Described are techniques for determining the effect of a change in how data is handled by a first device on other devices within a system. At a first device, sending, receiving, or processing of data may be prevented for a length of time. Metric data may be determined from other devices during the length of time and during one or more time periods before or after the length of time. The metric data may indicate the effect of the handling of data by a first device on the one or more other devices.