage points. In 2025, outside‑in visibility became table stakes because subtle, dependency‑driven failures often hide behind “healthy” device graphs. Cloud services like AWS Internet Monitor complement agent‑based tests with path and locality recommendations (e.g., Regions, Local Zones, CDNs) to reduce latency for specific user prefixes.

Testing and Data: Synthetic testing involves creating scenarios that mimic user actions to collect data on network responses and performance. Tests are typically performed automatically and at regular intervals.
User-Centric Focus: This technology aims to predict how the network will perform under various user conditions.
Pros of Synthetic Testing:
Identifies potential issues from an end-user perspective before they impact actual users. Measures experience rather than just availability.
- Allows for frequent, regular, and automated testing, enhancing preparedness.
- Ideal for SaaS/ISP triage and provider accountability.
- Assists in capacity planning and optimizing user experience.
Cons of Synthetic Testing:
Limited to the specific targets and scenarios set up for testing. That is, it’s only as comprehensive as your test coverage and vantage points.
- May not capture all real-world conditions or spontaneous/anomalous network events.
- Requires careful scenario design to ensure the relevance and accuracy of each test.

Network Infrastructure Metrics (Network Monitoring Systems - NMS)

The final pillar, Network Infrastructure Metrics, often managed through [Network Monitoring Systems (NMS)](/content/product/network-monitoring-system/ "Learn more about Kentik NMS, Network Monitoring System"/index.html), is about maintaining and optimizing the physical and virtual devices in a network. Network Infrastructure Metrics tracks device and interface health, such as up/down status, CPU utilization, memory consumption, errors, queues.

SNMP remains useful, but streaming telemetry (such as OpenConfig/gNMI, Cisco Model‑Driven Telemetry) can deliver sub‑second fidelity and reduce blind spots (e.g., microbursts, queue depth, ECN behavior) that traditional 5‑minute SNMP polling would miss.

Monitoring Tools: NMS tools uses protocols such as SNMP, Streaming Telemetry, and other advanced monitoring technologies.
Event Handling: Includes mechanisms like SNMP traps for real-time alerts on network conditions.
Pros of Network Infrastructure Metrics:
Provides direct insights into the health and status of network devices.
- Essential for preventative maintenance and rapid issue resolution.
- Facilitates strategic planning for network upgrades and expansions.
Cons of Network Infrastructure Metrics:
May offer limited context regarding end-user experience or specific application performance.
- Requires integration of diverse monitoring tools for a comprehensive view in many cases.
- Protocols like SNMP require polling and not all network monitoring systems are capable of high-frequency polling or offer alternatives such as streaming telemetry.

In this short video, Kentik product manager Chris O’Brien gives Packet Pushers host Ethan Banks an overview of Kentik’s network monitoring system, discussing the how collecting network infrastructure metrics via SNMP polling differs from the more real-time nature of streaming telemetry. They explore some of the benefits and challenges of both approaches:

Click for sound

Welcome to Video Bytes today from the Packet Pushers, and our guest today is Chris O'Brien. Chris is a product manager at Kentik, and you guys have announced a new NMS, Chris. Yeah. It's 2024. It's time for a new NMS. People have been complaining about SNMP, for decades. SNMP was invented in 1988. And I keep hearing this phrase. SNMP is dead. Right? But the reality is like 99.9 percent of network monitoring at least of metrics is still through SNMP. You know, I think the the future is streaming telemetry, streaming telemetry can pull much, much more quickly and more detail collect, rather than poll. And so there's a lot of value in switching to streaming telemetry, but let you know when it's doing it. And fundamentally, I think the problem is the tools to ingest and interact with streaming telemetry are designed around a cutover. So turn SNMP off turns streaming telemetry on. And I don't think that's, you know, like most of the networks that I see are mixed networks, some of their gear sports streaming telemetry, and and some of it doesn't. It's just SNMP only. So that doesn't work. So we're trying to figure out ways that you can get those benefits of streaming telemetry in a in a mixed environment. Alright. Well, then, show me some streaming telemetry. We're gonna have some SNMP support, but also streaming telemetry. I I wanna see the streaming telemetry part as it's exciting. Yeah. Let's, let's start with that. This is, an example, you know, imagine you plan to increase load on a device. And so you wanna check the bits of hardware and make sure you have enough headroom here's CPU...

