NETWORK TROUBLESHOOTING
Troubleshooting a Network
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NETWORK TROUBLESHOOTING
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The first step is asking the user for detailed information. The following questions are worth
asking the user before troubleshooting :
 If the user has connected multiple devices, do both devices experience the link speed
problem?
 When did the problem happen? Did the problem happen continuously or at certain time
intervals? That is, the user should explain if the link speed changes with time or remains
constant.
 Did the user try out troubleshooting the problem? If yes, they should describe the fixes. This
is important as it may simplify the process if at all the problem is originating from the client
device.
I would start by checking all the hardware and ensuring that they are connected properly, have
no loose codes, and are turned on. Sometimes the server may randomly assign two different users a
similar IP address, leading to IP address mismatch. To fix this issue, I would advise the user to reboot
their computer or use the IP config command to release and replace the IP address.
In some cases, a possible problem could be that the server is overloaded or strained, especially
when multiple users are connected to the same server. This divides the bandwidth among the users,
making the link speed slow down. For this case, I would try checking the usage of different
connected users on network resources( especially the Internet resources). After the diagnosis, I
would create and enforce Internet usage policies so that all the traffic other than for organizational
purposes is blocked. This is possible by using secure web gateways and next-generation firewalls.
Malware and viruses may distort the network signals hence affecting the link speed. A
possible fix is to check for viruses by using the anti-malware and anti-virus tools and scanning for
possible flagging to resolve the problem. I would also check the functioning of databases. The
databases may either be full or malfunctioning, causing problems. I would review the database logs
and resolve the problem, by shrinking the logs from tasks or creating more space for the growth of
transaction growth, by increasing restricted file growth.
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Reference
Dahm, K.(2016). Top 10 most common causes for poor network performance.ComputerWorks.
https://www.cwims.com/performance/top-10-most-common-causes-for-poor-networkperformance/