A network node may contain a virtual software-defined networking (SDN) switch and a local a management engine (e.g., a software application) for generating performance metrics based on received management plane traffic. Specifically, the virtual SDN switch may identify and forward received management plane traffic to the local management engine. In turn, the management engine evaluates the management plane traffic to generate performance metrics without forwarding the management plane packets to the remote SDN controller. The management engine may compare the metrics to one or more thresholds to determine the current state or health of the data paths in a network. If a threshold is exceeded, the management engine may transmit an alert to the virtual SDN switch to perform a corrective action—e.g., using a backup data path after the primary data path fails.