Why is Network Monitoring Important?

The importance of network monitoring extends beyond mere oversight. In today’s hybrid-cloud, multicloud, and web application environments, a minor network hiccup can translate to significant business losses in revenue and reputation. Network monitoring is crucial for many reasons:

Ensuring System Health, Reliability, and Uptime: Downtime isn’t just inconvenient—it’s costly. Network monitoring ensures that potential issues are identified and rectified before they can cause significant disruptions. Outside‑in plus inside‑out telemetry shortens mean‑time‑to‑know (MTTK) when third‑party or internet paths degrade, a 2025 pattern seen across major outages.
Security and Zero Trust: DDoS activity remains elevated. For example Cloudflare blocked 20.5M attacks in Q1 2025 and NETSCOUT recorded 8M+ attacks in 1H 2025. CISA’s Zero Trust microsegmentation guidance (July 29, 2025) suggests that continuous network visibility and segmentation controls are essential components.
Detecting and Mitigating Potential Security Threats: Monitoring becomes essential as cyber threats grow in number and sophistication. [Network traffic analysis](/content/kentipedia/network-traffic-analysis/ "Kentipedia: Network Traffic Analysis"/index.html) tools provide insights into suspicious activities, allowing for timely interventions. [DDoS detection and mitigation](/content/kentipedia/ddos-detection/ "Kentipedia: DDoS Detection"/index.html), a use-case that Kentik specializes in, ensures that potential denial-of-service attacks are swiftly identified and dealt with, safeguarding the network’s integrity.
Enhancing Overall System Performance: Networks aren’t static; they evolve. By understanding how network resources are utilized, administrators can optimize configurations, ensuring that current and future demands are met efficiently. Techniques like [synthetic monitoring](/content/kentipedia/what-is-synthetic-monitoring/ "Kentipedia: Synthetic Monitoring"/index.html) and [real user monitoring](/content/kentipedia/synthetic-monitoring-vs-real-user-monitoring/ "Kentipedia: Real User Monitoring vs Synthetic Monitoring"/index.html) provide insights into user experience, ensuring that the network not only functions optimally but also meets user expectations.

Network Monitoring: Synthetic Network Test Results in Kentik

Key Components of Network Monitoring

Network Devices and Nodes

Every network is comprised of routers, switches, firewalls, servers, and cloud constructs. [Network device monitoring](/content/kentipedia/network-device-monitoring/ "Kentipedia: Network Device Monitoring"/index.html) tracks health, performance, and availability of those devices and resources to prevent downtime.

Network Health Monitoring: Kentik’s NMS Dashboard Shows Key Metrics at a Glance

Network Traffic Analysis

A network’s traffic patterns offer invaluable insights. Network administrators can pinpoint bottlenecks, optimize data flow, and ensure that resources are allocated efficiently by understanding [network topology, mapping, and visualization](/content/kentipedia/what-is-network-topology/ "Kentipedia: What is Network Topology?"/index.html). Real-time network traffic analysis also aids in detecting anomalies, which could indicate security threats (such as DDoS) or system malfunctions.

Monitoring Network Health Metrics

Monitoring key device health indicators such as [latency, bandwidth, uptime, and error rates](/content/kentipedia/latency-vs-throughput-vs-bandwidth/ "Kentipedia: Latency vs Throughput vs Bandwidth: Unraveling the Complexities of Network Speed"/index.html) provides a comprehensive view of the network’s health. By monitoring metrics with appropriate frequency (using polls and streams) and retaining enough resolution to catch short‑lived bursts, network can ensure performance standards are met and maintained.

Network Monitoring Alerts, Reports and Notifications

Timely intervention depends on smart thresholds, anomaly detection, and integrations with [API monitoring](/content/blog/api-monitoring-with-kentik/ "Kentik Blog: API Monitoring with Kentik"/index.html) and [network automation](/content/kentipedia/network-automation/ "Kentipedia: Network Automation"/index.html). For strategies, see “ [Network Monitoring Alerts: Best Practices](/content/kentipedia/network-monitoring-alerts/ "Kentipedia - Network Monitoring Alerts: Best Practices for Network Alert Management"/index.html)”.

