Before an important video call there is a moment when connection problems can still be solved cheaply: beforehand. A self-test that users can run themselves gives an answer rather than an assumption at that moment. Service Tunnel Check examines the connection including a tunnel comparison and provides an immediate diagnosis. The gain is twofold: the meeting runs, and for genuine disruptions the service desk receives a finding instead of a description.
The moment before the meeting
Everyone knows the situation. In a few minutes a conversation that matters begins: a customer presentation, a job interview, a meeting with the executive board. And somewhere in the back of the mind sits the question of whether the connection will hold today.
Anyone wanting to answer it has had two options so far. Wait and hope, or call the service desk, which at that moment can do nothing better than offer a guess. Both are unsatisfying.
A self-test that gives an answer
Service Tunnel Check is a connectivity self-test that examines the connection including a comparison via the Zscaler tunnel and provides an immediate diagnosis. The user runs it themselves, without a ticket and without waiting.
The result is an answer rather than a feeling. If the connection holds, the meeting can start without second thoughts. If it does not, there is still time to switch to the network next door or to send a short report with concrete content.
What the service desk gets out of it
The obvious gain is on the user side. The less obvious one is on the service desk side, and it is larger.
Some reports resolve themselves before they arise, because the self-test gives the all-clear. The reports that still come are better: they carry a test result rather than the phrase "something is slow".
For harder cases, where the self-test shows a problem without pinpointing it, there is the deeper analysis. Network Path Trace dives into the ZDX layer on request and delivers a segment-by-segment view.
Why self-service is more than relief
It would be too narrow to see the self-test only as ticket avoidance. It also changes how people experience IT.
Someone who can answer a question themselves feels able to act. Someone who has to call for every question feels dependent. That difference reaches far beyond the individual video call and colours the attitude with which people approach IT.
A connection problem costs two minutes before the meeting. During the meeting it costs the meeting.
When the self-test is not enough
Some disruptions only show over time: the connection holds in a test but becomes unsteady during a call. Where the CentaurNexusAgent is installed, a second source is added here. It measures the path regularly and checks reachability against a defined target, regardless of whether anyone is running a test at that moment.
A snapshot becomes a history. For the question "was it the connection?", that is often the difference between a hunch and an answer.
What is collected are explicitly no visited addresses and no call content, but status and timing values.
Frequently asked questions
What is Service Tunnel Check?
A connectivity self-test that users run themselves. It examines the connection including a comparison via the Zscaler tunnel and provides an immediate diagnosis.
Does the user need special permissions?
No. The self-test is designed for the user side and requires no administrator rights.
What happens if the test shows a problem?
There is then a concrete statement that can go into a report. For deeper analysis, Network Path Trace dives into the ZDX layer on request and delivers a segment-by-segment view.
Does this really reduce tickets?
Some reports never arise because the test gives the all-clear. The remaining reports are more informative because they contain a test result.
Can the test be used outside the office?
The self-test is designed for the situation where someone wants to check their connection, regardless of where they are working.
Sources
See the workflow in context
Pick the matching role in the demo launcher. The demo uses prepared sample data.
Open demo launcher