Network Troubleshooting Steps: Your Key To Efficient Problem Solving

• Cable Problem: The cable used to link two devices might become defective, shorter, or physically destroyed.
• Connectivity Problem: The port or interface to which the device is attached or configured may be physically down or defective, preventing communication between the source and destination hosts.
• Configuration Issue: A network failure may occur as a result of incorrect configuration, IP looping, routing difficulties, and other configuration errors, and services may be disrupted.
• Software Issue: The transmission of IP data packets between the source and destination is halted due to software compatibility difficulties and version mismatch.
• Traffic overload: When a connection is overutilized, the capacity or traffic on a device exceeds its carrying capability, and the equipment begins to behave erratically owing to overload situations.
  
• Network IP issue: The source will be unable to reach the target IP over the network due to an incorrect IP address and subnet mask setting and routing IP to the next hop.
  

Network Troubleshooting Methodology

1. Check the hardware. Check all of your hardware to ensure it’s properly connected, switched on, and operating before you start troubleshooting. If a cord has come loose or someone has switched off a vital router, this might be the source of the problem with your networking troubles. It’s pointless to go through the debugging procedure if all you need to do is plug a cord in. Check that all switches are in the right positions and have not been mistakenly bumped.
   After that, switch the hardware off and on again. This is the basis of IT troubleshooting, and while it may sound simple, it often solves the problem. Simple problems can be solved by power cycling your modem, router, and PC; just be sure to turn each device off for at least 60 seconds before turning it back on.
2. Use ipconfig. Open the command prompt and enter “ipconfig” (without quotation marks) into the terminal. The IP address of your router is displayed as the Default Gateway (last). The number next to “IP Address” is your computer’s IP address. If your computer’s IP address begins with 169, it is not getting a genuine IP address. If it does not begin with 169, your machine is being assigned a genuine IP address by your router.
   To get rid of your existing IP address and request a new one, use “ipconfig /release” followed by “ipconfig /renew.” In certain circumstances, this will solve the problem. If you still can’t receive a valid IP address from your router, try connecting your computer directly to the modem through an ethernet connection. If it works, the router is the issue.
3. Use ping and tracert. If your router is operational and your IP address does not begin with 169, the issue is most likely between your router and the internet. Now is the time to employ the ping tool. Ping a well-known, big server, such as Google, to determine if it can communicate with your router. To ping Google DNS servers, open a command line and type “ping 8.8.8.8”; you may optionally add “-t” to the end (ping 8.8.8.8 -t) to continue pinging the servers while you troubleshoot. If the pings fail to send, the command prompt will return basic error information.You may get the same result by running “tracert 8.8.8.8”; this will display each step, or “hop,” between your router and the Google DNS servers. You can observe where the problem occurs along the journey. If the error appears early in the path, the problem is most likely in your local network.
4. Perform a DNS check. To see if the server you’re attempting to connect to is down, use the command “nslookup.” If you do a DNS check on google.com and get results like “Timed Out,” “Server Failure,” “Refused,” “No Response from Server,” or “Network Is Unreachable,” it might mean the problem is with the DNS server for your destination. (You can also use nslookup to check your own DNS server.)
5. Contact the ISP. If none of the following resolves the issue, contact your internet service provider to discover if they are experiencing problems. You may also use a smartphone to seek outage maps and similar information to see whether others in your region are experiencing the same issue.
6. Check on virus and malware protection. Next, ensure that your antivirus and malware products are up and running and that they haven’t detected anything that might be damaging your network and preventing it from operating.
7. Review database logs. Examine all of your database logs to ensure that the databases are working properly. If your network is operational but your database is full or dysfunctional, it may be producing issues that impair network performance.

Network Troubleshooting Steps

It’s also crucial to have certain best practices in place to make troubleshooting as speedy and painless as possible. If you’re looking for a unique gift, here is the place to be:

• Step 1: Collect information. To provide the greatest help to your end consumers, you must first understand the problem. Collect as much information as possible from both the persons experiencing network problems and the network itself in order to reproduce or identify the problem. Take caution not to confuse symptoms with the underlying cause, since what appears to be a problem may be a symptom of a greater problem.
• Step 2: Customize logs. Make sure your event and security logs are configured to give you information to aid in troubleshooting. Each log should provide a clear explanation of the objects or events being tracked, the date and time, and information about the log’s source. (MAC or IP address).
• Step 3: Check access and security. Check that no access or security concerns have arisen by ensuring that all access permissions are as they should be and that no one has inadvertently altered a sensitive portion of the network that they were not meant to be able to touch. Examine any firewalls, antivirus software, and malware software to confirm they are operational and that no security concerns are interfering with your users’ ability to operate.
• Step 4: Follow an escalation framework. Nothing is worse than going to the IT help desk and being routed to someone else, who then refers you to someone else, who sends you to still another. Have a clear escalation mechanism in place that specifies who is accountable for particular issues, including the last person in the chain who may be addressed for resolution. All of your end customers should know who to contact if they have a problem, so they don’t waste time talking to five different individuals who can’t help them.
• Step 5: Use monitoring tools. If you’re looking for a unique way to express yourself, here is the place to be. When you have a number of individuals pounding on your office door or sending you panicked emails, it might be difficult to locate, let alone address, the problem. In commercial and enterprise settings, it’s crucial to employ monitoring tools to ensure that you’re obtaining all of the key network information and aren’t missing anything important, not to mention avoiding exposing the firm to unneeded danger.

How Can A Network Monitoring Tool Help You Troubleshoot Issues Faster?

Network monitoring solutions include software and hardware tools for tracking and identifying network performance problems, incidents, and outages. In addition to various other purposes, they may monitor network traffic, bandwidth utilization, uptime, and more.

1. • Integrate with your network components:  Using protocols such as packet sniffer, SNMP, and others, monitoring tools may communicate with a wide range of devices and services, including routers, firewalls, switches, and virtual computers. This link allows administrators to quickly change devices.
   • Capture metrics at specific intervals:  Regular health and performance checks are required to ensure that the network, network components, and devices are performing optimally.
   • Support proactive visibility and troubleshooting:  Managers can evaluate metrics collected from numerous applications and devices using dashboards in monitoring systems. They also provide thorough reports on the present status of the network. This enables teams to get proactive network awareness, allowing for faster troubleshooting.
   • Map the network:  Network monitoring systems that can automatically map networked devices in order to collect performance statistics are available. This gives admins a clear picture of any present or upcoming network issues.

Network Troubleshooting Tools

There are numerous tools available to determine IP reachability issues and where packets are lost while communicating with the target site. These tools make troubleshooting easier and reduce restoration time.

Some of the most common tools are listed below:

1. SolarWinds Engineer’s Toolset

SolarWinds offers network software, including an Engineer’s Toolset with over 60 tools. You will be able to automate network discovery with the aid of these technologies. It includes tools for automatic network discovery such as a Port Scanner, Switch Port Mapper, SNMP sweep, IP Network Browser, and so on.

This program is capable of performing extensive diagnostics. It will monitor and inform you in real-time. It includes the IP address and DHCP scope monitoring, configuration and log management, and increased network security.

SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor may be linked with Engineer’s Toolset. The program will assist you in running network stress testing with WAN Killer. It will produce random traffic based on your criteria and allow you to alter packet size, bandwidth, and bandwidth percentage.

SolarWinds provides a 14-day fully functional free trial. Engineer’s Toolset costs $1495 per seat license.

2. Obkio

Obkio is a simple network performance monitoring solution that delivers real-time, end-to-end performance monitoring to let you examine the health of your network and essential business applications in minutes!

Obkio’s software program is intended for monitoring network performance and online applications, as well as identifying the root causes of typical network issues such as VoIP, video, and application delays.

Install network performance monitoring. Agents in key areas around your company’s offices or network destinations rapidly identify the source of a system problem and execute remedial actions.

Obkio notifies you as soon as a problem arises or if there are signals that a breakdown is imminent. It not only alerts you and pinpoints the cause of the problem, but it also allows you to travel back in time and finish a diagnosis.

3. Auvik

Auvik is a network management software that runs in the cloud. It offers all network information across all sites through a single dashboard. It is capable of administering and monitoring multi-vendor network equipment.

It features a feature for automatically backing up configuration as it changes. You may immediately restore the backup and return to normalcy. Traffic analysis tools will assist you in locating abnormalities more quickly. It provides proactive messages based on pre-configured monitoring and alarms.

It supports automated detection of distributed IT assets, delivering information on every device’s connection, insights into network configuration and updates, and AES-256 network data encryption.