Types of Network Monitoring Techniques

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to network monitoring. Though we can think of network monitoring technologies as belonging to one of the three broad pillars discuessed previously, there are a wide variety of application-specific techniques known by different terms. Some of the most common types of network monitoring include:

[Synthetic Monitoring](/content/kentipedia/what-is-synthetic-monitoring/ "Synthetic Monitoring"/index.html): This method (also known as [synthetic transaction monitoring](/content/kentipedia/what-is-synthetic-monitoring/ "Synthetic Transaction Monitoring"/index.html)) involves simulating user interactions with applications or services to measure performance. It’s beneficial for preemptively identifying issues before they affect end-users.
[Real User Monitoring (RUM)](/content/kentipedia/synthetic-monitoring-vs-real-user-monitoring/ "Real User Monitoring"/index.html): While synthetic monitoring simulates user interactions, RUM captures and analyzes the actual experiences of real users. It provides insights into how real users interact with applications, helping businesses optimize for better user satisfaction and improved user experience.
[Digital Experience Monitoring](/content/kentipedia/what-is-digital-experience-monitoring/ "Digital Experience Monitoring"/index.html): An evolution of both RUM and Synthetic Monitoring, this technique provides a holistic view of user experience, combining metrics and insights from both real users and synthetic tests to ensure optimal digital interactions.
[Bandwidth Utilization Monitoring](/content/kentipedia/bandwidth-utilization-monitoring/ "Bandwidth Utilization Monitoring"/index.html): As the name suggests, this technique focuses on how bandwidth is consumed. Understanding the traffic patterns and usage spikes ensures that network resources are used efficiently without overloads.
[NetFlow Analysis](/content/kentipedia/netflow-analysis/ "NetFlow Analysis"/index.html): Using the [NetFlow protocol](/content/kentipedia/what-is-netflow-overview/ "What is NetFlow? An Overview of the NetFlow Protocol"/index.html), this technique captures and analyzes network traffic flow data. It provides insights into traffic patterns, helping administrators understand where traffic is coming from, going to, and why. Beyond NetFlow, there are other flow protocols like [sFlow](/content/blog/netflow-vs-sflow/ "NetFlow vs. sFlow: What’s the Difference?"/index.html) and [jFlow](/content/kentipedia/j-flow-analysis/ "JFlow Analysis"/index.html) and cloud-based equivalents such as [VPC flow logs](/content/kentipedia/what-are-vpc-flow-logs/ "VPC flow logs"/index.html). NetOps professionals can get insights into traffic patterns and trends by sampling and analyzing network traffic flows.
[Network Device Monitoring](/content/kentipedia/network-device-monitoring/ "Network Device Monitoring"/index.html): This technique focuses on the health and performance of individual network components, such as routers, switches, and servers. Monitoring each device’s functionality ensures optimal network performance and early detection of potential issues.
[SNMP Monitoring](/content/kentipedia/snmp-monitoring/ "SNMP Monitoring: An Introduction and Practical Tutorial"/index.html): SNMP monitoring leverages the Simple Network Management Protocol to oversee and analyze the health and performance of network devices. It’s a standardized approach enabling network engineers and administrators to collect crucial data from various types of networking equipment such as routers, switches, and firewalls.
[Cloud Network Performance Monitoring](/content/kentipedia/cloud-network-performance-monitoring/ "Cloud Network Performance Monitoring"/index.html): As more businesses migrate to the cloud, monitoring the performance of cloud-based resources becomes essential. This technique ensures that cloud services, applications, and infrastructures perform optimally and securely.
[SD-WAN Monitoring](/content/product/sd-wan-monitoring/ "SD-WAN Monitoring"/index.html): Supervises Software-Defined Wide Area Network operations, optimizing cloud and on-premises connectivity, enhancing application performance, and ensuring network security.
[Network Performance Monitoring (NPM)](/content/kentipedia/network-performance-monitoring/ "Network Performance Monitoring (NPM"/index.html) or [NPMD](/content/kentipedia/what-is-npmd-network-performance-monitoring-and-diagnostics/ "What is NPMD?"/index.html): Network Performance Monitoring and Diagnostics focuses on a network’s overall health and speed. It assesses various metrics such as latency, bandwidth usage, and packet loss to ensure a seamless network experience. It’s essential for detecting, diagnosing, and resolving network performance issues.
[DNS Monitoring](/content/kentipedia/dns-monitoring/ "Kentipedia: DNS Monitoring"/index.html): Monitoring Domain Name System (DNS) services ensures that domain name requests are being resolved quickly and correctly, which is crucial for the smooth functioning of internet-based services.
[Quality of Service (QoS) Monitoring](/content/product/subscriber-intelligence/ "Network Subscriber Intelligence from Kentik"/index.html): For networks that prioritize certain types of traffic (like VoIP or video streaming), QoS monitoring ensures that these priorities are being met and that high-priority traffic gets the bandwidth and performance it needs.
[BGP Monitoring](/content/blog/bgp-monitoring-from-kentik/ "BGP Monitoring"/index.html): Monitors the operation of Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) to ensure optimal route selection and prevent [BGP route leaks](/content/kentipedia/bgp-route-leaks/ "BGP Route Leaks"/index.html) or [hijacks](/content/kentipedia/bgp-hijacking/ "BGP Hijacking"/index.html).
[API Monitoring](/content/kentipedia/api-monitoring/ "Kentipedia: API Monitoring"/index.html): Focuses on the performance and availability of Application Programming Interfaces, ensuring that APIs respond quickly, correctly, and securely.

