Thousand Eyes AST provides support for both the desktop iteration of the Webex Meetings application and the mobile variant of the Webex application. However, the integration pertaining to Troubleshooting will only exhibit the network pathway for clientele who want to utilize the desktop edition of the Webex App.
How Thousand Eyes work in Troubleshooting
The network route provides information on the cumulative loss in round-trip, the latency experienced from the client to each intermediate node, and any delays encountered during the transition between consecutive nodes.
When a participant with a ThousandEyes endpoint agent installed on their device joins a meeting via the Webex App, they will observe a Network Path line shown under the Audio Quality section on the participant information page linked to their account. This statement presents details concerning the network path’s quality via which audio data is sent between the user’s client and the audio media node. Given that audio and video data typically follow a shared trajectory and are handled by a common media node, it is possible to gain insights on the quality of the user’s video content. The graph depicts the quality of the network path through the use of dashed lines. The selected intervals for the automated session test provide the foundation for each dashed line.
The loss percentage given by ThousandEyes in the Network Path refers to the loss that transpired prior to the implementation of application error recovery. Due to the potential capability of the application to retrieve certain lost packets during the process of retransmission, a substantial level of packet loss prior to error recovery may not inevitably indicate an unfavorable user experience. In instances of network instability, the Webex App will make efforts to retrieve dropped packets with the aim of enhancing the user’s overall experience.
The discrepancy between the round-trip loss and the packet loss value provided in the Audio Quality section arises from the evaluation of the latter after error recovery. The measurement of lost packets as a percentage, with respect to audio quality, provides a more accurate depiction of the actual user experience.
The commencement of the data gathering procedure for network pathways is triggered by ThousandEyes AST at the beginning of the meeting. Conversely, there exists the possibility of a delay of up to five minutes prior to the emergence of pertinent data inside the Troubleshooting area. In the case that the data has not yet loaded, it is advisable to refresh the website after a duration of five minutes when observing a live meeting.
Upon hovering the mouse over a dashed line, the user will be able to observe the average round-trip delay number for the specific interval. The variation in color is contingent upon the fulfillment or non-fulfillment of a specific threshold by the value. The process of determining thresholds encompasses the subsequent procedures:
- Poor (red)—> A delay of 400 milliseconds, or a round-trip loss exceeding 5%.
- Good (good)—A desirable condition for network performance is when the latency is below 300 milliseconds or there is little loss in the round-trip communication. The percentage is less than 3%.
- Fair (yellow)—The aforementioned statements do not pertain to my situation.
- Unknown (grey)—The data required by Control Hub from Thousand Eyes is presently inaccessible. There exists a possibility that the measure can still be retrieved through direct access to the Thousand Eyes dashboard.
To obtain further details on the path traversed by the hop to reach each node, users can access this information by selecting the pop-up window.
Network path route shows granular details for each node
The network path route provides a comprehensive overview of each node’s information that is connected through a hop, encompassing the specific details of the connection. The latency column provides the duration required for data to go from the client’s system to the subsequent hop. The connection delays provided in brackets denote the cumulative latency from the prior hop to the current hop.
User machine node details
This node presents information pertaining to the local network of the user’s machine.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | The identification of the user’s computer system. |
| IP Address | The IP address of the user’s machine. |
| Private IPv4 | The IPv4 network ensures the confidentiality of the user’s machine address. |
| Loss (round-trip) | Transmitting data packets during periods of network instability on the user’s machine. |
| Latency | The duration of latency encountered by the user’s machine from initiation to completion. |
| Jitter | The user is experiencing jitter on their own computer. |
| Location | The placement of the user’s PC within the network infrastructure. When the device is connected to a virtual private network (VPN), the displayed location will correspond to that of the VPN. Connection type node details |
This node offers details pertaining to the network connection type of the user’s system.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | The name of the connection to the network. |
| SSID | Identifier of the service set provided by the network. |
| Physical Mode | Type of physical mode the network is using. |
| Channel | Channel that is being utilized by the network. |
| Link Speed | Bandwidth speed that is being utilized by the network. |
| Location | Position of the user’s computer within the network. If the device is connected to a virtual private network (VPN), then it will display the location of the VPN instead. |
VPN node details
If the user’s machine was connected to a virtual private network (VPN), then you are able to view the specifics of the VPN that was utilized.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Name of the VPN. |
| VPN Gateway IP | Gateway IP that the VPN connected to. |
| VPN Type | Type of VPN used. |
Network node details
This node provides information regarding all of the hops that took place throughout the interval. If there is even one hop in the node that has a delay of more than 100 milliseconds, the node will be highlighted in red.
Due to the fact that unknown nodes do not respond to ICMP calls, there is no information displayed for those nodes.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Name of the hop. |
| IP Address | IP address of the hop. |
| Prefix | Prefix for the IP address of the hop. |
| Latency (Link Delay) | Number out of the brackets is the latency from the user’s machine to this hop. Number outside of the brackets is the latency from the last hop to this hop. |
| Network | Network of the hop. |
| Location | Location of the hop. |
Install and activate ThousandEyes
Before you begin
- You are required to do the following in Troubleshooting in order to view ThousandEyes network path data:In ThousandEyes, users can be assigned to a certain account group.
Install endpoint agents on any machines for which you want to access data in ThousandEyes.
Begin by selecting the agents to keep an eye on and then creating an automated session test for Webex. We strongly suggest that you organize an AST in the following manner:- Target—Webex
- Protocol—Auto detect with intervals as five minutes.
- Agents—All agents
- Max No. of Agents—5000
- ThousandEyes allows users to generate a token by navigating to the User API Tokens section, which can be found under Account Settings > Users and Roles > Profile.
- After you have finished all of the stages involved in the installation process for ThousandEyes, continue on with the steps that are presented here to enable the ThousandEyes integration in Control Hub.
- 1Log in to https://admin.webex.com, navigate to Organization Settings, and then scroll down until you reach the area labeled ThousandEyes.
- Set the switch that allows access to the ThousandEye API to the on position.
There is a new window that has popped up. - After copying the OAuth bearer token from the ThousandEyes User API Tokens section, paste it into the corresponding text box.
- If the token passes the validation test, then you are free to move on to the following stage. An error will appear in the event that the token is not validated. Check to see that the token corresponds with the token that was copied from the ThousandEyes User API tokens section.
- Click Activate.
What to do next
Users who have ThousandEyes endpoint agents installed on their computers will now be monitored whenever they join a meeting if the monitoring software is present on their computers.
View ThousandEyes data in Troubleshooting
- Go to the Troubleshooting section after logging in to https://admin.webex.com.
- Conduct a search for a user, and then choose a gathering.
- Simply select the user’s name to proceed.
- To display ThousandEyes network data, hover your mouse pointer over the dots in the Network Path.
- If you want to see more in-depth information on the network, you can click on the ThousandEyes icon to cross-launch into the ThousandEyes dashboard.
