Commit Control is a core safety mechanism in the Noction Intelligent Routing Platform (IRP). It governs how routing changes are applied by enforcing bandwidth-related limits, ensuring that traffic shifts toward providers remain controlled and predictable. These limits are essential for protecting networks from sudden overloads and unintended traffic spikes.
Historically, Commit Control has relied on configured bandwidth assumptions. While this works well under stable conditions, real networks are rarely static. Physical interfaces may fail, bonded links can lose members, and available capacity may be reduced without immediate operational awareness. In such cases, Commit Control may continue to operate correctly from a configuration perspective, while the underlying physical capacity has already changed.
With IRP v4.3, we introduce Interface Monitoring, a feature that allows Commit Control to continuously align its decisions with the actual state and capacity of provider-facing interfaces.
Why Physical Interface Awareness Matters for Commit Control
Commit Control is designed to answer a critical question: Is it safe to commit a routing change that increases traffic toward this provider?
The answer depends not only on policy and configuration, but also on whether the provider connection can physically handle that traffic.
Physical failures are an unavoidable part of network operations. Interfaces go down, bonding groups degrade, and routers may report partial availability. Without visibility into these conditions, Commit Control can only assume that configured limits still represent the actual capacity.
Interface Monitoring closes this gap by making Commit Control aware of what is actually available at the physical layer, not just what was configured.
Monitoring Interfaces Using SNMP
To achieve this visibility, Interface Monitoring relies on SNMP, the industry-standard protocol for retrieving operational data from network devices. SNMP provides access to interface status, reported bandwidth, and interface hierarchy information directly from routers.
A general overview of SNMP and its role in network monitoring can be found here
Rather than embedding SNMP handling directly into IRP Core, Interface Monitoring is implemented as a separate component dedicated to polling interfaces and evaluating their state. This component operates independently and supplies Core with processed results over gRPC, allowing Commit Control to consume accurate interface data without dealing with SNMP complexity.
Handling Multiple and Bonded Interfaces
Interface Monitoring is particularly valuable when a provider connection consists of multiple physical interfaces or bonded links.
In these scenarios, total available capacity depends on which physical interfaces are currently operational. Interface Monitoring continuously evaluates the state of each interface and calculates the effective bandwidth based only on interfaces that are up.
In environments where routers do not reliably report bandwidth or status for logical (bonded) interfaces, Interface Monitoring can automatically identify the underlying physical members using standard SNMP interface hierarchy information. This allows IRP to calculate available capacity based on the actual physical interfaces carrying traffic, rather than relying on potentially inaccurate aggregate values.
This approach ensures that Commit Control reacts correctly when a single member of a bonded group fails, even if the logical interface itself remains present.
For reference, interface stacking and hierarchy are defined in the standard IF-MIB specification
Adjusting Limits Based on Real Capacity
Once Interface Monitoring determines the current available bandwidth for a provider, this information is used by Commit Control to validate and, when necessary, adjust its operational limits.
If the physical capacity is lower than the configured thresholds, Commit Control automatically scales those thresholds down to match the network’s safe carrying capacity. This prevents IRP from committing routing changes that would otherwise push traffic beyond available capacity.
In practice, this means that Commit Control decisions are no longer based solely on static configuration, but on a continuously updated view of physical interface availability.
Dealing with Measurement Differences
An important aspect of Interface Monitoring is handling the difference between how bandwidth is measured at different layers.
Physical interfaces operate at Layer 2, while traffic accounting and flow-based logic inside IRP operate at Layer 3. Because of protocol overhead and packet size distribution, these measurements are not always directly comparable. In networks where traffic consists primarily of smaller packets, the effective usable bandwidth can be lower than the nominal interface speed.
Interface Monitoring accounts for this by applying a configurable reduction to the calculated physical bandwidth, ensuring that Commit Control works with conservative, realistic capacity values. This helps prevent interface saturation and reduces the risk of congestion caused by measurement mismatches.
Detecting Full Provider Outages
If Interface Monitoring determines that all monitored interfaces for a provider are down, IRP marks the provider as physically unavailable. In this state, Commit Control blocks any further traffic increases toward that provider.
This behavior integrates naturally with existing Commit Control safeguards and ensures that routing changes are not committed toward infrastructure that is no longer reachable at the physical level. To avoid unnecessary disruptions, a single temporary monitoring failure is tolerated before a provider is marked unavailable.
Flexible Deployment Models
Interface Monitoring supports both static and dynamic monitoring models.
In static deployments, operators define which interfaces should be monitored. This works well in environments with stable and predictable interface layouts.
In more dynamic environments, Interface Monitoring can automatically discover and track physical interfaces using SNMP hierarchy data. This is especially useful for bonded or stacked interfaces, where physical membership may change over time. Commit Control adapts automatically as the set of active interfaces changes, without requiring manual updates.
What This Means for Commit Control
By incorporating Interface Monitoring, Commit Control becomes physically capacity-aware.
Routing changes are still governed by policy and configuration, but those policies are now continuously validated against real interface availability. This reduces operational risk during partial outages, minimizes the need for manual intervention, and ensures that Commit Control continues to fulfill its primary purpose: preventing unsafe routing changes.
Additional IRP resources and technical materials are available in Noction’s Resource Center:
Interface Monitoring in IRP v4.3 strengthens Commit Control by anchoring it to physical network reality. Configured limits remain important, but they are no longer blindly trusted when physical conditions change.
By combining policy enforcement with continuous interface awareness, IRP takes a significant step toward safer and more resilient routing automation – ensuring that Commit Control decisions remain valid even when the network does not behave exactly as planned.
