ThousandEyes is an active network management tool unlike any other on the market. The truly remarkable capability of ThousandEyes lies in its ability to set up monitoring and testing from different agents. In this blog, we will explore what these agents are - and how you put them to use.
There are three key types of agents used in ThousandEyes:
- Cloud Agents
- Enterprise Agents, and
- Endpoint Agents.
Each of these agent types serves a slightly different purpose, and in the sections below, we will delve deeper into their functions.
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Cloud Agents
The ThousandEyes Cloud Agents are not installed by the user. These agents are available within ThousandEyes and deployed on ThousandEyes infrastructure globally.
The agents are provided by ThousandEyes - you can choose which tests to run on them.
Why is this beneficial?
It allows you to test environments such as your Microsoft Teams setup from outside your network, potentially closer to the source of the traffic itself.
For instance, if you are based in Sydney, you might have a cloud monitor operating in Sydney. However, if your service is delivered from a data centre in the US, you could also test it from a nearby cloud agent in the US.
This capability of ThousandEyes is particularly useful because it enables you to determine whether issues lie within your network, your WAN link, or even your international WAN.
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Enterprise Agent
Closer to home are enterprise agents.
Unlike cloud agents, which are installed on infrastructure external 
to your environment, enterprise agents are installed within your environment. Typically, these are installed on appliances.
For example, that appliance might be something like a Meraki MX Firewall, a NUC, or a container inside your network.
Considering the capability of the enterprise agent, it is extremely advantageous to have an agent deployed right at your network edge on your Meraki Firewall.
This allows you to measure and monitor everything from your firewall outwards, effectively eliminating the need to monitor everything inside your network. It is also beneficial to deploy more than one enterprise agent within your network.
For instance, the enterprise agent installed on your Meraki Firewall measures from the WAN outwards from the edge of your network, ensuring that your WAN link is functioning correctly.
Additionally, you may have one deployed on a NUC somewhere deeper inside your network. This agent could simulate the same set of monitors as the Meraki MX Firewall but will provide insight into whether your internal network may be causing any issues.
The ability of ThousandEyes to run identical tests from different starting locations is extraordinarily useful for determining where an issue lies as you can contrast the results from each location.
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Endpoint Agents
Endpoint agents are the most personal of all agents. While you can think of cloud agents as operating on 
the internet, testing your services from a distance, and enterprise agents testing from within your network outward, endpoint agents focus directly on the end-user experience.
For this reason, they are most commonly installed on end-user laptops and desktops.
They can run synthetic traffic to test the user experience directly from the end-user's device.
If you encounter random problems where users complain about their experience, the ability to test directly from the user's laptop, within your network, and out on the internet makes it easier to determine the root cause.
For example, if a laptop is running short on memory or CPU or has other issues, the problem may be isolated to that specific laptop.
The ability to compare one laptop with another based on what the agent reports allows you to quickly determine whether the issue lies with the individual laptop or if there is a broader network issue at play.
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ThousandEyes Agents: Summary
The topic of Thousand Eyes Agents often confuses when first encountering Thousand Eyes.
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Hopefully this blog has helped to somewhat clarify the which agents are used where - and why the variety adds to the capability of ThousandEyes.
To summarise:
Cloud Agents are distributed across the internet, allowing you to run specific synthetic tests of your choosing from these points.
Enterprise Agents are deployed locally within your network, typically on a Docker container, a Linux NUC, or a Cisco device, which includes Meraki, of course. Finally, Endpoint Agents are installed directly on end workstations. Additionally, they can be installed on devices such as room kits to test user experience for most users.
The ability to deploy a range of different agents means that synthetic traffic can be run on all these various types of agents. This capability allows you to more rapidly determine the location of a problem, whether it is on your network, on the end client itself, or somewhere out on the internet.
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