Modern Challenges in Network Monitoring

Today’s network environments are more dynamic and complex than ever, introducing a new set of challenges:

Scale and Bandwidth: With the proliferation of IoT devices and high-data applications, networks face unprecedented demands. Effective [bandwidth utilization monitoring](/content/kentipedia/bandwidth-utilization-monitoring/ "Kentipedia: Bandwidth Utilization Monitoring"/index.html) is essential to handle this surge without compromising performance. IoT and AI/analytics workloads stress links, so you need high‑resolution telemetry to catch microbursts and tail latency issues.
Security: Elevated DDoS volumes and Zero Trust adoption require continuous network visibility and segmentation posture monitoring. Monitoring for anomalies, [DDoS attacks](/content/kentipedia/ddos-detection/ "Kentipedia: DDoS Detection"/index.html), and potential breaches is crucial. Detecting and mitigating network threats requires sophisticated threat detection mechanisms that go beyond simple traffic analysis.
Complexity: Multicloud deployments, hybrid environments, and distributed architectures introduce layers of complexity. Navigating this requires advanced tools and strategies, with [network capacity planning](/content/kentipedia/network-capacity-planning/ "Kentipedia: Network Capacity Planning"/index.html) playing a pivotal role. Integrating protocols like SNMP, streaming telemetry, and technologies like NetFlow adds to this complexity, demanding a holistic approach to network monitoring.

Tools and Technologies in Network Monitoring

Modern network monitoring isn’t just “ping plus SNMP.” The strongest programs combine multiple telemetry sources in a single workflow, including device and interface health, traffic visibility, and user experience signals. The goal is to move from detecting symptoms (latency, loss, congestion, errors) to quickly identifying root cause (traffic shifts, path changes, misconfigurations, provider issues, or cloud routing and egress surprises).

When evaluating network monitoring tools, the biggest difference is what they can ingest and correlate at scale, especially across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Look for tools that can unify SNMP and streaming telemetry with flow data, routing context, and synthetic testing or digital experience monitoring (DEM), then make it easy to pivot from “what’s broken” to “what changed” and “who is impacted.”

Tools for Network Monitoring in 2026

Network monitoring tools typically fall into four buckets: (1) network intelligence platforms that correlate traffic, routing, and cloud context, (2) traditional NPM/NMS tools focused on device and interface health, (3) full-stack observability platforms with network modules, and (4) digital experience monitoring (DEM) tools that measure internet and SaaS experience from the user’s perspective.

