Solving Network Problems: Network Troubleshooting?

Published on: 2023 October 5

Networks regulate the direction and flow of information. The most frequent root causes of networking problems are resolved with this network troubleshooting methodology. Intermittent network issues can ruin your business, annoy users, and disrupt your workflow. To prevent such things from happening, network issues must be resolved as soon as they arise.

One of the most crucial abilities you can have is the ability to troubleshoot your network because it enables you to advance your environment.

We'll go through some of the steps you should take when a network malfunctions in this tutorial, whether it's your own network or one that you oversee professionally as a network administrator. We're going to walk you through what network troubleshooting is, how to fix connectivity problems on networks, and how to use network troubleshooting tools to fix networks. This manual ought to additionally equip you to follow a repeatable procedure for identifying and resolving network problems. By introducing you to tried-and-true techniques, it is hoped that you will gain experience with network problems and be able to solve each problem more rapidly than the one before it.

The answers to these queries are provided here, providing you with the information and tools you need to successfully negotiate the perilous waters of network problems.

• What is network troubleshooting?
• What's the value of effective network troubleshooting?
• What are the common causes of network problems?
• What is the Cisco troubleshooting methodology?
• How do you perform basic network troubleshooting steps?
• What are the network troubleshooting tools?
• How can network monitoring software speed up network troubleshooting?
• Why are troubleshooting skills essential for network management?
• How can you develop your network troubleshooting skills?
• How do I troubleshoot the firewall connection problem on Zenarmor Cloud Portal?

What is Network Troubleshooting?

The process of assessing, locating, and addressing network-related problems is known as network troubleshooting. Therefore, troubleshooting is a consistent, demanding, and efficient procedure that includes routine analysis and testing of individual network components to guarantee proper operation.

Network troubleshooting is described as a logical procedure that network engineers use to enhance the performance of the entire network. Identifying the issue, testing the network, isolating the problem, examining network logs, and putting a fix in place are a few common processes in network troubleshooting. To locate and fix the problem, network administrators, IT support personnel, and other stakeholders need to work together.

Because troubleshooting enables you to target specific network components, test each one for functionality, and promote the documentation of your approach, it is more successful than attempting things at random until the network works. Nearly everyone, from a computer hobbyist to an aspiring network engineer, benefits from network troubleshooting. Many IT professionals utilize network troubleshooting software or other network troubleshooting tools to aid in the process of troubleshooting a network.

A variety of methods and tools are used in network troubleshooting, including network analyzers, ping and traceroute utilities, and network performance testing tools. Network administrators and experts use these tools to identify and assess network issues, such as slow network speeds, connectivity problems, security flaws, and other issues.

Maintaining dependable network performance, reducing downtime, and protecting the security of network resources all depend on effective network troubleshooting.

What is the Value of Effective Network Troubleshooting?

It is simpler to troubleshoot problems, immediately discover network delays, examine latency measurements, trace packets, and more with an efficient and trustworthy network monitoring solution.

Network monitoring solutions support network configuration management and monitoring key metrics, including packet data and capacity, in addition to troubleshooting to guarantee efficient business-critical operations.

Fast, efficient network troubleshooting is a crucial component of corporate resiliency. More mission-critical business functions than ever are completed via today's networks. Without thorough investigation and prompt problem-solving, networks may experience expensive downtime.

Reduced productivity as well as the financial effects of disrupted or subpar services, data breaches, and malware are all part of the price of downtime. These repercussions may be expensive and harm brands in the long run.

In summary, network troubleshooting is crucial since it aids IT administrators in understanding network component problems, lowering downtime, and enhancing the quality of service (QoS) for users.

What are the Common Causes of Network Problems?

A rapid increase in network bandwidth demand, security breaches, defective hardware, and in-app configuration changes are just a few of the causes of network problems. The following are a few causes of network problems:

