Module 11: Network
Troubleshooting
Enterprise Networking, Security, and Automation
(ENSA)
Module Objectives
Module Title: Network Troubleshooting
Module Objective: Troubleshoot enterprise networks.
Topic Title Topic Objective
Network Documentation Explain how network documentation is developed
and used to troubleshoot network issues.
Troubleshooting Process Compare troubleshooting methods that use a
systematic, layered approach.
Troubleshooting Tools Describe different networking troubleshooting tools.
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11.1 Network Documentation
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Network Documentation
Documentation Overview
Accurate and complete network documentation is required to effectively monitor and
troubleshoot networks.
Common network documentation includes the following:
• Physical and logical network topology diagrams
• Network device documentation that records all pertinent device information
• Network performance baseline documentation
All network documentation should be kept in a single location and backup documentation
should be maintained and kept in a separate location.
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Network Documentation
Network Topology Diagrams
There are two types of network topology diagrams: physical and logical.
Physical Topology Logical Topology
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Network Documentation
Network Device Documentation
Router Device
Documentation
Network device
documentation should
contain accurate, up-to-
date records of the
network hardware and Switch Device
software. Documentation
Documentation should
include all pertinent
information about the
network devices. End-System
Documentation
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Network Documentation
Establish a Network Baseline
A network baseline is used to establish normal network performance to determine the
“personality” of a network under normal conditions. Establishing a network performance
baseline requires collecting performance data from the ports and devices that are
essential to network operation.
The baseline data is as follows:
• Provides insight into whether the current network design can meet business
requirements.
• Can reveal areas of congestion or areas in the network that are underutilized.
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Network Documentation
Step 1 - Determine What Types of Data to Collect
When conducting the initial baseline, start by selecting a few variables that represent the
defined policies.
If too many data points are selected, the amount of data can be overwhelming, making
analysis of the collected data difficult.
Start out simply and fine-tune along the way.
Some good starting variables are interface utilization and CPU utilization.
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Network Documentation
Step 2 - Identify Devices and Ports of Interest
A logical network topology can be useful in
identifying key devices and ports to monitor.
As shown in the sample topology, the
devices and ports of interest include:
• PC1 (the Admin terminal)
• Two servers (i.e., Srv1 and Svr2)
• Router interfaces
• Key ports on switches
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Network Documentation
Step 3 - Determine the Baseline Duration
When capturing data for analysis, the period specified should be:
• At a minimum, seven days long.
• Last no more than six weeks, unless specific long-term trends need to be measured.
• Generally, a two-to-four-week baseline is adequate.
Conduct an annual analysis of the entire network, or baseline different sections of the
network on a rotating basis.
Analysis must be conducted regularly to understand how the network is affected by
growth and other changes.
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Network Documentation
Data Measurement
The table lists some of the most common Cisco IOS commands used for data collection.
Command Description
show version • Displays uptime, version information for device software and hardware
show ip interface [brief]
show ipv6 interface [brief] • Displays all the configuration options that are set on an interface.
show interfaces • Displays detailed output for each interface.
show ip route [static | eigrp | ospf | bgp] • Displays the routing table content listing directly connected networks and
show ipv6 route [static | eigrp | ospf | bgp] learned remote networks.
show cdp neighbors detail • Displays detailed information about directly connected Cisco devices.
show arp
show ipv6 neighbors • Displays the contents of the ARP table (IPv4) and the neighbor table (IPv6).
show running-config • Displays current configuration.
show vlan • Displays the status of VLANs on a switch.
show port • Displays the status of ports on a switch.
• Used to collect a large amount of information using multiple show commands
show tech-support
for technical support reporting purposes.
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11.2 Troubleshooting
Process
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Troubleshooting Process
General Troubleshooting Procedures
Troubleshooting can be time consuming
because networks differ, problems differ, and
troubleshooting experience varies.
• Using a structured troubleshooting method
will shorten overall troubleshooting time.
• There are several troubleshooting
processes that can be used to solve a
problem.
• The figure displays the logic flowchart of a
simplified three-stage troubleshooting
process.
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Troubleshooting Process
Question End Users
The table provides questioning guidelines and sample open ended end-user questions.
Guidelines Example Open Ended End-User Questions
• What does not work?
Ask pertinent questions. • What exactly is the problem?
• What are you trying to accomplish?
• Who does this issue affect? Is it just you or others?
Determine the scope of the problem.
• What device is this happening on?
