About Our Consumption Model
What We Mean by Consumption Model
Consumption model (also called billing or cost model) refers to the approach we use to calculate and charge for products or services that we provide to our customers. Common types of consumption models in the industry include hourly rates, licenses, flat fees, subscriptions, and usage-based consumption, for example.
ThousandEyes Consumption Models
ThousandEyes uses different consumption models depending on the product purchased.
ThousandEyes uses a usage-based consumption model for tests run from Cloud and Enterprise Agents and for some Device Agent tests. By and large, when we refer to our consumption model, we’re referring to the units consumed while running tests on these agents. This is because it is the most dynamic and flexible of our consumption models, and is the primary focus of the Usage and Billing page on the ThousandEyes platform.
ThousandEyes also employs a licensing consumption model for Endpoint Agents, Device Agents, and Internet Insights packages.
For information about Endpoint Agent licenses, see Endpoint Agent Licensing.
For Internet Insights package licenses, see Configuring Internet Insights.
For information about Device Agent licenses and units, see Device Agent Consumption Model.
For users of our APIs, ThousandEyes also sets rate limits for API calls. See Rate limits in our developer documentation.
The remainder of this section will focus on our usage-based consumption model for Cloud and Enterprise Agents.
Usage-Based Consumption
Why This Model?
A usage-based consumption model allows customers to have flexibility in test deployment. Rather than locking in a contract based on specific test types, locations and intervals, you can manage your own testing use cases, and add or modify tests as needed, based on your current business requirements.
Most customers will purchase units a la carte to meet the precise needs of their business. However, predefined unit packages are available for customers who don't yet know what their business needs are. These packages have been designed for customers who typically have multiple sites they want to monitor, and so are sized accordingly (from extra small to large) but can be purchased by anyone who wants to top up their unit consumption or has additional site-based needs. We recommend you speak to your account manager to understand whether you need a la carte or packaged units, and to learn more about how the packages work.
How Units Are Consumed
Tests run from all Cloud and Enterprise Agents, and select Device Agent tests, consume units. ThousandEyes counts units for both scheduled tests and instant tests. Throughout a billable month, these tests accrue units against a customer's monthly unit allowance, which in turn impacts customer billing. Generally, customers cannot consume more units than their plan allows. Each test costs a certain number of units based on the test type, interval, timeout, and the number and type of ThousandEyes agents running the test. After each billing cycle, the account is reset to the number of units that was contracted by the customer's organization. For more information, see Calculating Units and Test Type Layers and Units.
Charging by volume of tests is largely linear: the more tests you run, the more units you consume. It’s similar to driving a car: the more miles you drive, the more fuel you use.
Because ThousandEyes never adds any hidden costs to your test units, you know the amount you’re being billed the moment you configure your tests, barring any unscheduled instant tests. Any instant tests that you have already run will be reflected in the Usage and Billing page in either of the Test Type or Test tabs in the Cloud Agent Units section. Note: while instant tests for Enterprise Agents are accounted for, you cannot currently view them by test or test type as with Cloud Agents.
The unit projections shown on the Usage and Billing page accurately show how many units you are consuming based on the current set of scheduled tests and any previous instant tests. If you add, remove, or edit your scheduled tests, your unit projection will instantly change in line with the new schedule. You will not be charged for the tests that were projected but not run before the change, nor will you be refunded any units from tests that were run prior to the schedule change. If you do any of the following: delete or disable a test, remove an agent from a test, or disable an agent, then you will not be charged for any units that would have otherwise accrued to that agent.
The diagrams below show how changes to test configurations accumulate within an account group over time. Should no more changes be made during the billing cycle, the volume of units inside the blue-shaded area over the span of the month will add up to the total usage for that billing cyle. If you wish to check your balance at any point before the end of the billing cycle, this is calculated under the Used in Current Billing Period column within the Cloud Agent Units section of the Account Settings > Usage and Billing > Usage page. Barring any recent test configuration changes, these totals are updated hourly.
Any agents that display a status of "offline" during a test run will still count towards your billable units. The "offline" status means that the agent is currently unable to communicate with the ThousandEyes platform, though the test may still have run. The agent caches test results for up to 36 hours so the platform can retrieve them when communication is restored. If you know an agent will be offline for longer than 36 hours, we recommmend disabling or removing the agent from the test to avoid accruing units against it.
Understanding Your Usage
Usage Summary
On the Usage tab within Account Settings > Usage and Billing, you will find a summary of the number of units you have used so far within the current billing cycle (one month, with the dates shown at the top next to Plan Usage), how many units you are projected to use by the end of the cycle, and your monthly plan allowance. You can further break down unit consumption by account group for each agent type - Cloud, Enterprise, or Device Agent - in addition to by test type and test for Cloud Agents and by agent for Enterprise Agents.
See Usage Tab for a breakdown of the elements on this screen.
Unit Calculator
On the Usage tab, you will also find a link to our Unit Calculator – for Cloud and Enterprise Agent units only. With the calculator, you can mock up different test settings or add or remove tests to scale up or down your projected usage, without affecting your current usage or tests, as the calculator is purely a simulation environment. The results are estimates only, but give a broad view of how different tests and test settings can affect your monthly usage. This is a powerful tool if you are either at risk of using more than your monthly allowance or think that you are underutilizing your plan.
See Calculating Units for information about how the unit calculator works.
Quotas
On the Quotas tab, you will find information about your organization's current usage, and set the percentage of plan or number of units each account group is allowed to use. This can be useful for a number of reasons, as set out in Setting Quotas. Quotas can only be set for Cloud and Enterprise Agent units at this time, not Device Agent units.
Billing Data
On the Usage screen, you will also see a Billing tab. While it doesn't break down your usage, it does show you important details pertaining to your plan, such as your current plan name, the number of units and licenses in your plan, and your billing address. The lower section also shows you a complete billing history including date of payment, amount, and its status, such as “Paid”.
For a breakdown of the elements on the billing screen, see Billing Tab.
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