Commit Control is a core safety mechanism in the Noction Intelligent Routing Platform (IRP). It governs how routing changes are applied by enforcing bandwidth-related limits, ensuring that traffic shifts toward providers remain controlled and predictable. These limits are essential for protecting networks from sudden overloads and unintended traffic spikes.
Historically, Commit Control has relied on configured bandwidth assumptions. While this works well under stable conditions, real networks are rarely static. Physical interfaces may fail, bonded links can lose members, and available capacity may be reduced without immediate operational awareness. In such cases, Commit Control may continue to operate correctly from a configuration perspective, while the underlying physical capacity has already changed.
With IRP v4.3, we introduce Interface Monitoring, a feature that allows Commit Control to continuously align its decisions with the actual state and capacity of provider-facing interfaces.
Why Physical Interface Awareness Matters for Commit Control
Commit Control is designed to answer a critical question: Is it safe to commit a routing change that increases traffic toward this provider?
The answer depends not only on policy and configuration, but also on whether the provider connection can physically handle that traffic.
Physical failures are an unavoidable part of network operations. Interfaces go down, bonding groups degrade, and routers may report partial availability. Without visibility into these conditions, Commit Control can only assume that configured limits still represent the actual capacity.
Interface Monitoring closes this gap by making Commit Control aware of what is actually available at the physical layer, not just what was configured.
Monitoring Interfaces Using SNMP
To achieve this visibility, Interface Monitoring relies on SNMP, the industry-standard protocol for retrieving operational data from network devices. SNMP provides access to interface status, reported bandwidth, and interface hierarchy information directly from routers.
A general overview of SNMP and its role in network monitoring can be found here
Rather than embedding SNMP handling directly into IRP Core, Interface Monitoring is implemented as a separate component dedicated to polling interfaces and evaluating their state. This component operates independently and supplies Core with processed results over gRPC, allowing Commit Control to consume accurate interface data without dealing with SNMP complexity.
Handling Multiple and Bonded Interfaces
Interface Monitoring is particularly valuable when a provider connection consists of multiple physical interfaces or bonded links.
In these scenarios, total available capacity depends on which physical interfaces are currently operational. Interface Monitoring continuously evaluates the state of each interface and calculates the effective bandwidth based only on interfaces that are up.
In environments where routers do not reliably report bandwidth or status for logical (bonded) interfaces, Interface Monitoring can automatically identify the underlying physical members using standard SNMP interface hierarchy information. This allows IRP to calculate available capacity based on the actual physical interfaces carrying traffic, rather than relying on potentially inaccurate aggregate values.
This approach ensures that Commit Control reacts correctly when a single member of a bonded group fails, even if the logical interface itself remains present.
For reference, interface stacking and hierarchy are defined in the standard IF-MIB specification
Adjusting Limits Based on Real Capacity
Once Interface Monitoring determines the current available bandwidth for a provider, this information is used by Commit Control to validate and, when necessary, adjust its operational limits.
If the physical capacity is lower than the configured thresholds, Commit Control automatically scales those thresholds down to match the network’s safe carrying capacity. This prevents IRP from committing routing changes that would otherwise push traffic beyond available capacity.
In practice, this means that Commit Control decisions are no longer based solely on static configuration, but on a continuously updated view of physical interface availability.
Dealing with Measurement Differences
An important aspect of Interface Monitoring is handling the difference between how bandwidth is measured at different layers.
Physical interfaces operate at Layer 2, while traffic accounting and flow-based logic inside IRP operate at Layer 3. Because of protocol overhead and packet size distribution, these measurements are not always directly comparable. In networks where traffic consists primarily of smaller packets, the effective usable bandwidth can be lower than the nominal interface speed.
Interface Monitoring accounts for this by applying a configurable reduction to the calculated physical bandwidth, ensuring that Commit Control works with conservative, realistic capacity values. This helps prevent interface saturation and reduces the risk of congestion caused by measurement mismatches.
Detecting Full Provider Outages
If Interface Monitoring determines that all monitored interfaces for a provider are down, IRP marks the provider as physically unavailable. In this state, Commit Control blocks any further traffic increases toward that provider.
This behavior integrates naturally with existing Commit Control safeguards and ensures that routing changes are not committed toward infrastructure that is no longer reachable at the physical level. To avoid unnecessary disruptions, a single temporary monitoring failure is tolerated before a provider is marked unavailable.
Flexible Deployment Models
Interface Monitoring supports both static and dynamic monitoring models.
In static deployments, operators define which interfaces should be monitored. This works well in environments with stable and predictable interface layouts.
In more dynamic environments, Interface Monitoring can automatically discover and track physical interfaces using SNMP hierarchy data. This is especially useful for bonded or stacked interfaces, where physical membership may change over time. Commit Control adapts automatically as the set of active interfaces changes, without requiring manual updates.
What This Means for Commit Control
By incorporating Interface Monitoring, Commit Control becomes physically capacity-aware.
Routing changes are still governed by policy and configuration, but those policies are now continuously validated against real interface availability. This reduces operational risk during partial outages, minimizes the need for manual intervention, and ensures that Commit Control continues to fulfill its primary purpose: preventing unsafe routing changes.
Additional IRP resources and technical materials are available in Noction’s Resource Center:
Interface Monitoring in IRP v4.3 strengthens Commit Control by anchoring it to physical network reality. Configured limits remain important, but they are no longer blindly trusted when physical conditions change.
By combining policy enforcement with continuous interface awareness, IRP takes a significant step toward safer and more resilient routing automation – ensuring that Commit Control decisions remain valid even when the network does not behave exactly as planned.