• High bandwidth use: Higher bandwidth enables faster data transfer between internet-connected devices. Due to the high bandwidth utilization when downloading huge files, shared folders, and video material, the network becomes congested. This causes problems with network lag.
• Configuration Mistakes: IT professionals are needed to configure and manage all of these devices as networks expand. Over time, mistakes like incorrectly configuring network devices or even simply pulling the wrong wire can happen frequently. It's not difficult for someone to make a little error and rectify it, but if that error brings down an entire branch network or stops services in an area for longer than a few minutes, it can become crippling.
• A high CPU use rate: When more network packets are received and delivered across the network, CPU consumption rises dramatically. Additionally, there is a great deal of traffic, which strains the network and uses a lot of CPU power to process the requests.
• Security Breaches: A network can go down due to too much load if there are security flaws and unwanted traffic is allowed. Make certain you have the necessary security measures in place to prevent hackers from overwhelming your network.
• Abrupt hardware malfunctions: Hardware can wear out over time, and devices might malfunction. As networks expand, the loss of any component inside them can result in either partial or complete network failure unless redundancy is incorporated from the start.
• Power outage: Power outages are ubiquitous, even in the world's most technologically advanced and industrialized cities. Power outages, whether partial or complete, are a common annoyance in many regions of the world. Networks without emergency power options or redundancy will find that their operations are ultimately dependent on the dependability of power suppliers.
• Old machinery: Every out-of-date, unsupported device poses a possible risk to the operation of your network. Plan improvements and the replacement of outdated equipment proactively.
• An inadequate physical connection: All cables must be tested because damaged cables might cause errors because they are connected directly to the network equipment's interface. Packet loss and a decrease in the volume of data flowing are further consequences of cable degradation.
• Contrasting changes: These problems arise when a modification you want to make doesn't work well with your other equipment; they are not the result of setup errors or unintentional mistakes. By putting adjustments and new products through a lab test before going into production, these issues can be avoided. Additionally, if you keep thorough records of your current equipment and configurations to aid in the early detection of compatibility difficulties, you'll minimize these problems.

What is the Cisco Troubleshooting Methodology?

Cisco has created a troubleshooting model to help you handle potential network issues and address them effectively. Knowing how to divide the actions required to address the problem through a methodical process of elimination is an essential component of troubleshooting. Cisco has organized the procedure into eight careful steps:

1. Describe the issue
2. Assemble thorough information
3. Analyze the information
4. Get rid of any potential causes
5. Make a hypothesis
6. Testing the hypothesis
7. Resolve issue and record resolution

If you're new to networking, this is quite helpful. It logically lays out the measures you can take to identify the problem's root cause. The first step is to define an issue at the top. This makes it quite clear what the issue is. After completing that, you start getting information. This is done to learn more about the issue.

For instance, there is a connectivity issue. To see if we can ping from the source to the destination, we would first verify. If not, we would investigate whether it only affects that particular host or if other hosts in the same region are affected. If it only affects that one host, then that host most likely has the issue. It's probably not an issue at the host level if it affects everyone on that IP subnet. The likely culprit is somewhere between the host and the destination. Then, after learning more, we would inquire as to whether anything has changed recently and whether it was previously functional. Find out what has changed if something was working previously and isn't now; this will probably reveal what the issue is.

The next step is to analyze that data. Use display and debug commands on your devices in addition to asking individuals all the pertinent questions to obtain the information. After that, examine that data to get any hints as to what the issue is.

After that, you can proceed with removing potential reasons. When attempting to resolve a connectivity issue between a source and a destination, for instance, it may be necessary to check each of the routers along the path. If the configuration at the first hop router is satisfactory, we can rule that out as the root of the problem.

The next step is to put up a theory. You will select what appears to be the most likely cause of the issue after considering all the available information. Then you test your theory by executing the commands or taking the action necessary to resolve the issue.

If the issue has been resolved, congratulations. Right now, we're at the bottom. Documenting the solution is the final step. It's not enjoyable to do this right now, but it must be done. It should be very simple and quick for you to identify a solution if your organization has good documentation in place because someone has already documented the issue and the fix. If you're not documenting, it will take you an hour to fix it again if it took you an hour to do it the first time. However, if you have documentation, it might only take a short while.

Additionally, this is not just for other people who may later encounter the same issue as you. It's also for you. It's possible that you encounter an identical situation a year later and are unable to recall the specifics. However, if you have the documentation on hand, you can immediately check it up and discover a solution.

That is how you typically debug a problem from beginning to conclusion. You'll see that there are additional arrows pointing in various directions. Sometimes we can jump right from the step of gathering information to the stage of proposing a hypothesis.

You don't need to spend time obtaining further information if you've seen this issue before and are quite certain it will occur again. Simply enter the answer you believe will work and determine whether it does so. Additionally, if we don't succeed in solving a problem the way we anticipated, we frequently have the option of reverting back to a previous step.

How Do You Perform Basic Network Troubleshooting Steps?

