Network Troubleshooting

Accessing the WAN – Chapter 8

ITE I Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 1
 Objectives

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 2
 Establish a Network Baseline
 Network documentation should include these components:
Network configuration table
End-system configuration table
Network topology diagram

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 3
Establish a Network Baseline - Network
Configuration Table - Router and Switch

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 4
Establish a Network Baseline - Network
Configuration Table - End-system Configuration Table

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 5
Establish a Network Baseline - Network
Configuration Table - Network Topology Diagram

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 6
 Network Documentation Process

Network documentation Commands

ping
telnet
show ip interface brief
show ip route
show cdp neighbor detail
ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 7
 Establish a Network Baseline

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 8
Establish a Network Baseline - Step 1.
Determine what types of data to collect
selecting a few variables that represent the e.g. interface utilization and
defined policies. CPU utilization.

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 9
Establish a Network Baseline - Step 2. Identify
devices and ports of interest

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 10
Establish a Network Baseline - Step 3.
Determine the baseline duration
Generally, a two-to-four-week baseline is adequate.

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 11
Establish a Network Baseline
Sophisticated network management software is often used to baseline large and
complex networks e.g. Fluke Network SuperAgent module.

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 12
Establish a Network Baseline
In simpler networks, the baseline tasks may require a combination of manual data
collection and simple network protocol inspectors.

Hand collection should be

limited to mission-critical
network devices because it
is time consuming.

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 13
 Troubleshooting Methodologies and
Troubleshooting Tools
The caveman's first
instinct is to start
swapping cards,
cables, hardware,
and software until
miraculously the
network begins
operating again – Net
may work but
problem not solved.

The rocket scientist A systematic approach uses

analyzes and reanalyzes elements of both - minimizes
the situation until the exact confusion and cuts down on
cause at the root of the time otherwise wasted with
problem has been trial and error.
identified and corrected
with surgical precision
-Time consuming.
ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 14
Troubleshooting Methodologies and
Troubleshooting Tools - Layered Models
Layered models can be applied to the physical network to isolate network
problems. The OSI model is commonly
used in troubleshooting
networks.

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 15
Troubleshooting Methodologies and
Troubleshooting Tools - Layered Models

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 16
Troubleshooting Methodologies and
Troubleshooting Tools - General Procedure

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 17
Troubleshooting Methodologies & Troubleshooting
Tools - Methods

There are three main methods for

troubleshooting networks:
Bottom up
Top down
Divide and conquer

Good approach to use when the

problem is suspected to be a
physical one.

Requires checking every device

and interface on the network until
the possible cause of the problem
is found.

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 18
Troubleshooting Methodologies & Troubleshooting
Tools - Methods

Approach Used for simpler

problems or when software is
suspected.

Requires checking every network

application until the possible
cause of the problem is found.

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 19
Troubleshooting Methodologies & Troubleshooting
Tools - Methods

Start by collecting user experience of the

problem, document the symptoms and then,
using that information, make an informed
guess as to which OSI layer to start your
investigation.
Once satisfied that a layer is functioning
properly, assume that the layers below it are
functioning and work up the OSI layers.

If an OSI layer is not functioning properly,

work your way down the OSI layer model.
ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 20
Troubleshooting Methodologies & Troubleshooting
Tools - Guidelines for Selecting a Method

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 21
Troubleshooting Methodologies and
Troubleshooting Tools - Gathering Symptoms

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 22
Troubleshooting Methodologies and
Troubleshooting Tools - Gathering Symptoms -
Commands

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 23
Troubleshooting Methodologies and
Troubleshooting Tools - Gathering Symptoms -
Questioning End Users

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 24
Troubleshooting Methodologies & Troubleshooting
Tools - Software Troubleshooting Tools - NMS
Network
management
system (NMS) tools
include device-level
monitoring,
configuration, and
fault management
tools.
Network
monitoring
software
graphically
displays a
physical view of
network devices,

Device management
software provides
dynamic status,
statistics, and
configuration
information for
switched
ITE 1 Chapter 6
products.
© 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 25
Troubleshooting Methodologies & Troubleshooting
Tools - Software Troubleshooting Tools - Knowledge
Bases

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 26
Troubleshooting Methodologies & Troubleshooting
Tools - Software Troubleshooting Tools - Baselining
Tools

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 27
Troubleshooting Methodologies & Troubleshooting
Tools - Software Troubleshooting Tools - Protocol
Analyzers

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 28
Troubleshooting Methodologies & Troubleshooting
Tools - Hardware Troubleshooting Tools - NAM

A network analysis
module (NAM) is a
embedded browser-based
interface that generates
reports on the traffic that
consumes critical network
resources.

