Measuring Users’ Digital Experience with Catchpoint Internet Performance Monitoring (Sponsored)

·48 min·4 clips

IPM transforms network teams from reactive troubleshooters to proactive problem-solvers by monitoring the internet they don't own.

This episode explores Internet Performance Monitoring (IPM), a new category under Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM), with hosts Ethan Banks and Drew Conry-Murray interviewing Catchpoint representatives Ankit Kumar and Madan Gopal. The discussion defines IPM as providing visibility across the internet stack to understand end-user experience, contrasting it with traditional Network Performance Monitoring (NPM) that focuses on owned infrastructure. Catchpoint's guests explain that IPM is critical because the internet now functions as the enterprise network, supporting remote work, SaaS applications like Office 365, and cloud services from AWS and Azure. IPM addresses scenarios like a West Coast ISP blocking traffic to a specific CDN point-of-presence, impacting revenue and brand value. The method combines distributed synthetic monitoring using global agents that simulate user interactions, BGP route data analysis to detect hijacks or leaks, and real user monitoring (RUM) for metrics like page load times. Catchpoint's "Internet Sonar" product builds a real-time health map by triangulating data from active probes, API integrations with cloud providers, and BGP feeds. Enterprises can deploy private agents on VMs, routers, or even Raspberry Pis, as demonstrated by a global car manufacturer using them to monitor NTP synchronization across 800 locations. A hospital kiosk use case showed how agents with DSCP tagging can test QoS policies for latency-sensitive video translation services. One key insight is that IPM reduces troubleshooting "war rooms" by pinpointing whether issues originate in the network, a SaaS provider, or the application itself. The solution enables proactive monitoring, allowing teams to set baselines and alerts instead of reacting after user complaints. Automation integrations let SD-WAN controllers reroute traffic or load balancers shift regions based on IPM data, moving beyond reactive firefighting. Catchpoint's data can be consumed via dashboards, REST APIs, or webhooks, feeding into existing NPM tools for combined analysis. The platform helps avoid "finger-pointing" by providing evidence that external internet problems, not internal networks, are causing slowdowns. Guests emphasize that IPM complements rather than replaces NPM, using thresholds to prioritize incidents—like when 50% of synthetic tests fail alongside NPM alerts. The tone is educational and conversational, with hosts asking practical questions about deployment and integration. The style is technical yet accessible, using analogies like an air traffic controller managing skies they don't own. Network engineers managing hybrid or cloud-centric infrastructures would find this episode valuable for understanding modern monitoring challenges. IT leaders evaluating DEM solutions will gain clarity on IPM's role in ensuring application performance across uncontrolled internet paths. Listeners solely focused on traditional data center NPM without external dependencies might find the content less immediately relevant.

As heard by us

A practical reset for anyone trying to connect user complaints to the path actually failing.

Heavy Networking uses a sponsor-backed discussion to draw a clean line between Network Performance Monitoring, Digital Experience Monitoring, and Internet Performance Monitoring.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

When NPM says the network is healthy but users still feel friction, this gives you a better first question to ask.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Heavy Networking