# Monitoring and testing outbound traffic management

You can monitor the status of the NetLinks in the SD-WAN Dashboard. NetLinks are shown as ISP connections.

Status is displayed based on the results of status probes to the Probing addresses configured in the NetLink elements.

You can test that the outbound traffic management configuration works as intended by generating traffic and then disabling network connections, for example, by unplugging cables. In a cluster, you can disable the same link on all active nodes to simulate ISP failure.

Note: By default, if you unplug a cable from a node in a cluster, the automatic engine tester recognizes this as a malfunction and turns the node offline unless it is the last node that remains online. To override this automatic test, command all nodes to “Lock Online” before the test. After the tests, command the notes to "Online".

Most connections that are currently open on the link that goes down are cut and must be reopened by the communicating applications because the external IP address used in the communications changes to an address of the new link. Any type of traffic can switch to using a different link transparently if it is transported through a Multi-Link VPN between two Engines.

If the Ratio-based load-balancing method is used, a link is used until a failure is detected based on the link status probes to the probing addresses configured in the NetLink elements. With the Round Trip Time method, new connections are directed to working links because the link that responds the fastest is chosen even if probing is not configured or working.