Auvik provides a 14-day free trial. Pricing is divided into two categories: Essentials and Performance. You can request a quote for their price information.

4. Perimeter 81

Perimeter 81 is a wonderful network troubleshooting tool since it provides organizations with many sophisticated security capabilities to easily monitor, manage, and safeguard their network. Perimeter 81 guarantees that your network’s attack surface is considerably minimized due to its dependable collection of features, which includes 2FA, monitoring, traffic encryption, identity-based access controls, and so on.

The program also excels at decreasing an organization’s vulnerabilities by segmenting the network and imposing a specific access policy on each individual user. Perimeter 81 additionally allows you to use several encryption schemes. WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IPSec are among the key encryption protocols supported by the program.

Perimeter 81 excels in the integration sector as well. The program integrates with nearly all cloud and on-premise resources, giving customers more visibility and control over their network.

When all of these remarkable capabilities are integrated, consumers get a multilayered security tool that is one of the finest network troubleshooting tools on the market today. Pricing rates for Perimeter 81 begin at $8 per user per month. You may also choose its enterprise package to get services tailored to your company’s unique demands and requirements.

5. Ping

The PING utility validates reachability to the destination host at the remote end by utilizing IP ICMP echo requests and echoes reply messages.

It comprises two messages: one indicating if the data packet is capable of sending and receiving messages from the destination IP address, and the other indicating the RTT time for the procedure. (RTT means round trip time and is calculated in milliseconds).

The exclamation point indicates that the ping was successful. If the ping responds with the message “the destination is unreachable,” there might be several causes for this. We’ll utilize the next tool to figure out what’s causing it.

6. Trace Route

It sends ICMP echo request messages while gradually increasing the IP TTL (time to live) values.

The initial value is 1. It transmits the data packet forward, and each hop reduces the TTL value by one while routing the data, rejecting packets with zero TTL values by responding that the message ICMP time has expired.

The source host delivers the data packet once more, but this time with a TTL of 2. In this manner, the process will continue until the packet arrives at the destination, at which point the destination host will respond with ICMP echo-back messages.

The router uses a traceroute to keep track of which route packets take to reach their destination, as well as to compute latency and other metrics.

7. Protocol Analyzer

It is a sophisticated tool for determining network problems.

The program is responsible for intercepting and recording the data packet flow between the source and the destination. For example, if the system is operating slowly, it can check for latency difficulties and other networking issues to assist in finding the main reason.

Tips For Network Troubleshooting

Some Tips for Network Troubleshooting include:

• Always use a strong password to safeguard your network equipment, such as routers, switches, and database servers, which contain sensitive data.
• Share your router login user ID and password with no one inside or outside the organization.
• Once your work is completed, properly log out of the system.
• Continue to check your settings using the show running-config command.
• When assigning IP addresses and subnet masks to network devices, always undertake IP planning first and then create a diagram of the connection of network devices.
• It is preferable to utilize routers or servers in the master-slave mode so that if one fails, the other will take up the burden and your network will remain operational.
• Avoid putting too much traffic on your gadget.

FAQs

What is networking troubleshooting?

Networking troubleshooting is the process of identifying and resolving issues in computer networks, including problems with connectivity, performance, and security.

What are the steps involved in networking troubleshooting?

The steps involved in networking troubleshooting typically include identifying the problem, understanding the network topology, gathering information, using diagnostic tools, isolating the problem, and resolving the issue.

What tools are commonly used for networking troubleshooting?

1. Ping (ICMP/ SNMP/ Proxy)
2. Tracert/ Traceroute
3. Browse
4. Telnet/ SSH
5. Remote Desktop
6. Terminal
7. IT workflow automation

How can I improve my networking troubleshooting skills?

If you want to level up your networking troubleshooting game, you’ve got to stay in the know with the latest networking technologies and trends. That means staying curious, keeping up with the industry buzz, and being proactive about learning. Practice is crucial too—make it a habit to troubleshoot regularly, challenge yourself, and don’t shy away from experimenting. But it goes further than that! To further hone your talents, look for training classes or certification programs. Always keep in mind that having a clear troubleshooting approach is essential. Continue to improve your methods, be flexible, and have a development mentality. Stay on your toes and avoid settling for mediocrity since the networking world is continuously changing. Continue working hard, learning new things, and solving problems like a boss!

Final Words

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