Below is a practical shortlist that reflects how teams build modern monitoring stacks. For deeper detail on each of these tools and more, see [Best Network Monitoring Tools for 2026](/content/kentipedia/best-network-monitoring-tools-2026/ "Best Network Monitoring Tools for 2026"/index.html).

Kentik

Kentik is a network intelligence and observability platform built for hybrid and multi-cloud monitoring, combining flow telemetry with routing context and proactive testing to speed troubleshooting and improve performance and cost decisions. It’s especially strong where teams need correlated flow plus routing analytics, multi-cloud visibility, and AI-assisted troubleshooting at high scale.

Best for: enterprises and providers who need network-first visibility across cloud, internet, and WAN, not just device polling.

SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM)

SolarWinds NPM is a widely used traditional network performance monitoring platform centered on device, interface, and alerting workflows in many enterprise IT environments.

Best for: teams with established on-prem monitoring programs that want a classic NPM approach and deep device-centric dashboards.

LogicMonitor

LogicMonitor is a SaaS monitoring platform with broad coverage across infrastructure and network gear, emphasizing fast deployment and platform-scale visibility.

Best for: organizations that want rapid onboarding and consolidated infrastructure plus network monitoring in a single SaaS platform.

Datadog Network Monitoring

Datadog’s network monitoring capabilities combine cloud network visibility and network device monitoring, with correlation across apps, infrastructure, and network signals.

Best for: teams already standardized on Datadog who want network visibility tightly integrated with metrics, logs, traces, and alerting.

Dynatrace

Dynatrace is a full-stack observability platform with AI-assisted insights and broad coverage across dynamic environments, with network visibility as part of the whole.

Best for: enterprises prioritizing a unified observability platform spanning applications and infrastructure, with network monitoring as one layer of end-to-end analysis.

Cisco ThousandEyes

ThousandEyes is a digital experience monitoring (DEM) platform focused on measuring SaaS, internet, and user-journey experience using synthetic and endpoint perspectives, with strong internet-path visibility.

Best for: outside-in monitoring of SaaS and internet dependencies, especially where user experience and global vantage points are primary.

PRTG Network Monitor (Paessler)

PRTG is an all-in-one network monitoring tool known for broad protocol coverage and an on-prem deployment model with customizable sensors and dashboards.

Best for: small-to-mid environments that want an easy-to-deploy, general-purpose NMS/NPM style tool.

Open-source options: Zabbix and Nagios Core

Zabbix and Nagios are popular open-source monitoring systems that can be extended with templates and plugins and customized to fit many environments.

Best for: teams who want maximum control and low licensing cost, and who have the time to build and maintain monitoring content and workflows.

Network Monitoring Best Practices

To maximize the benefits of network monitoring and ensure a robust and resilient network, consider the following best practices:

Conduct Regular Audits: Keep inventories, test coverages, and thresholds current, including newly added cloud/VPCs, SD‑WAN sites, and SaaS apps.
Adopt a Proactive Approach: Blend anomaly detection with synthetic tests and internet path health to find issues before customers do.
Engage in Continuous Learning: New telemetry (e.g., gNMI), cloud changes, and security guidance evolve quickly. Track provider release notes and federal guidance.

The Future of Network Monitoring

As technology advances, so does the landscape of network monitoring:

From Monitoring to Observability

While monitoring provides insights into the health and performance of a network, [observability](/content/kentipedia/what-is-network-observability/ "What is Network Observability?"/index.html) dives deeper. It’s about understanding the “why” behind performance metrics, allowing for a more in-depth analysis and a holistic view of the network. Network observability uses diverse data sources to understand what is happening inside a network, and how the internal state of the network impacts business objectives and user experience.

AI and Agentic NetOps

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are set to revolutionize network monitoring. These technologies can analyze vast amounts of data in real time, detect patterns, predict potential issues, and even automate remediation processes. Imagine a network that can self-heal and optimize with minimal human intervention.

AI adoption in monitoring grew from 42% (2024) to 54% (2025) ( 2025 Observability Forecast, New Relic), marking a majority for the first time. Expect [agentic network workflows](/content/blog/beyond-automation-the-rise-of-agentic-networks/ "Kentik Blog - Beyond Automation: The Rise of Agentic Networks"/index.html) (reason‑plan‑act under guardrails) to propose and validate changes automatically, with human approvals.