• When exactly does the problem occur?
Determine when the problem occurred /
• When was the problem first noticed?
occurs.
• Were there any error message(s) displayed?
Determine if the problem is constant or • Can you reproduce the problem?
intermittent. • Can you send me a screenshot or video of the problem?
Determine if anything has changed. • What has changed since the last time it did work?
Use questions to eliminate or discover • What works?
possible problems. • What does not work?
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Troubleshooting Process
Gather Information
Common Cisco IOS commands used to gather network problem symptoms.
Command Description
ping {host |ip-address} • Sends an echo request packet to an address, then waits for a reply.
traceroute destination • Identifies the path a packet takes through the networks.
telnet {host | ip-address} • Connects to an IP address using the Telnet application (Note: Use SSH whenever possible).
ssh -l user-id ip-address • Connects to an IP address using SSH.
show ip interface brief
show ipv6 interface brief
• Displays a summary status of all interfaces on a device.
show ip route
show ipv6 route • Displays the current IPv4 and IPv6 routing tables.
show protocols • Displays the global and interface-specific status of any configured Layer 3 protocol.
debug • Displays a list of options for enabling or disabling debugging events.
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Troubleshooting Process
Troubleshooting with Layered Models
The OSI and TCP/IP models can be applied to isolate network problems when
troubleshooting.
The figure shows some common
devices and the OSI layers that
must be examined during the
troubleshooting process for that
device.
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11.3 Troubleshooting
Process
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Troubleshooting Tools
Software Troubleshooting Tools
Common software troubleshooting tools include the following:
Software Tool Description
Network Management • Network software include device-level monitoring, configuration, and fault-management tools.
System Tools • Tools can be used to investigate and correct network problems.
• Online network device vendor knowledge bases have become indispensable sources of information.
Knowledge Bases • When vendor-based knowledge bases are combined with internet search engines, a network administrator
has access to a vast pool of experience-based information.
• Many tools for automating the network documentation and baselining process are available.
Baselining Tools • Baselining tools help with common documentation tasks such as network diagrams, update network
software and hardware documentation, and cost-effectively measure baseline network bandwidth use.
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Troubleshooting Tools
Protocol Analyzers
A protocol analyzer can
capture and display the
physical layer to the
application layer information
contained in a packet.
Protocol analyzers, such as
Wireshark, can help
troubleshoot network
performance problems.
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Troubleshooting Tools
Hardware Troubleshooting Tools
There are multiple types of hardware troubleshooting tools.
Hardware Tools Description
Digital Multimeters Devices measure electrical values of voltage, current, and resistance.
Cable Testers Handheld devices are designed for testing the various types of data communication cabling.
Cable Analyzers Multifunctional handheld devices used to test and certify copper and fiber cables.
Portable Network
Specialized device used for troubleshooting switched networks and VLANs.
Analyzers
Cisco Prime NAM Browser-based interface that displays device performance analysis in a switched and routed environment.
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Troubleshooting Tools
Syslog Server as a Troubleshooting Tool
Syslog is used by syslog clients to send text-based log messages to a syslog server.
• Log messages can be sent to the console, VTY lines, memory Level Keyword
buffer, or syslog server. 0 Emergencies
1 Alerts
• Cisco IOS log messages fall into one of eight levels. 2 Critical
• The lower the level number, the higher the severity level. 3 Errors
• By default, the console displays level 6 (debugging) messages. 4 Warnings
5 Notifications
• In the command output, level 0 (emergencies) to 5 (notifications) 6 Informational
are sent to the syslog server at [Link]. 7 Debugging
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11.4 Module Practice and
Review
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Module Practice and Review
What did I learn in this module?
• Common network documentation includes physical and logical network topologies, network
device documentation, and network performance baseline documentation.
• The troubleshooting process should be guided by structured methods such as the seven-step
troubleshooting process: (i.e., 1. Define the problem, 2. Gather information, 3. Analyze
information, 4. Eliminate possible causes, 5. Propose hypothesis, 6. Test hypothesis, and 7.
Solve the problem).
• Troubleshooting tools include NMS tools, knowledge bases, baselining tools, protocol
analyzer, digital multimeters, cable testers, cable analyzers, portable network analyzers,
Cisco Prime NAM, and syslog servers.
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Module 11: Network Troubleshooting
New Terms and Commands
• Network topology diagram
• Physical topology
• Logical topology
• Network device
documentation
• Network baseline
• Troubleshooting processes
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