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Get started with network device monitoring

  • Latest Dynatrace
  • Getting started guide
  • 5-min read
  • Published Jun 29, 2026

Dynatrace uses extensions running on ActiveGate to monitor network devices. The most common data collection protocol is SNMP, while a vendor API is used in a smaller number of cases.

Who is this for?

This guide is for network engineers and infrastructure administrators who want to start monitoring network devices—routers, switches, and firewalls—in Dynatrace for the first time.

What will you learn?

In this guide, you'll learn how to:

  • Discover network devices using SNMP Autodiscovery.
  • Add monitoring configurations via Extensions Extensions or Discovery & Coverage Discovery & Coverage.
  • Extend visibility with Syslog and SNMP Traps data source.
  • Verify that device monitoring is working in Infrastructure & Operations Infrastructure & Operations.

Before you begin

Prerequisites

  • An ActiveGate that can reach your network devices over SNMP (UDP, typically port 161) and optionally ICMP for reachability checks. API-based extensions require HTTPS/TCP access to the device's API endpoint.
  • SNMP credentials:
    • SNMPv2c: community string
    • SNMPv3: username + auth/privacy settings
  • For API-based extensions, you need the relevant API credentials (for example, a FortiGate REST API token).
  • Permissions to install extensions from the Hub and create monitoring configurations.
  • The SNMP Autodiscovery extension installed from Hub—it contains the generic network models used by the network device extensions and requires no additional configuration.

Get started with network device monitoring

1. Discover devices with SNMP Autodiscovery

Use the Network coverage view in Discovery & Coverage Discovery & Coverage to automatically discover devices, then apply the appropriate extension for each device type. For details, see Network coverage in Discovery & Coverage.

  1. Create a monitoring configuration for SNMP Autodiscovery:
    • Define one or more discovery groups, each with:
      • A network segment label
      • One or more IPv4/IPv6 ranges, individual addresses, or CIDRs
      • SNMP port
      • SNMP credentials
  2. Save the configuration and let it run to scan your ranges and report SNMP-enabled devices as entities.

For details, see SNMP Autodiscovery extension.

2. Add monitoring to network devices

Two options are available for adding monitoring to your devices.

Option 1: Add monitoring via Extensions Extensions for targeted setup

Use this option when you know which vendor or device type you want to monitor.

Even without running SNMP Autodiscovery, and for devices not using SNMP, you can start monitoring by installing the best-matching extension.

  1. Open Hub and search for the vendor or technology (for example, Cisco, Juniper, F5, Palo Alto).
  2. Install the extension and create its monitoring configuration:
    • Select an ActiveGate group.
    • Define devices, or reuse targets based on discovered devices.
    • Provide credentials and any advanced properties. For API-based extensions (for example, Fortinet FortiGate), provide the API base URL and token instead of SNMP credentials.
  3. Verify that metrics start flowing. It may take up to one minute for the first metrics to appear.

If you don't find a vendor-specific extension and your device supports SNMP, use the Generic SNMP network device extension for broad coverage of core device and interface metrics. For details, see Manage extensions.

Option 2: Use Discovery & Coverage Discovery & Coverage for large-scale rollout

If you want to spot observability gaps and apply best practices at scale, use Discovery & Coverage Discovery & Coverage.

The Network coverage view uses SNMP Autodiscovery to find devices and helps you configure:

  • Ping monitoring (reachability).
  • Poll monitoring (appropriate SNMP extensions).

For details, see SNMP Autodiscovery extension.

3. Add network data sources

Extend visibility by adding additional data sources to complement SNMP monitoring.

  • Configure your network device to send Syslog traffic to Dynatrace. For details, see Syslog ingestion with ActiveGate.
  • Install the SNMP Traps extension.

4. Verify your setup

Go to Infrastructure & Operations Infrastructure & Operations to explore device inventory, health metrics, syslog events, SNMP traps, and problems.

For auto-discovered devices not yet monitored by an extension, see Extensions to find, install, and configure the right extension for your devices.

Congratulations!

You've set up network device monitoring in Dynatrace. Device entities are now visible in Infrastructure & Operations Infrastructure & Operations, where you can explore inventory, health metrics, syslog events, SNMP traps, and problems.

To continue:

  • Generic network topology: How Dynatrace models network device, port, and interface entities and unifies data across SNMP extensions.
  • Best practices for optimizing network monitoring cost

Related topics

  • Network topology
  • Best practices for optimizing network monitoring cost
Related tags
Infrastructure Observability