Exam Essentials

Know the eight troubleshooting steps, in order.  The steps, in order, are:

1. Establish symptoms.

2. Identify the affected area.

3. Establish what has changed.

4. Select the most probable cause.

5. Implement a solution.

6. Test the result.

7. Recognize the potential effects of the solution.

8. Document the solution.

Be able to identify a link light.  A link light is the small, usually green, LED on the back of a network card. This LED is typically found next to the media connector on a NIC and is usually labeled “Link.”

Understand how proper network use procedures can affect the proper operation of a network.  If a user is not following a network use procedure properly (e.g., not logging in correctly), that user may report a problem where none exists. A good network troubleshooter should know how to differentiate between a network hardware/software problem and a “lack of user training” problem.

Know how to narrow down a problem to one specific area or cause.  Most problems can usually be traced to one specific area or cause. You must be able to determine if a problem is specific to one user or a bunch of users, to one computer or a bunch of computers, and if the problem is related to hardware or software. The answers to these questions will give you a very specific problem focus.

Know how to detect cabling-related problems. Generally speaking, most cabling-related problems can be traced by plugging the suspect workstation into a known, working network port. If the problem disappears (or at the very least changes significantly), the problem is related to the cabling for that workstation.

Understand viruses completely and the impact they can have on a network.  Viruses are small programs that generally serve no useful purpose. Additionally, they self-replicate (make copies of themselves and put themselves on other systems). Viruses cause problems with computer software, ranging from unstable systems to complete loss of data. Networks make it much easier for viruses to spread because all of the systems on a network are connected together. Theoretically, if one network-connected computer is infected with a virus, all computers connected to the same network could potentially be infected in a short period of time.