There’s change, and then there’s progress. One just means that something is new and different, but the other means that something has gotten better. It’s in that second category that Compass, our online portal for IP/MPLS VPN service, fits in the wake of a number of enhancements that will help you monitor your network.

Compass, of course, has always been designed so that you can view, understand, and manage your own network configuration and performance, from router port connections to bandwidth usage to what is going on inside the Sprint core network. The most recent enhancements involve self-service features that support both Sprint Managed Solutions customers and network-only customers.

It is now even more easy and convenient to see how a network is performing end-to-end, from the LAN to the Sprint cloud. For example, for Managed Solutions customers, there is now Managed Security Reporting, Managed VPN Reporting, and a variety of offerings for Managed Data Devices. Such as trouble or change management, a full device configuration view, real-time device interface testing, historical performance reporting, and Visual Networks platform reporting.

Not only that, but Compass can now leverage the features of Google Maps and Google Street View, enabling both managed and network-only customers to see their network locations around the world via a familiar map interface.  Simply clicking on a network location can bring up a map or street view of the site, alongside a summary of Sprint network ports, managed solutions devices, and services.

This also makes it easier to highlight any locations with open trouble tickets, change requests, or sites that could be impacted by imminent Sprint maintenance activities, and to view the entire network portfolio and quickly navigate to the available troubleshooting and performance monitoring tools.

This is all on top of the many existing Compass features available for network-only and Managed Solutions customers, which by the way includes Managed Network Solutions, Managed Security Solutions, and Managed IP Voice Solutions.  Just to name a few of those handy features, there’s a complete customer IP/GMPLS port inventory, customer network port and routing configurations from Sprint’s edge routers, real-time and historical Class of Service statistics, trouble and change management, end-to-end SLA reporting, and web portal access from any computer, tablet, or Android phone.

So Compass is definitely new and improved, with the emphasis on improved.