Because network troubleshooting is a repeatable process, it can be divided into simple steps that anyone may use. You can perform the following network troubleshooting steps:

1. Determine the issue: Finding the issue is the first step in network troubleshooting. In this phase, you should take the following actions:
   • Utilize the network troubleshooting tools at your disposal to gather data on the network's present condition.
   • If feasible, reproduce the issue on a piece of test gear or software. This can assist you in determining the source of your issue.
   • Ask other users on the network about any issues or problems they have run into.
   • Determine the signs of a network outage. Do they, for instance, encompass a total loss of network connection? sluggish network behavior? Is there a problem with the network as a whole, or is just one person having problems?
   • Check to see if the network has changed since the problems first started. Is there a brand new piece of gear in operation? Have new users joined the network? Has the network undergone any recent software modifications or updates?
   • Define each person's issues precisely. A network may occasionally experience several issues. This is the time to focus solely on each issue so that other, unresolved problems won't interfere with your solutions.
2. Construct a Theory: It's time to create a workable theory after you have gathered as much information as you can about the network problem or problems. Don't be hesitant to challenge the obvious while developing your idea on the origins of the network problem, but keep an eye out for more significant problems as well. Sometimes a network outage happens as a result of a person tripping over a wire or another straightforward issue. Other times, though, the issues could have deeper, trickier origins, like a security breach in a network.
3. Verify Your Theory: It's time to put your theory to the test using the resources at your disposal. If you think the network router is broken, try switching to a different router to see if that resolves the problem. At this point, it's critical to keep in mind that you haven't failed if you can disprove your own theories. Instead, it indicates that it's time to go back to step 2, create a new theory, and then figure out how to put that theory to the test. It's possible that your initial thought will be accurate in certain cases, but it's more typical to test numerous possibilities before determining the actual reason for the problems with your network.
4. Action Plan: You can address the network difficulties once your theory regarding their causes has been verified. Create a strategy for dealing with the issue. Your strategy might occasionally only have one stage. Consider restarting the router. In other circumstances, such as when you must order a new part or roll a piece of software back to an earlier version on machines belonging to several users, your strategy will be more involved and take longer.
5. Put the Advice into Practice: It's time to put your network-fixing strategy into action now that you have one. You might be able to solve certain problems on your own, but others might call for assistance from other network administrators or users.
6. Examine System Performance: After putting your approach into practice, test the network. Verify that the problem has been fixed, but keep an eye out for any further problems that might have developed as a result of the network adjustments you made. Make sure to use both the network technologies at your disposal and individual user accounts of their network experiences as part of your verification process.
7. Record the problem: It's reasonable to say that if you are a network enthusiast or professional who frequently deals with networks, this won't be the last time you run into this exact problem. Be sure to record each step of the troubleshooting process, including the network symptoms, your generated theory, your testing method, and the resolution you come up with to resolve the issue. Even if you don't use this documentation, another network engineer at your firm might find it useful in the future, which could reduce network downtime.

What are the Network Troubleshooting Tools?

When it comes to identifying and fixing network problems, you can utilize a number of tools in addition to user reviews and personal experience with the network. Network troubleshooting tools may be built into the operating system of the computer, available as stand-alone software programs, or available as hardware devices that you can use to troubleshoot a network. The top fundamental tools for troubleshooting the majority of networking difficulties are as follows:

1. Ping: The ping utility is the network tool that is most frequently used when debugging networks. The Ping tool provides a straightforward connection test between the requesting host and the destination host. ICMP, which provides the capacity to transmit an echo packet to a destination host and a mechanism to wait for a response from this host, is used to do this. Simply put, a host is reachable if the requesting host receives a response from the destination site. The Ping tool is frequently employed to present a brief overview of the potential locations of a given networking issue. For instance, if an office's Internet connection is down, the ping tool can be used to determine whether the issue is with the office itself or the Internet provider's network.

   It aids in the determination of packet loss and latency. ICMP normally has the lowest priority packet in the pecking order; therefore, it doesn't provide any information about the issue. Instead, it alerts us to an issue that requires attention. Packet loss or latency (or both) is typically a sign of bandwidth overload across a link or even a faulty network cable or switch port. Regardless, when you start your troubleshooting procedure, this will almost always be your first choice of utility.

2. traceroute: The second most important utility you'll use every day is definitely this one. When determining which network devices are between two points and providing information on their activities, traceroute is invaluable. If the devices are set to have them, it offers hostnames for the devices and latency values (min, average, and max). Although they run on separate operating systems - tracert for Windows and traceroute for Linux/*nix - the tracert and traceroute tools perform the same task. When we have many network connections to the outside world, traceroute is used to diagnose routing problems.

