Frequently asked questions
Monitoring and data
Section titled “Monitoring and data”Does NetSense support SNMP v3? Traps? NetSense polls SNMP v2c and does not use SNMP traps: the event channel is device syslog, which is faster and richer in practice. The recommended security pattern is v2c plus a device-side ACL permitting only the agent’s IP, which makes the community string unusable from anywhere else. See Security note in the SNMP troubleshooting guide.
How often is everything polled? Devices are polled roughly every minute, and the agent pings every device every second, so transient packet loss surfaces quickly. ONU online/offline counts refresh about every 3 minutes, with registered-ONU changes arriving in real time via syslog. The per-ONU Live Traffic view streams at a selectable 20/40/60-second interval.
Can NetSense run alongside my existing NMS (Zabbix, PRTG, Observium, Cacti…)? Yes, and that’s the normal way to evaluate it: run both, compare. You can reuse the same SNMP community your current NMS uses; polling is read-only and the two systems don’t interfere.
How long is data kept for offline things? An ONU that stays offline beyond the retention window (default 7 days, configurable) is purged; NetSense deliberately doesn’t remove them instantly, so a briefly-offline ONU doesn’t vanish. Down ports/links age out on the same 7-day principle and can be removed manually earlier.
Why don’t I see a “total ONUs” number including offline ones? NetSense can’t distinguish a permanently removed ONU from one that’s temporarily off, so it counts what it has seen online rather than inventing a total.
Product
Section titled “Product”Is NetSense a provisioning system? NetSense is monitoring-first: its job is deep visibility across OLTs, ONUs, switches and BNGs. CPE/ONT management (zero-touch provisioning, WiFi management, firmware campaigns, remote diagnostics) is covered by the companion NetSense TR-069 ACS module.
Is there an API? Yes, a full API: device status, ONU data and management operations, usable regardless of how the data was collected. Customers use it to power their own subscriber self-care apps (status checks, WiFi password change, reboot).
Is there a mobile app? There’s a mobile view built for field engineers, organized by site/POP so each engineer sees their own devices, and a native Android app currently in beta with iOS in progress. Ask us for early access.
A feature or menu disappeared after an update. Bug? Releases ship frequently and without downtime, and the usual cause is browser cache: do a hard refresh or log out/in, and check the changelog for what changed. Use Chrome or Edge for best results.
Why does login take a few seconds? By design: the session builds your full role and permission set once at login, and sessions are long-lived, so you pay those seconds rarely.
My vendor isn’t in the supported list. New vendor integrations are added on request, usually within days. See supported vendors and models.
Commercials
Section titled “Commercials”How does licensing count “nodes”? An OLT counts as its PON ports plus its ONUs (an 8-port OLT with 100 ONUs is 108 nodes); a switch counts only its ports. In practice pricing scales with ONU count, and the per-node price drops with volume. There’s a calculator on the pricing page and an in-product node-consumption report so you always know where you stand.
What’s the commercial model? Monthly OPEX subscription, no lock-in (one month’s notice). NetSense runs and maintains all infrastructure; the only thing on your side is the small agent VM, and we maintain that too.
Is there a free tier? Yes: free forever up to 1,000 nodes, no card and no time limit.
Deployment
Section titled “Deployment”Can one deployment cover multiple regions or companies? Yes. Large operators can be split into region tenants under one domain, and partner/LCO access can be scoped so each partner sees only their own devices, with their alarms routed to their own channel.
My remote sites have no connectivity to the agent’s network. Isolated management networks can be reached over a VPN tunnel (WireGuard/SSTP) so a single agent still covers them. Ask us during setup.