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Plamen Petkov

Plamen Petkov

Co-Founder & CEO, Extreme Labs

LinkedIn

Articles by Plamen

NetSense Network Map replaced Weathermap for Extreme IX

NetSense Network Map, Six Months In: What We've Shipped Since v1

Six months after the v1 launch, the NetSense Network Map has gained dynamic topology, version diffs, multi-node selection, flexible links, and Netbox sync. Two networks have already retired Weathermap entirely. Here's what shipped and what's next.

Sun May 10 2026
Upstream ISP transit link bandwidth graph showing increased traffic to particular Destination Networks and ASNs - DDoS flood coming from inside the ISP

How to Stop Outbound DDoS in ISP Networks

Detection is the easy part. The hard part is tracing a DDoS from a border IP all the way to the specific subscriber flooding a Chinese ASN — and containing it without killing upload speeds for every paying customer. Here's what we deployed across ISP customer networks in March 2026: automated tracing chains, per-subscriber nftables rate limits (including the ones that broke QUIC on day one), and the Quarantine BNG architecture.

Fri Apr 10 2026
Upstream transit link bandwidth graph showing outbound traffic spiking to 6 Gbps during an outbound DDoS attack from compromised ISP subscriber devices

The DDoS Was Coming From Inside the ISP Network

When multiple ISPs called us the same week about unexplained upstream congestion, we expected a peering issue. Instead, NetSense Flow revealed thousands of compromised subscriber devices launching coordinated outbound UDP floods toward Chinese ASNs. This is the story of how we diagnosed it — and why most ISP playbooks fail when the DDoS is coming from inside the network.

Thu Apr 02 2026
ONU Offline Troubleshooting Reasons

ONU Offline Troubleshooting: A Practical Guide for ISPs running FTTH

When a subscriber loses internet, the root cause is often an ONU going offline—but diagnosing why can take time if operators rely only on OLT CLI and scattered tools. In this guide, we walk through practical techniques for troubleshooting ONU outages in GPON networks, including how to identify power loss, optical faults, partial PON failures, and signal degradation using historical telemetry and network observability. Learn how ISPs can reduce troubleshooting time and quickly pinpoint whether the issue is a single customer, failing fiber, or a larger access network problem.

Sun Mar 08 2026
Network operations engineer monitoring ISP infrastructure on multiple screens, representing 20 years of real-world ISP network operations and lessons learned.

20 Years in the Trenches of ISP Networks: What Actually Matters

Twenty years of building ISPs teaches you what diagrams, certifications, and dashboards don’t. These are hard-earned lessons on monitoring, redundancy, automation, and customer experience — learned during real outages, under real pressure.

Fri Jan 30 2026
Partial PON Down to detect multiple ONTs(ONUs) Down because of fiber issues

Detecting Partial PON Port Failures Before Customers Call

Partial PON Port Down detection is now available in NetSense NMS. This new feature alerts you when multiple ONUs on a PON port go offline due to fiber issues—while the port itself is still reported as up. By distinguishing between customer-side power losses and real network-side problems, operators can act faster, improve troubleshooting, and deliver a better customer experience.

Sat Aug 30 2025
NetSense New Live Network and OLT Dashboards

Dashboards Are for Decisions, Not Decoration

We redesigned the NetSense Live Dashboard with a bold move: split OLTs and Switches into their own views and stripped away the noise. The result? A faster, clearer way to spot what matters — without digging.

Tue Jul 22 2025
NetSense Syslog integration

New Feature: Syslog Integration in NetSense NMS

NetSense NMS now includes Syslog integration, bringing centralized log management directly into your network monitoring workflow. Correlate network events with system logs for faster troubleshooting and complete visibility. Features include advanced search capabilities, visual message analysis, and real-time log streaming - all from a unified interface.

Sat Jun 14 2025
SaaS-based network monitoring for ISP PON/FTTx operators.

Your OLTs Need a Break - Put Monitoring in the Cloud

Self-hosting NMS boxes ties up CapEx and staff time just when PON and FTTx traffic is exploding. Netsense NMS flips the model: a private, operator-grade SaaS cloud that auto-discovers OLTs/ONTs, scales on demand and slashes MTTR. Your NOC focuses on customers, not servers.

Sat Jun 14 2025
Cut FTTH downtime in half with predictive maintenance, last-mile redundancy, real-time monitoring, and automated fault resolution powered by NetSense NMS.

7 Ways to Reduce FTTH Network Downtime

Frequent fiber outages can cost thousands per minute. Discover seven proven tactics-from AI-driven predictive maintenance to PON-level redundancy and automated TR-069 remediation-that keep FTTH networks online and customers happy.

Tue Jun 03 2025
carrier‑grade visibility-without carrier‑grade price tags.

How NetSense Was Born: From Customer Pain Points to Market Solution

Discover how NetSense NMS was born from real-world challenges faced by Excitel Broadband's FTTH migration and Extreme Labs' own Extreme IX network operations. Learn why we built a multi-vendor, scalable network monitoring solution when existing tools couldn't handle thousands of OLTs and millions of ONUs across diverse network infrastructures.

Thu May 22 2025