A slow network has a far much-reaching impact on productivity for any business. Therefore, proper structures are necessary to ensure that problems resulting from slowdown are dealt with effectively. The process of troubleshooting starts with asking relevant questions, before analyzing the problem and finally resolving it using appropriate models.
Asking questions before any troubleshooting process enables the IT expert to get to the bottom of the problem much faster. It is, therefore, a crucial step that helps in identifying where the problem exists. The first question should be that which relates to the age and layout of the infrastructure. Issues with the bandwidth are mostly caused by old and faulty RF interfaces or cables (Forouzan, 2007). It may also insinuate insufficient connection. The second question would be that which inquiries about the logical layout of the network. The consultant should enquire whether all the nodes are linked through a single gateway because overloaded hardware may result to bandwidth issues. Lastly, the question on the monitoring tools used on the network should be asked. Find out if layer 7 filtering is employed as most slow down issues result from enormous streaming from users. The issues may also be as a result of malicious traffic fed into the network with rogue devices.
Use your promo and get a custom paper on
"Logical Solutions to a Problem".
A background knowledge of the TCP/IP tools is necessary is the analysis of the problems associated with network slowdown. One of the tools used is the Ipconfig tool which manages the DHCP allocated IPv4 address configurations, and also displays the TCP/IP configuration. The other tool is the Netsh which is commonly used as a configuration tool for most network services. This tool administers and displays the TCP/IP protocol settings on both remote and local computers. Event viewer can also be used to record errors and events. A monitoring tool such as the Network Monitor is also necessary to capture the contents of the packets of TCP/IP sent to and from all devices running the server. Testing TCP connections between any two nodes can be established using Telnet.
During a network slowdown troubleshooting, it is essential to identify whether the problem is cutting across all the network client or just a few clients experienced it. In the case where all the clients face the same network problem, the issue is likely to be caused by the wiring infrastructure. If only a section of the clients experiences the problem, then the issue might be within the individual client’s network. Using the TCP/IP model approach requires that the elements of the problem are identified before determining the appropriate steps to apply in the troubleshooting process. Finally, with the knowledge of the workings of TCP/IP, the IT expert should get down to work by isolating the problem and fixing it.
Similarly, the OSI model can be used in fixing the problems of network slowdown. If the problem is difficulty in getting graphics from the internet, then layer 7 of the OSI model is used to bring it up. The bottom up OSI approach can be employed, starting with layer 1. Using this method requires the knowledge of the connections of the network cable, IP address, DNS server information, among others (Lindsay, 2014). From these questions, it is easier to resolve the problem. For instance, the graphic may be a TIFF file which requires a decoder. The absence of the decoder may result to presentation error issue.
In conclusion, troubleshooting follows a logical sequence that starts with asking questions to get to the bottom of the problem. This step is followed by the identification of the TCP/IP tools useful in the analysis of the problem. The final action is the application of the TCP/IP and OSI models to solve the problem.
- Forouzan, B. A. (2007). Data communications and networking. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
- Lindsay, R. (2014, February 4). Using the OSI Model as a Troubleshooting Model. Retrieved from https://tnsutah.wordpress.com/
