Digital End-User Experience (DEX) Application Network Experience Overview

[Christopher Ell]

In this article, we will discuss ServiceNow DEX Application Network Experience workflow. At the bottom of this post, you can find the demo video for Application Network Experience. 

Application Network Experience Overview

Application Network Experience is a feature that provides visibility into the performance and health of applications as they traverse different network paths. It monitors key metrics such as latency, packet loss, and jitter, enabling IT teams to track application performance across the entire network—from end-user devices to application servers.

ANE Use Cases

• Empower DEX engineers to proactively identify and resolve network/ app performance issues impacting end-user productivity and satisfaction
• Map traffic flow from employee devices to cloud apps identifying bottlenecks and latency loss.
• Filter network hops by criteria like latency and packet loss.
• Expand and view all hops with detailed performance metrics (latency, packet loss, jitter, etc.)

Key Components of Application Network Experience

• Hop-by-hop performance monitoring between network segments.
• End-to-end flow monitoring of applications.
• Alerting system based on threshold breaches for critical metrics.
• Detailed analysis of application behavior on the network for proactive troubleshooting.

How Does the Application Network Experience Help L2 Agents in Troubleshooting Alerts?

1. Early Detection of Issues:

ANE enables L2 agents to set specific thresholds for network metrics like latency, jitter, and packet loss. This ensures that they are notified immediately when any deviations occur, allowing them to proactively address issues before they impact the end-users.

2. Streamlined Troubleshooting:

L2 agents can quickly navigate to the hop view in the DEX dashboard to identify where network performance issues (like latency spikes or packet loss) occur. By pinpointing specific network hops that are causing degradation, they can resolve the root cause efficiently.

Example: For a Zoom video call issue, agents can trace network paths from users to servers, identifying bottlenecks and resolving misconfigurations or network mismanagement.

3. Detailed Metrics for Deep Analysis:

Metrics such as end-to-end latency, packet loss, and jitters are provided, offering a comprehensive understanding of network behavior. L2 agents can see trends over past 2 days, helping them predict and prevent future issues.

This holistic view of the network path enables quicker resolution of issues, avoiding prolonged service interruptions.

4. Faster Alert Resolution:

By providing hop-level data and context (e.g., device information, network gateways, and application specifics), ANE allows L2 agents to deflect the issue to the appropriate teams (like the Network Hop Team), expediting resolution time.

All relevant investigation notes and performance metrics are linked to the alert, creating a seamless handoff.

5. Proactive User Impact Prevention:

With ANE's proactive monitoring, L2 agents can resolve network performance issues before they escalate, improving user experience and preventing productivity losses.

Alerts generated for breached thresholds enable timely action, ensuring users experience minimal to no service degradation.

The End-to-End Workflow for Application Network Experience

Step 1: Configuring Thresholds for Network Alerts on DEX

Setting Alert Thresholds:

1. The DEX administrator configures thresholds for monitoring network performance metrics such as latency, jitter, and packet loss.
2. Example: The administrator sets a threshold to monitor ADP (Application) and two related domains. If network latency exceeds 200 ms for more than 20 users in an organization, an alert will be triggered.
3. Configuration includes the option to monitor the following:
   1. Network latency: 200 ms threshold.
   2. Jitters: 50 ms threshold.
   3. Packet loss: 3% threshold.

Domain-specific Monitoring:

1. Monitoring focuses on ADP and any two domains associated with ADP's critical services (e.g., authentication and payroll processing).

Step 2: Alert Generation

Alert Triggered:

1. DEX detects that the network latency for more than 20 users in an organization accessing ADP and its domains has breached the set 200 ms threshold.
2. An alert is automatically generated within DEX.
3. Alert Details:
   1. Affected application: ADP
   2. Domains affected: payroll.adp.com, auth.adp.com
   3. Number of affected users: 22
   4. Metrics breached: Latency (220 ms), Jitter (55 ms), Packet Loss (5%)
4. The alert is classified as Critical due to its impact on more than 20 users.

CI Record Attachment:

1. The alert is attached to related configuration item (CI) records within DEX, such as device information, gateway, WiFi/Ethernet details, and application (ADP) specifics.
2. Relevant context, including device IDs, network gateways, and hop data, is also linked to the alert for immediate access by DEX engineers.

Step 3: Investigating the Alert – Network Performance Analysis

Navigating to Device Pages:

1. A DEX engineer is notified of the alert and navigates to the Windows Device Page associated with the affected users.
2. They open the Network section and proceed to the App connection stability tab.

Viewing Performance Trends:

1. The engineer reviews network latency, jitter, and packet loss trends over the past two days.
2. They observe that:
   1. Latency spiked from 180 ms to 220 ms over the last 24 hours.
   2. Jitter increased from 40 ms to 55 ms, and packet loss reached 5%.
3. These trends confirm the performance degradation reported in the alert.

Step 4: Deeper Investigation – Hop View Data

Accessing Hop View:

1. To investigate the root cause, the engineer clicks on the Hop View tab.
2. The Hop View displays detailed network path data, showing each hop from the user’s device to the ADP servers.
3. Key information in Hop View:
   1. Number of hops: 6
   2. Device information: Windows OS, Device ID, connected via Ethernet
   3. Gateway details: Local gateway IP, last hop before ADP servers
   4. Application (ADP): Latency, jitter, and packet loss metrics for each hop
   5. WiFi/Ethernet details: Ethernet connection with stable link, but higher-than-usual latency observed at the gateway.

Identifying the Issue:

1. The engineer identifies that the main issue arises at hop 4, where the latency suddenly spikes to 210 ms.
2. Upon examining the gateway information, they notice that a misconfigured router at hop 4 is likely causing the increased latency and packet loss.

Step 5: Resolving the Alert

Taking Action:

1. The DEX engineer concludes that the network degradation is caused by the misconfiguration at hop 4 (gateway).
2. They deflect the alert to the Network Hop Team, providing them with detailed hop-level data and gateway information to expedite the fix.

Escalating the Issue:

1. The alert is tagged with all relevant CI records, hop view details, and performance metrics, allowing the Network Hop Team to quickly pinpoint the issue and resolve it.
2. The Network Hop Team adjusts the gateway configuration, reducing the latency to normal levels.

Step 6: Post-Resolution Monitoring

Monitoring After Resolution:

1. After the network issue is resolved, the DEX engineer continues to monitor the affected users for any additional performance anomalies.
2. The Performance Metrics section in DEX shows improved network latency and stable trends, indicating the issue has been fully resolved.

Closing the Alert:

1. Once the network is stable, the DEX engineer closes the alert in the system, attaching all relevant investigation notes and hop view data for future reference.

Learn more about Digital End-User Experience and the Application Network Experience by visiting our Network Experience Product Page.