Chapter 2. Basic Network Connectivity

Essentially, networking is all about connecting two nodes. A successful network connection is established between any two nodes when data can flow from one node to the other. By monitoring the behavior of this path, network administrators can isolate and diagnose network issues.

This chapter discusses the most common tools used for testing and monitoring network connectivity. All the tools discussed in this chapter are available within the operating system and do not require installation. This chapter is divided into the following two sections:

• Common network connectivity tools

  ping

  traceroute

• Miscellaneous network connectivity tools

  whois

  nslookup

  dig

  netstat

  nbtstat

  arp

Netadmins with a beginner's level of experience can find this chapter useful. Networking professionals who are familiar with these tools can skip this chapter if they want to.