3. ipconfig/ifconfig: Finding out the precise IP configuration of the variously impacted hosts is one of the most crucial steps that must be taken while resolving a networking problem. When addressing is configured statically, this information is sometimes already known, but when dynamic addressing is utilized, the IP address of each host may potentially vary often. The ipconfig program for Windows computers and the ifconfig utility for Linux/*nix based computers are the tools that may be used to find out this IP configuration information.

   In addition to IPv4 information, it displays MAC addresses, DNS servers, default gateways, IPv6 addresses, data on how much traffic is passing through the interface, errors, and dropped packets.

4. Nslookup: Dynamic Name System (DNS) address resolution issues are some of the most frequent network troubleshooting problems. Everyone who uses the Internet uses DNS to translate well-known domain names, such as google.com, into less-familiar IP addresses, such as 74.125.115.147. Most of the functionality that people are accustomed to disappears when this system malfunctions because there is no method to reconcile this information. To find the precise IP address(es) connected to a domain name, use the nslookup program. If this tool cannot resolve this data, there is a DNS problem. The nslookup program can query certain DNS servers in addition to standard lookups to identify problems with a host's default DNS configuration.

   Locating the IP addresses linked to a domain name and verifying that our host's DNS (Domain Name System) resolution are two wonderful uses for this useful tool. The computer silently requests the DNS server to get the IP address associated with that hostname when we type www.google.com into our web browser.

5. Netstat: The status of the active network connections on a host is frequently one of the things that has to be determined. For a number of reasons, finding this information is crucial for troubleshooting a network. For instance, to check and see which distant hosts are connected to a local host on a given port or to confirm the status of a listening port on a host. The netstat tool is used to find out which services on a host are connected to particular active ports.

   This tool is especially useful for hosts or servers that operate their own firewalls, such as Apache or SQL Server. Each communicates using a distinct network port. For instance, if IIS isn't "listening" for communications on port 80 but we want to run a web server, it won't be able to serve up its web pages to anyone.

6. The Tera/PuTTY Term: A telnet, SSH, or serial client is needed for connecting to various sorts of equipment; when this is necessary, both the puTTY and Tera Term programs are able to provide these features. The decision to choose one over the other is wholly subjective.

   It is impossible to stress the importance of using a remote console, particularly when working with Linux or Unix-like systems. For "headless" computers without a desktop environment, a remote console (or terminal) is a must. In the Linux/*nix environment, the console is a potent instrument in the proper hands. It is completely necessary for server-related jobs.

   It is among the best methods for entering a network that has connectivity issues. Making a connection requires almost no bandwidth, and terminal software is remarkably tolerant of packet loss.

7. IP and Subnet Calculator: An IP network calculator is one of a junior network engineer's most crucial tools. When troubleshooting a network, these can be used to determine the proper IP address selection and, consequently, the proper IP address setup. Although senior-level network engineers use this kind of technology, the longer and more experience you have in the field, the easier it is to calculate a lot of the information from the tool. The Wildpackets (Bitcricket) Network Calculator and the Solarwinds Advanced Subnet Calculator are two of the more popular free IP calculators.

8. Speedtest.net/pingtest.net: The usage of the tools offered at the speedtest.net and pingtest.net websites is a relatively simple test that can be used to evaluate the Internet bandwidth available to a certain host as well as the quality of an Internet connection. When estimating how long it will take to upload or download data from a local host to a remote host, the speedtest.net website offers the ability to estimate the amount of bandwidth that is accessible to a certain host at a specific moment in time. However, keep in mind that there will likely be some bandwidth difference between the quoted bandwidth purchased and the measured bandwidth. This test is used to check whether the connection is providing the amount of bandwidth that was purchased from the Internet provider. By tracking the ping response times and jittery quantities over a brief period of time, the pingtest.net website is used to assess the connection's quality. This data can be used to assess the possibility of the measured connection's ability to handle particular high-demand traffic types, such as VoIP or gaming.

9. Route: The route utility is used to show a host's routing table's current state. When a host only has a single IP address and a single gateway, as is often the case, the usage of the route utility is constrained. However, when many IP addresses and gateways are available, it becomes essential.

How can Network Monitoring Software Speed up Network Troubleshooting?

It can be difficult to troubleshoot slow network performance, but fortunately, there are several tools and strategies available to assist you in identifying the main issue. In order to address sluggish network performance, network performance monitoring is one of them and the most crucial one.

