Chapter 52. Strategies for Troubleshooting Network Problems

SOME OF THE MAIN TOPICS IN THIS CHAPTER ARE

A Documented Network Is Easier to Troubleshoot

Problem-Solving Techniques

Pitfalls of Troubleshooting

Although networks can be composed of many types of physical components , from copper wire or fiber- optic cables to wireless Access Points and network adapters, there are steps you can take to make troubleshooting network problems a little easier, regardless of their composition. Although each device, protocol, or standard that is a part of your network may come with its own tools used for troubleshooting purposes, it's important to realize that you should take a structured approach to solving problems on the network. This chapter introduces a few concepts that make life much simpler for a network administrator, including documenting network components, and also documenting problems (and solutions that work).

Note

In other chapters you'll find discussions of specific tools used for troubleshooting. For example, the use of ping and traceroute for testing IP networks is covered in Chapter 28, "Troubleshooting Tools for TCP/IP Networks." In Chapter 53, "Network Testing and Analysis Tools," we'll look further at some tools that can be used to troubleshoot physical components of the network.