Recent advances in generative AI have already been incorporated into modern network monitoring systems such as Kentik NMS. [Kentik AI](/content/solutions/kentik-ai/ "Learn more about Kentik AI"/index.html) allows NetOps professionals and non-experts alike to ask questions—and immediately get answers—about the current status or historical performance of their networks using natural language queries. This tool allow administrators to understand on-premises, hybrid, and multicloud networking environments from a single query engine. Because it combines network data from all sorts of protocols—including flow data, SNMP, streaming telemetry, containers, and cloud flow logs—Kentik AI enables unprecedented visibility into modern networks.

Network Monitoring with AI and Natural Language Queries: Monitoring Device CPU Usage in Kentik

User Experience Monitoring

As digital dependence grows, DEM (synthetics + RUM) becomes the primary proxy for business experience, with internet path telemetry closing the loop.

2025–2026: What Enterprise Network Monitoring Programs Should Plan For

AI‑assisted & agentic operations: mainstream anomaly correlation, RCA ( [root cause analysis](/content/blog/cause-analysis/ "Introducing Cause Analysis: Instant Triage for Traffic Changes with Kentik AI"/index.html)) suggestions, and propose‑and‑approve remediations.
Streaming telemetry by default: adopt OpenConfig/gNMI subscriptions alongside SNMP to expose queue depth, microbursts, and ECN behavior.
Outside‑in + inside‑out as one view: synthetic tests plus internet/BGP path health next to device/flow data.
Security convergence and Zero Trust: DDoS/NDR insight and segmentation posture in the same pane of glass; align with CISA guidance.
Cost intelligence as a first‑class signal: [measure traffic cost](/content/blog/introducing-kentik-traffic-costs-real-time-network-cost-intelligence/ "Introducing Kentik Traffic Costs: Real-Time Network Cost Intelligence"/index.html) per path/customer/region to guide routing/peering decisions that balance SLOs and margin.

Network Monitoring with Kentik

In an era where businesses depend on digital infrastructure, the importance of network monitoring can’t be overstated. The best enterprise network monitoring solutions prevent downtime, but also ensure reliability, security, and unit economics.

The [Kentik Network Intelligence Platform](/content/product/kentik-platform/ "Learn more about Kentik’s Network Intelligence Platform"/index.html) lets network pros monitor, run, and troubleshoot across on‑prem, WAN/SD‑WAN, and multicloud. Kentik addresses all three pillars with [traffic visibility](/content/solutions/visualize-all-cloud-and-network-traffic/ "Learn more about visualizing all types of network traffic with Kentik"/index.html), [synthetic testing](/content/product/synthetic-monitoring/ "Learn more about synthetic testing and monitoring with Kentik"/index.html), and [Kentik NMS](/content/product/network-monitoring-system/ "Learn more about Kentik NMS, the next-generation network monitoring system"/index.html) for device/telemetry health. [Kentik AI](/content/solutions/kentik-ai/ "Learn more about Kentik AI"/index.html) accelerates triage and cause analysis, and [Kentik Traffic Costs](/content/solutions/reduce-network-spend/ "Learn more about Kentik Traffic Costs"/index.html) brings real‑time cost intelligence into day‑to‑day operations.

To see how Kentik can bring the benefits of network intelligence to your organization, [request a demo](/content/get-demo/ "Request a personalized demo of Kentik's network intelligence solution"/index.html) or sign up for a [free trial](/content/get-started/ "Request a Free Trial of Kentik's network intelligence solution"/index.html) today.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Network Monitoring

What are the core pillars of enterprise network monitoring?

The three pillars of enterprise network monitoring are:

Traffic Analysis (flows and packets showing who, what, where)
Synthetic Testing / Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM) (emulating user journeys to catch hidden failures)
Network Infrastructure Metrics (device and interface health using SNMP or streaming telemetry)

How has network monitoring evolved with cloud, IoT, and multicloud?