The practice of network performance monitoring involves tracking and analyzing several network performance indicators over time, including packet loss, throughput, and latency. By offering thorough insights into network behavior, network monitoring tools aid in identifying slow network performance and assisting in problem-solving. When there are problems with network performance, these technologies can monitor network traffic and send out immediate alerts. They help discover trends and potential problems by providing historical data and performance tracking over time. Businesses can immediately discover and resolve problems using network performance monitoring, which improves network performance, boosts output, and reduces downtime.

Software and hardware tools are used in network monitoring systems to detect and identify network performance problems, events, or outages. Along with a number of other tasks, they monitor network traffic, bandwidth utilization, uptime, and more.

Network monitoring tools include dashboards to let administrators see metrics gathered from various apps and devices, supporting proactive visibility and troubleshooting. They offer extensive reports that include the most recent network status. This aids teams in gaining proactive network visibility for quicker diagnosis.

Monitoring solutions connect to a variety of hardware, including firewalls, switches, routers, and virtual machines (VMs), by using protocols like packet sniffing and SNMP. Using this integration, administrators may swiftly reconfigure devices.

In order to gather performance measurements, network monitoring software can automatically map the devices connected to a network. This enables administrators to see current or anticipated network issues clearly.

Why are Troubleshooting Skills Essential for Network Management?

Nearly everyone, from a computer hobbyist to an aspiring network engineer, may benefit from network troubleshooting. When your network breaks down, for instance, it's helpful to know how to troubleshoot it so you won't be inconvenienced. However, for many businesses, having a professional with network troubleshooting abilities on site is crucial. While network outages at home may only be a minor inconvenience that keeps you from finishing your movie or puts off your online chat with a buddy, network outages at work can put a stop to many modern organizations that depend largely on connectivity.

Businesses are aware of how crucial it is to keep their network up and running. Networking abilities came in fifth place among the talents that firms wished to enhance in CompTIA's Building Digital Organizations research study, surpassing abilities like cloud architecture or big data analytics.

Even though emerging technologies frequently make the news and have the greatest growth potential, they are useless without being integrated into the broader IT infrastructure. An organization's network requirements will alter as its technological presence expands, making troubleshooting harder and more important.

Network downtime is the period when a network is not accessible. Every minute of downtime for an online business means that client communications are hampered, employees are unable to access their cloud data, and many of the company's online tools and services are unavailable. In other words, lost revenue from a downed network can cost hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars every hour. Network troubleshooting abilities are a vital necessity in professional settings in order to get a firm back up and running as soon as feasible.

How can you develop your network troubleshooting skills?

These are only a handful of the procedures you might follow and resources you can utilize to troubleshoot a network issue. Using built-in diagnostic tools, checking connections, double-checking that everything is plugged in, and troubleshooting home networks may often resolve many problems quickly.

However, you'll need to develop your troubleshooting abilities to match if you want a job working on computer networks. Given that businesses are primarily concerned with reducing their network downtime, network troubleshooting is a crucial ability to possess while looking for a career as a network engineer or network administrator.

A computer networking-related IT certification is necessary as confirmation of your skills if you're looking for a job. Remember that certification examinations rigorously assess your skills, so be careful to look for the right network training to adequately prepare for the exam and take the test with confidence.

Combining training and certifications with practical network troubleshooting experience is crucial for truly developing the abilities that will land you the job. You can practice your IT skills by tinkering with your own equipment or helping nearby NGOs by volunteering to upgrade their networks and fix any problems they may be experiencing. This expertise doesn't have to come from a job.

How do I Troubleshoot the Firewall Connection Problem on Zenarmor Cloud Portal?

Zenarmor® is an all-software instant firewall that can be deployed almost anywhere. Due to its appliance-free, all-in-one, all-software, lightweight, and straightforward design, it can be simply implemented on any network-connected platform. Whether on-premises or in the cloud, virtualized or bare metal?

Zenconsole is a cloud administration portal for Zenarmor-powered systems. With Zenconsole, you can centrally manage multiple instances of Zenarmor across your organization. Zenconsole brings network security closer to any networking environment. You can manage your home or business firewall effortlessly and securely from anywhere in the world.

If you are getting a connection error for your node on the Zenarmor Cloud Portal (Zenconsole), or if you see cloud server connection problem messages in the dashboard or reports, you should follow zenarmor troubleshooting steps and restart zenarmor cloud agent service.