Operations | Monitoring | ITSM | DevOps | Cloud

A while ago, your company chose a network monitoring tool that worked perfectly — back when most employees worked in the office, networks were centralized, applications ran on-premise, and "the cloud" was just a buzzword.

Zoom has become a lifeline for remote work, virtual meetings, and online collaboration. But even the best tools can crumble when network performance takes a hit. For remote users, nothing is more frustrating than a Zoom call that freezes, lags, or drops mid-conversation. The truth is, most Zoom (or AWS because Zoom is supported by AWS) performance issues aren’t caused by the platform itself — they’re rooted in network problems.

Imagine you're on an important Zoom call, and suddenly, your voice starts cutting out, or your video freezes mid-sentence. Frustrating, right? One of the sneaky culprits behind this issue is outbound packet loss, when data packets leaving your network never make it to their destination. Outbound packet loss can wreak havoc on voice calls, video meetings, online gaming, and cloud apps, making everything feel laggy or unresponsive.

If you’ve ever found yourself asking questions like: Why is my Internet acting weird? What is going on with the Wi-Fi? Is the network down for anyone else? Is everything down? Why is there weird behaviour with Teams and Outlook? When there is a network outage, what EXACTLY does that mean? How to troubleshoot/diagnose cause of Internet outages? How to tell if Internet outage is ISP or issues with my network? Why do I have intermittent Network Outages consistently lasting 30 seconds?

Traditional centralized networks are a thing of the past—distributed networks have taken over. Why? Because they’re built to handle today’s cloud-based services and SaaS apps way more effectively. In a world where businesses operate across the globe and data moves in real time, distributed networks have become the foundation of modern IT.

Welcome to the world of networking, where seamless connections keep businesses running smoothly. Today, we’re diving into a common but often misunderstood issue: jitter. You might be wondering, what exactly is jitter? Simply put, it’s the variation in packet arrival times that can cause choppy video calls, laggy VoIP conversations, and disrupted online experiences.

Jitter is one of the most common (and frustrating) network issues, impacting both individuals and businesses. Whether it's choppy video calls, laggy online meetings, or inconsistent VoIP quality, jitter can quickly derail productivity and communication. But before jumping straight into troubleshooting, it's essential to understand what actually causes jitter in the first place.

Network monitoring protocols are essential for keeping your network running smoothly. They are data-collection and analysis techniques that provide insights into the health of your network and can help you identify and fix network problems before they cause major disruptions. Think of your network like a city's road system: data packets are cars, routers are traffic lights, and switches are intersections.

At Obkio, we believe in using our resources to give back to organizations that make the world a better place. That’s why we launched our NPO Plan—a program designed to help non-profits access advanced Network Performance Monitoring at a significantly reduced cost. By offering our services to non-profits at a fraction of the price, we help them to focus on what matters most—supporting their missions, rather than worrying about IT costs.