An example method can include choosing a pattern or patterns of network traffic. This pattern can be representative of a certain type of traffic such as an attack. The pattern can be associated with various components of a network and can describe expected behavior of these various components. A system performing this method can then choose a nodes or nodes to generate traffic according to the pattern and send an instruction accordingly. After this synthetic traffic is generated, the system can compare the behavior of the components with the expected behavior. An alert can then be created to notify an administrator or otherwise remedy any problems.