Usage-Based Consumption Model
Last updated
Last updated
The usage-based consumption model is based on the usage of a service or resource. For ThousandEyes, this means you reserve a set number of units based on your anticipated needs, and those units are available for you to use as needed throughout the billing period and as defined by the product in use. This model currently only applies to and .
When you purchase units, your units are added to a general unit pool. These units can then be allocated to products (like Cloud Insights, Traffic Insights, Connected Devices, or CEA tests), or left unallocated for flexibility.
There are three main pools:
Purchased Units
The total number of units purchased for your organization. This pool resets (or is replenished) at the start of each billing cycle. This can also be referred to as the Plan Amount.
Allocated Units
Units reserved by a product for a specific configuration or use (e.g., Cloud Insights flow log consumption). Allocated units are locked for that product during the billing cycle and cannot be consumed by other products unless manually reallocated. This can also be referred to as the Used Amount.
Unallocated Units
The remainder of your units that are not yet reserved. These are available to be consumed by any eligible product upon a valid request. This can also be referred to as the Available Amount.
Each product (Cloud Insights or Traffic Insights) translates product-specific consumption into unit projections using unique formulas and methodologies that are product-specific. When you request to allocate units, the product converts its metric (such as flow logs per second, or FPS) into a common unit-based format that can be used for cost estimation and platform reservation.
For example: The conversion rate for Cloud Insights FPS is 1,000 FPS = 240 units and you expect to use 5,000 FPS during the month.
5,000 FPS usage ÷ 1,000 FPS for unit calculation = 5
5 × 240 units = 1,200 units/month
You should request to allocate 5,000 FPS, which amounts to 1,200 units from your unallocated unit pool for use in Cloud Insights.
Once you make the request, the product submits the estimated unit request to the platform. The platform evaluates the request against your unallocated unit pool. If enough units are unallocated, the request is approved and the units are moved to the allocated units pool for the requesting product.
Approval: If the requested units are available within your plan’s allocation, the request is approved.
Denial: If insufficient units are available, the request is denied. If denied, you must reduce your request and anticipated consumption or purchase additional units for your plan.
Once approved, the platform reserves the requested units by moving them from the unallocated pool to the allocated pool for the requesting product. Allocated units are locked and cannot be borrowed or automatically shifted between products, though you can manually reallocate units if another product has units to spare.
For example: Midway through the billing cycle, you need to increase your Cloud Insights usage from 5,000 FPS to 7,000 FPS. This change requires 1680 units (7 × 240). Since 1,200 units were already allocated, the product requests an additional 480 units. The platform checks the unallocated pool, which still has 3,500 units.
If enough unallocated units are available (for example 480 or more), the request is approved, and 480 units are added to Cloud Insights' allocated pool.
If only 400 unallocated units remain, the request is denied, unless you:
Reduce configuration in another product (if allowed) to free up units—for example, by lowering the FPS limit in Traffic Insights or deactivating tests in Network & App Synthetics.
Purchase more units, which are added to the unallocated pool and can be immediately used.
Adjusting a product’s configuration means making changes that affect how many units the product needs—such as increasing or decreasing monitored traffic, enabling or disabling features, or adding/removing data streams.
If you adjust a product’s configuration and it reduces the units required:
The product checks if the reduction is allowed.
If allowed, the unused units are released back into the unallocated pool.
If not allowed (for example, because the product has already consumed the units during the current billing period), the system blocks the reduction. The unit pool cannot drop below the number of units already used.
If you adjust a configuration that increases the unit requirement:
The product checks if enough units are available in the unallocated pool.
If yes, the system approves the change.
If not, the system blocks the change and displays an error message. You must either reduce your configuration or purchase additional units.
Note: All unit reallocations—whether from another product or the unallocated pool—must be done by manually adjusting the product’s configuration or submitting a change request. For Cloud Insights and Traffic Insights, unit reductions may not always be possible due to product-specific rules.
The product can only use units from its allocated pool. Any unused units in the unallocated pool remain available to other products. Cross-product reallocation, or allocation from the unallocated pool is not automatic; it requires manually moving units into other pools or additional unit purchases.
For example: After allocating 1,200 units to Cloud Insights, the remaining 3,500 units are unallocated. These units can be requested by other eligible products:
If you configure a new data stream in Traffic Insights that requires an additional 2,000 units, you can submit a request for those units.
If the unallocated pool has at least 2,000 units, the request is approved.
Those units then move from the unallocated pool into Traffic Insights’ allocated pool.
Products cannot "borrow" from other products' allocated units. All usage must come from the unallocated pool or newly purchased units.
At the start of each new billing cycle:
The product recalculates the required units based on usage trends from the unit consumption data it has periodically tracked during your previous billing period.
The customer reviews and adjusts allocations as needed.
The platform applies approvals, denials, or overage warnings accordingly.
By default, usage can't exceed your plan unless overages are enabled or extra units are purchased. Setting an Organization Quota enforces a hard usage limit. Without a quota, the platform may warn or block actions based on your projected usage.
Overages (if applicable): If your plan allows overages, you may receive a soft warning with the option to proceed beyond your allocated limit. Otherwise, a hard warning is issued, preventing you from making the request. For more information on overages, see .
If you need to adjust units across products, you must manually adjust the configuration of the other product to reduce its unit requirement (for example, by reducing the FPS limit in Traffic Insights FPS or removing tests in Network & App Synthetics). For Cloud Insights and Traffic Insights, unit reductions are subject to product-specific rules—such as requiring sustained lower usage for 7 days before a reduction is allowed. See for details.
For more information, see .