Skip to main content

Pulse user guide

Updated

Overview

Pulse is network monitoring and remote access for MSPs. Where RMM watches the endpoints (the laptops and servers with an agent on them), Pulse watches the network — the routers, switches, firewalls, access points, printers, and any IP-reachable device at a client site — plus the internet circuit itself. It does this with a lightweight collector you deploy at each site, which discovers devices, runs monitors (ping/SNMP/HTTP/TCP), measures circuit speed, draws topology, and brokers secure remote-access tunnels back to those devices.

Use Pulse to answer "is the site up, is the internet healthy, what's on this network, and can I get to that switch right now."

Key Concepts

  • Site — a physical location (an office, a branch). A site has one or more CIDR ranges that define which networks it covers, an optional time zone, and an optional link to a CRM/CMDB client so it can appear in that client's portal. Almost everything in Pulse is organized under a site.
  • Collector — a small piece of software you run on a box at the site (or alongside the RMM agent on an existing device). It is the eyes and hands at that location: it scans the network, executes monitors, runs speedtests, and terminates remote-access tunnels. A collector is enrolled to exactly one site using a one-time token.
  • Device — anything the collector discovers on the site network: managed (you've claimed/credentialed it) or unmanaged (just seen). Identified by IP, hostname, vendor, MAC, and device class.
  • Monitor — a recurring check against a device or endpoint (ping, TCP port, HTTP, SNMP OID). Each monitor reports Healthy, Failing, or Paused.
  • Alert rule — turns monitor/state changes into notifications, scoped by severity and target, with optional ticket/on-call escalation.
  • Speedtest — a scheduled or on-demand download/upload/latency measurement of the site's internet circuit, trended over 30 days.
  • Tunnel — an on-demand, audited remote-access session to a device on the site network, brokered through the collector. Tunnels can require approval and are overseen by THEO.
  • Credential — an SNMP community / SSH / API secret, scoped to a site or device, used by monitors and tunnels. Stored encrypted, never shown back in full.

Navigation

The Pulse sidebar: Overview, Sites, Devices, Monitors, Topology, Alerts, Alert rules, Speedtests, Collectors, Tunnels, Credentials, Settings.

Typical First-Run Flow

  1. Create a Site with its CIDR range(s).
  2. Enroll a Collector for that site (mint a token, install it).
  3. Wait for discovery — Devices populates as the collector scans.
  4. Add Monitors on the devices/endpoints you care about.
  5. Set Alert rules so failures notify you (and optionally open a ticket / page on-call).
  6. Optionally schedule Speedtests and open Tunnels when you need hands-on access.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Pulse different from RMM? RMM manages devices that run our agent (endpoints). Pulse monitors the network and any IP device — including gear that can never run an agent (switches, firewalls, printers, IoT) — through a site collector. The two complement each other; SNMP/discovery/bandwidth that used to live in RMM now lives here.

Do I need a collector at every site? Yes. Monitoring, discovery, speedtests, and tunnels are all executed by the site's collector, so each monitored location needs at least one online collector.

Can a client see their own site? Yes, if you link the site to that client and mark it visible in the client portal.

Troubleshooting

No devices appear after enrolling a collector. Confirm the collector shows Active (not Pending/Offline) on the Collectors page, and that the site's CIDR ranges actually match the network the collector sits on. Discovery only sweeps the configured ranges.

A monitor flaps between Healthy and Failing. Check the monitor's interval and timeout, and whether the underlying circuit is congested (look at Speedtests). Widen the failure threshold on the monitor or add an alert-rule dampener.

A tunnel is stuck "Awaiting approval." Tunnels that require approval wait for an authorized user to approve them on the Tunnels page. Approve it there, or relax the approval requirement in Settings if your policy allows.