Tackling the Costly Issue of Network Downtime

Network downtime poses a significant challenge for enterprises globally, leading to substantial financial losses and operational disruptions. For example, Amazon experienced a $34 million revenue loss from just one hour of downtime in 2021. These interruptions not only impact revenue but also divert skilled engineers to troubleshooting efforts and undermine customer trust. NetFabric aims to address these issues with its advanced network monitoring solutions, promising to transform the industry and mitigate the costly consequences of network outages.

"Current monitoring tools only provide basic insights into the complex inner workings of networks," explains Prof. Laurent Vanbever, Co-Founder and Chief Scientist of NetFabric. "They often rely on fragmented data sources, leading to false positives and inadequate problem resolution. Consequently, these tools frequently fail to deliver timely and accurate insights into network issues."

Manual troubleshooting often requires engineers to spend considerable time deciphering alerts and navigating misleading signals, prolonging downtime and worsening operational inefficiencies.

Transforming Network Monitoring with Advanced Mathematical Models and Machine Learning

NetFabric is poised to revolutionise network observability by addressing these challenges with a novel approach. Unlike traditional solutions, NetFabric integrates observations from various network sources – such as routing information, forwarding tables, device configurations, and logs – into a unified knowledge base. This approach provides actionable intelligence, delivering a comprehensive and accurate understanding of network issues while managing the overwhelming number of alerts from conventional tools.

NetFabric tackles two fundamental challenges:

• Network Diversity: Real-world networks are diverse in terms of deployed devices, protocols, and architecture. This diversity leads to variations in the representations of monitoring data, making one-size-fits-all solutions ineffective. NetFabric addresses this by leveraging LLMs to handle non-standard data sources and user queries effectively.
• Protocol Complexity: Networks operate based on intricate protocols. A thorough understanding of protocol logic is essential for generating valuable insights from monitoring data, such as explaining the cause of a network problem and how to resolve it. Since LLMs alone cannot achieve this level of understanding, NetFabric complements them with advanced mathematical models informed by a decade of academic research.

This dual approach enables NetFabric to offer a comprehensive view of complex networks, incorporating all relevant data sources and providing precise alerts when issues arise. By reducing false-positive alerts and optimising resource allocation, organisations can mitigate downtime risks and maintain operational continuity.

"Our mission is to empower enterprises with a comprehensive understanding of their networks," says Benjamin Bichsel, Co-founder and CEO of NetFabric. "By eliminating the guesswork in network troubleshooting, we enable businesses to redirect engineering resources towards innovation and growth."

Powered by a Team of Industry Experts

NetFabric is driven by a team of seasoned experts in network monitoring and AI. Co-founders Dr Tobias Bühler and Prof. Laurent Vanbever bring over a decade of research experience in computer networks. They are joined by Dr Benjamin Bichsel and Prof. Martin Vechev, whose work in AI and programming paradigms is globally acclaimed. Adding to the team’s strength, Marlene Brakhane and Boris Paskalev bring extensive business expertise and a proven track record in entrepreneurship.

The Road Ahead

The $2.2 million pre-seed funding will propel the development of NetFabric's network observability platform, positioning it to meet the dynamic demands of a $197 billion industry that relies heavily on robust network performance. Concurrently, NetFabric is expanding its team, seeking candidates for key roles, and inviting potential design partners to collaborate.