What are some best practices for documenting and reporting network issues and solutions?

Interviewing the users can be helpful but it is important to understand the knowledge-level from the user. It is very important to ask clarifying questions to ensure the issues/experiences are well understood.

Troubleshooting is a very top heavy discipline, I.e understanding the upfront work of situation appraisal, problem analysis and prioritization is often what makes or breaks successful issue resolution. Having a structured problem-agnostic approach is key. KT and Dave Broenen’s Evidence Based Troubleshooting come to mind. During this phase: 1. Ask open ended questions that require the users to provide detailed responses. Avoid anything that might limit their response during the early stages of troubleshooting. 2. Trust nothing, question everything. It doesn’t matter who or what someone says is the problem, ask for supporting evidence. 3. Be clear about the sequence of events that led up to the outage 4. Everyone must agree on what to fix

When interviewing users always keep an open mind. The level of knowledge is important here, some bits of information may be relevant and other not However, how you respond during this process could affect future interactions and information that is available.

What is the source IP, the destination IP and the port/protocol you're trying to use? Are you able to recreate the problem while I tail the logs? If your network is complex and supports some healthy ICMP traffic, some trace route commands can be helpful. And some Linux flavors include a traceroute utility that allows using ICMP, UDP or TCP in the outbound packets. With ICMP permitted, and TCP typically the service being triaged. Those two traceroutes would show you the exact hop on the network that was blocking the TCP packet. A very useful trick on a large network. But a good example of the value in knowing your network well.

Understanding the issue also stems from knowing what they user and clients are trying to achieve. What is the expected behavior to ensure you are resolving the issue I'm a way that fits the needs of the client. This will help not only achieve the goal of what they are trying to do but ensure that the fix provides the necessary resolution that was expected.

In my experience of troubleshooting networking issues in the AWS Cloud, it is imperative to systemically isolate the root cause by elimination and analysing reachability in your network between source and destination via tools like Network Reachability Analyzer. After the point of failure has been identified, misconfigurations or permissions of policies can be assessed along with an approach to understand at which layer is the problem residing. Attention to detail is also of key importance as well as accountability of action through logging.

As it applies to troubleshooting, an aspect of this step is to find your own modus operandi for isolating the root cause. Try to find and adopt a method that is: 1) Repeatable. 2) Simple and easy to follow. 3) Useable in most circumstances. 4) Based on your unique way of thinking and problem-solving. 5) Not reliant on just one software or tool. I think the goal of defining your method is to help avoid your attention as you isolate the root cause from being misdirected due to the lack of an action plan. Please allow flexibility in your method but make sure you follow it. The level of consistency it grants you will be noticed and appreciated.

If you have an understanding of how something works, then break it into its constituent parts to help identify the problem at hand. For example, if your Trunk Link between two switches is down, think back to how a Trunk Link works. What does it require? Initially both ports must have no configurations applied to them. Then you must put them into trunking mode, and both ports must use the same mode type. After that, both ports must be turned on in order for the link to be established. Break each step down, and check to make sure that the configurations have been done correctly. Maybe one side has some additional configurations that the other side does not? Maybe one side is turned off?

1. Create a clear and simple network topology map that shows the complete end to end packet flow and all intermediary devices in the network path. 2. Understand how the packet is processed at each point of the network and confirm that both input and output at each point match expectations. 3. Proceed step by step from the original source of the packet to the destination. Even if the problem is at the very end of the path, processing step by step will allow you to do a holistic appraisal and identify any other existing or potential issues. 4. Document everything assiduously. 5. Look for abnormalities at each step of the network path.

If you are responsible for the physical networking, one bottom-up method would be to work up the seven-layer OSI model of computer networking. Start with layer 1 (the physical layer).

Depending on the severity of the problem, and the level of disruption that the solution causes, you may want to coordinate with users and plan to implement the solution during an agreed upon maintenance window.

Particularly when the solution isn’t trivial or obvious, before implementing the solution: 1. Generate as many potential alternative courses of action as possible 2. List then out and do a risk /impact analysis and score each alternative in terms of efficacy. 3. Identify the optimal course of action and share it with the end user so that they understand fully the expected repercussions of the changes and consent to it. 4. Identify the testing methodology to confirm solution works as expected. The testing methodology should be created in tandem with the user to ensure it covers all their requirements for a successful resolution. 5. Make sure you document all such exchanges.

Ensuring the solution is tested prior to the application by using a test or dev environment is critical. If the client or user has services that are down in production we do not want to incur more problems from the application if a possible resolution only makes things worse. Planning is key which is why, as stated by others, using a maintenance window is best. Also ensure this fix is only pushed to the respective service (an isolated environment) and not to all services which could be working as expected.

As some may have noted, the above process is both tedious and expensive, and does not yield consistent results. The weakest link is probably the customer on whom we rely to report problems, who can be replaced with “agents”, and r “canaries” that monitor network health and report issues BEFORE the human users become aware and f it. So ch canaries can be continually enhanced to reflect new types of issues reported by humans over time.

Documenting the issue isn't glamorous. It should start as soon as you begin working on the networking issue, and the true challenge is making it usable for anyone who needs to refer to it or modify it in the future for it to be useful enough for the next person it needs to be comprehensive and pertinent but not filled with tech jargon. Both IT and non-IT people should be able to get what they need from the documentation you make.

Using a common template or format makes it much easier. Especially if it's a digital form with drop down menus for selection.

Documentation is not a one time action. You have to maintain clear and concise documentation throughout the process. The last step in the process would be consolidating all the existing notes and documentation into a single issue resolution report that clearly lists the: 1. problem description 2. symptoms identified and their verification 3. Actions taken and their outcomes 4. Final resolution and test report confirming current status of the problem. In practice, I use a template for this which I create at the very beginning and maintain as a living document throughout the process of troubleshooting the issue. At the very end I share this report with all concerned parties before signing off

Some best practices for documenting and reporting network issues and fixes include maintaining a record of network-related events, documenting the issue's symptoms, and following a predetermined reporting and documentation approach. All parties involved in network operations can be assured of consistency in reporting and documenting network concerns thanks to these protocols. They can also help with precisely diagnosing network problems and locating trends that might cause them.

Reports must be tailored to the audience. Sending the same report to your VP, your tech lead, your customer and their leadership is begging for trouble. Provide information on a need to know basis, but answer any follow-up questions with a detailed response. I cannot reiterate this enough, avoid jargons and complications, simplify as much as possible.

It is important to stay silent. Listen to understand and learn from all mistakes previously and / or allegedly made by any team member. Don’t take it personal. Be precise and concise in your summaries. And remember people are the most important asset. We make mistakes all the time. And we need to say…”I was wrong, will you forgive me?” Our documentation of the network will be simple to read because we take time to listen to understand and treat our team members with dignity, respect, and with equality. Women have better understanding sometimes…we need to listen to them.

I am afraid the question is not on troubleshooting, rather, it is on best practices for documenting and reporting network issues and solutions. The network configuration details, such as IP addresses, subnet masks, gateway addresses, DNS settings, and any relevant firewall rules or access control lists. Use a Standardized Format: This could include a template or predefined structure that covers sections like problem description, analysis, steps taken, and resolution. Include Relevant Logs and Metrics: If applicable, include relevant logs, metrics, or monitoring data related to the network issue. Outline Troubleshooting Steps: Document the steps taken to troubleshoot and investigate the issue.