Network Performance Monitoring Solution

Network Performance Monitor (NPM) is a solution in Operations Management Suite that monitors network performance between office sites, data centers, clouds and applications in near real-time. It helps a Network Administrator locate and troubleshoot bottlenecks like network delay, data loss and availability of any network link across on-premises networks, Microsoft Azure VNets, Amazon Web Services VPCs, hybrid networks, VPNs or even public internet links.
About Operations Management Suite.
Operations Management Suite (OMS) is a cloud-based solution for IT management that gives operational insights by correlating the logs and performance data collected from any Operating System (Microsoft Windows as well as Linux) or application deployed in cloud (Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services) or on-premises.
It monitors IT infrastructure and provides more visibility and control by identifying and assessing security risks, automating administrative tasks using PowerShell, and cloud integrated backups for business continuity.
Network Performance Monitor.
Network Performance Monitor (NPM) is a network monitoring solution from the Operations Management Suite, that monitors networks. NPM monitors the availability of connectivity and quality of connectivity between multiple locations within and across campuses, private and public clouds. The solution uses synthetic transactions to test for reachability and can be used on any IP network, irrespective of the make and model of network routers and switches deployed.
How Network Performance Monitor works?
The solution does not require any access to network devices. Microsoft Monitoring Agent (MMA) or OMS extension (valid only for Virtual machines hosted in Azure) is to be installed on the servers in the Subnetworks that are to be monitored.
A video based demo of NPM is available online.
Synthetic Transactions.
NPM uses synthetic transactions to test for reachability and calculate network performance metrics across the network. Tests are performed, using either TCP or ICMP and users have the option of choosing between these protocols. Users must evaluate their environments and weigh the pros and cons of the protocols. The following is a summary of the differences.
A detailed write-up on the selection of the appropriate protocol is available on TechNet.
Timeline.
NPM Solution became generally available (GA). The launch was picked up by eWeek
NPM solution was announced in Public Preview
Operating Systems supported.
Client Operating Systems.
Windows 7 SP1 or later
Availability in Regions.
Network Performance Monitor is available in the following Azure regions:
Data collection frequency.
TCP handshakes every 5 seconds, data sent every 3 minutes
Pricing.
The Operations Management Suite website has information on pricing.