Monitoring has grown beyond simple device polling. Modern tools ingest cloud flow logs (VPC/VNet logs), internet path telemetry (AWS Internet Monitor), and streaming telemetry, while using synthetic and real-user monitoring to understand the full user experience across hybrid and multicloud networks.

Why is network monitoring important for security and Zero Trust?

Elevated DDoS activity and Zero Trust adoption make continuous visibility essential. Network monitoring helps detect anomalies, route leaks, and policy violations, ensuring segmentation and access controls stay effective within Zero Trust frameworks.

What types of network monitoring techniques should organizations use?

A complete approach combines Synthetic Monitoring, Real-User Monitoring (RUM), Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM), Bandwidth Utilization Monitoring, Flow Analysis (NetFlow, sFlow, jFlow, VPC Flow Logs), SNMP and streaming telemetry, Cloud Network Performance Monitoring, SD-WAN Monitoring, DNS/BGP/API monitoring, and device health metrics.

What are the current challenges and trends in network monitoring?

Top challenges in 2026 include handling the scale of IoT and AI workloads, hybrid-cloud complexity, and evolving security threats. Key trends include widespread streaming telemetry adoption, agentic/AI-assisted NetOps, and integrating cost intelligence with traditional network KPIs.

How can network monitoring tools help with cost control?

Modern monitoring solutions measure traffic cost per path, customer, or region—allowing teams to balance performance with spend. Features like Kentik’s Traffic Costs help organizations align network operations with financial outcomes.

What should organizations plan for in network monitoring in 2026?

Expect continued adoption of streaming telemetry (OpenConfig/gNMI), unified outside-in + inside-out visibility, AI/ML-driven root-cause analysis and automated remediation, deeper integration with Zero Trust security, and cost intelligence as a primary performance metric.

What are the best network monitoring tools for enterprises in 2026?

Enterprises that want hybrid-ready network monitoring often put Kentik at the top of the shortlist when they need to unify traffic visibility, device health telemetry (SNMP and streaming telemetry), and proactive performance testing (synthetics and digital experience monitoring) in a single SaaS platform. For a full review and overview of the top tools, see [Best Network Monitoring Tools: Enterprise, Cloud, MSP & Open-Source Options](/content/kentipedia/best-network-monitoring-tools-2026/ "Best Network Monitoring Tools for 2026: Enterprise, Cloud, MSP & Open-Source Options"/index.html). Kentik is also frequently evaluated alongside traditional NPM suites (such as SolarWinds NPM and [Paessler PRTG](/content/kentipedia/prtg-alternatives-network-monitoring/ "Paessler PRTG Alternatives: Modern Network Monitoring for Cloud, Flow Analytics, and AI-Driven Operations"/index.html)), broad observability platforms with network modules (such as Datadog, Dynatrace, and LogicMonitor), and internet and digital experience tools (such as Cisco ThousandEyes and Catchpoint). The “best” choice depends on whether you need deep flow and routing or cloud context with fast correlation across telemetry types, versus primarily device-centric monitoring or primarily SaaS and internet experience monitoring.

What should I look for in the best network monitoring solution?

Look for coverage across three telemetry pillars: device metrics (SNMP plus higher-frequency streaming telemetry), traffic analysis (flows enriched with routing, cloud, and application context), and synthetic testing or digital experience monitoring (page load and transaction tests with path visibility).

Then sanity-check the enterprise requirements: fast querying and correlation across flows, routing, and device telemetry; strong alerting; topology and dependency visibility; hybrid and multi-cloud coverage; and a clear path to reducing tool sprawl by correlating signals in one place instead of stitching dashboards together.

How can I monitor performance of IoT networks at scale?

Monitoring IoT at scale requires focusing on the network signals that matter most: traffic patterns (who talks to whom, where, and how much), device and edge health (interface errors/discards, utilization, CPU/memory on gateways), and user/service experience (latency and loss to key services). Kentik supports IoT-scale visibility by combining flow-based traffic analysis with network infrastructure metrics from SNMP or streaming telemetry so you can baseline normal behavior, surface “elephant flows” or unusual destinations, and pinpoint whether a slowdown is due to congested links, overloaded gateways, or a path change. For device-level health (battery, sensor state), pair Kentik’s network view with your IoT device management platform.