You can monitor device availability using ICMP (Ping) or SNMP.
You can certainly use the response time and packet loss of each device to detect network problems
Take a look at the response time and packet loss charts here
http://oriondemo.solarwinds.com/Orion/NetPerfMon/NodeDetails.aspx?NetObject=N:251
and the Top X resources here
http://oriondemo.solarwinds.com/Orion/SummaryView.aspx?viewkey=Current%20Top%2010%20Lists
and, you can most certainly be emailed when thresholds are breached.