Network Troubleshooting 101
Martin Indeche
MPBN PACO SME Engineer at Nokia | IP | EBK | Msc Computer Science I Mentor
Network troubleshooting is a very critical skill for IT professionals, it helps network administrators to quickly identify issues in the network, fix them and minimize downtime. As a network engineers, we spend a vast amount of my time figuring out why something that is supposed to work, doesn't or why the performance is below the expectations.
Some of the commonly used troubleshooting approaches are discussed below:
Once you have decided the approach to use, you can follow below steps in your troubleshooting.
1. Identify the Problem
The first step in troubleshooting a network is to identify the problem. This is the most critical step in network troubleshooting. As a part of this step, you should do the following:
2. Develop a Theory
Once you have finished gathering all the information that you can about the network issue or issues, it’s time to develop a working theory
领英推荐
3. Test the Theory
Using the tools at your disposal, it’s time to test your theory. If your theory is that the network router is defective, try replacing it with another router to see if that fixes the issue. At this stage, it’s important to remember that proving your own theories wrong doesn’t mean that you’ve failed. Instead, it means that it’s time to return to step two, develop a new theory, and then find a way to test that one. Sometimes your first theory may be right, but it’s also common to go through several theories before arriving at the true cause of your network’s issues.
Once you’ve confirmed your theory about the causes of the network issues, you’re in a position to solve them. Come up with a plan of action to address the problem. Sometimes your plan will include just one step. For example, restart the router. In other cases, your plan will be more complex and take longer, such as when you need to order a new part or roll a piece of software back to a previous version on multiple users’ computers.
Now that you have a plan for fixing the network, it’s time to implement it. There are some solutions that you may be able to do by yourself, while others may require cooperation from other network administrators or users. Follow the approval process before the implementation of the solution.
6. Verify System Functionality
Once you’ve implemented your solution, be sure to test the network. Make sure that the issue in question has been resolved, but also be on the lookout for other issues that may have arisen from the changes that you made to the network. As part of your verification process, make sure to consult both the network tools at your disposal as well as individual user accounts of their experiences on the network.
7. Document the Issue
If you are a network professional or an enthusiast who is around networks often, then it’s safe to say that this won’t be the last time you encounter this particular issue. Make sure to document each stage