Network Path Monitoring
Network Path monitoring lets you define ordered checkpoints along your network — routers, switches, servers — and probes them to isolate the exact failure point when something goes down.
Available on: Business and Enterprise plans Default frequency: Every 5 minutes (configurable per path)
How it works
Unlike uptime monitoring which checks a single URL, Network Path monitoring probes multiple devices in sequence to determine where along your infrastructure a failure is occurring.
- Define your path — Create a named network path and add devices in order from front to back (e.g. Edge Router → Core Switch → Application Server).
- Back-to-front probing — Pulsewise probes from the last device backwards. If the last device is unreachable, we check the previous one to find where connectivity breaks.
- Failure isolation — The first unreachable device in the chain is identified as the failure point.
Example
You define three devices:
| Position | Device | IP |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edge Router | 203.0.113.1 |
| 2 | Core Switch | 203.0.113.2 |
| 3 | Application Server | 203.0.113.3 |
If the Application Server (position 3) is unreachable but the Core Switch (position 2) responds, Pulsewise identifies the failure as being between the Core Switch and Application Server.
Protocols
Network Path monitoring supports two protocols:
ICMP (Ping)
The default protocol. Sends an ICMP echo request (ping) to each device and waits for a response. This is the simplest option and works for most devices.
Requirements: Your network devices must allow inbound ICMP from Pulsewise's public IP addresses.
TCP
Connects to a specific TCP port on each device. Useful when ICMP is blocked but a known service port is open (e.g. port 80, 443, or 22).
Requirements: The specified port must be reachable from Pulsewise's public IP addresses.
Firewall configuration
For Network Path monitoring to work, your network devices must allow inbound connections from Pulsewise's monitoring servers. See the Public IPs page for a complete list of IP addresses to whitelist.
Path status
Each network path has one of four statuses:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Healthy | All devices in the path are reachable |
| Degraded | Some devices are unreachable, but at least one responds |
| Down | No devices in the path are reachable |
| Pending | Waiting for the first check to complete |
Check frequency
You can configure the check interval per path. Available intervals:
- Every 1 minute
- Every 2 minutes
- Every 5 minutes (default)
- Every 10 minutes
- Every 15 minutes
- Every 30 minutes
Setting up a network path
- Navigate to the Network Path page for your site.
- If monitoring is not yet enabled, you'll see a setup wizard. Create your first path by entering a name, selecting a protocol, and choosing a check interval.
- Add at least 2 devices to the path. For each device, provide a name and IP address.
- Once a path has 2 or more devices, click Start Monitoring to enable the check.
- After setup, you can manage paths and devices from the Settings tab.
Device limits
- Up to 10 network paths per site
- Up to 20 devices per path
Notifications
Pulsewise sends notifications when a path's status changes:
| Notification | Severity | When |
|---|---|---|
| Network Path Degraded | Warning | Path status changed to degraded — some devices unreachable |
| Network Path Down | Critical | Path status changed to down — all devices unreachable |
| Network Path Recovered | Info | Path status returned to healthy |
Snoozing alerts
If you're performing planned network maintenance, you can snooze Network Path alerts for a specific duration. During the snooze period, checks continue running but notifications are suppressed.
Response times
Each check records the response time for every reachable device. This helps you identify devices with high latency even when the path is technically healthy.