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 29
Troubleshooting Methodologies & Troubleshooting
Tools - Hardware Troubleshooting Tools – DMM/Cable
Tester

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 30
Troubleshooting Methodologies & Troubleshooting
Tools - Hardware Troubleshooting Tools - Portable
Network Analyzers
Portable
devices
used for
troublesh
ooting
switched
networks
and
VLANs.

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 31
 Common WAN Implementation Issues

WAN implementation must aim to balance user

pressure to provide more service access at higher
speeds and management pressure to contain cost

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 32
Common WAN Implementation Issues – Steps
in WAN Design

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 33
Common WAN Implementation Issues – WAN
Traffic Considerations

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 34
Common WAN Implementation Issues – WAN
Topology Considerations

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 35
Common WAN Implementation Issues – WAN
Topology Considerations

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 36
Common WAN Implementation Issues – WAN
Connection Technologies

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 37
Common WAN Implementation Issues – WAN
Bandwidth Considerations

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 38
 Common WAN Implementation Issues

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 39
Common WAN Implementation Issues – Case
Study

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 40
Troubleshoot Enterprise Network – Interpreting
Network Diagrams to Identify Problems

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 41
Troubleshoot Enterprise Network – Interpreting
Network Diagrams to Identify Problems

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 42
Network Troubleshooting – Physical Layer -
Symptoms
If performance is unsatisfactory all the time, the
problem is probably related to a poor configuration,
inadequate capacity somewhere, or some other
systemic problem.
If performance varies and is not always
unsatisfactory, the problem is probably related to
an error condition or is being affected by traffic
from other sources.
Reasons for slow or poor performance include
overloaded or underpowered servers, unsuitable
switch or router configurations, traffic congestion
on a low-capacity link, and chronic frame loss.

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 43
Network Troubleshooting – Physical Layer -
Symptoms
Collision domain problems affect the local medium
and disrupt communications to Layer 2 or Layer 3
infrastructure devices, local servers, or services.

Average collision counts on shared media should

generally be below 5 percent
Collision-based problems may often be traced
back to a single source.
It may be a bad cable to a single station, a bad
uplink cable on a hub or port on a hub, or a link
that is exposed to external electrical noise.

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 44
Network Troubleshooting – Physical Layer -
Causes

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 45
Network Troubleshooting – Physical Layer -
Steps

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 46
Network Troubleshooting – Data Link Layer -
Symptoms

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 47
Network Troubleshooting – Data Link Layer -
Causes

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 48
Network Troubleshooting – Data Link Layer
-Troubleshooting Layer 2 – PPP – Step 1

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 49
Network Troubleshooting – Data Link Layer
-Troubleshooting Layer 2 – PPP – Step 2

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 50
Network Troubleshooting – Data Link Layer
-Troubleshooting Layer 2 – PPP – Step 3

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 51
Network Troubleshooting – Data Link Layer
-Troubleshooting Layer 2 – Frame Relay – Step 1

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 52
Network Troubleshooting – Data Link Layer
-Troubleshooting Layer 2 – Frame Relay – Step 2

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 53
Network Troubleshooting – Data Link Layer
-Troubleshooting Layer 2 – Frame Relay – Step 3

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 54
Network Troubleshooting – Data Link Layer
-Troubleshooting Layer 2 – Frame Relay – Step 4

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 55
Network Troubleshooting – Data Link Layer
-Troubleshooting Layer 2 – STP Loops

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 56
Network Troubleshooting – Network Layer -
Symptoms

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 57
Network Troubleshooting – Network Layer -
Steps

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 58
Network Troubleshooting – Transport Layer –
Symptoms

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 59
Network Troubleshooting – Transport Layer –
Common Access List Issues
Inbound traffic is processed by the inbound ACL before being processed by
outside-to-inside NAT.

Outbound traffic is processed by the outbound ACL after being processed by

inside-to-outside NAT.
ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 60
Network Troubleshooting – Transport Layer –
Common NAT Issues

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 61
Network Troubleshooting – Application Layer
Most of the application layer protocols provide user services like network
management, file transfer, distributed file services, terminal emulation, e-mail,
VPNs, VoIP, etc.

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 62
Network Troubleshooting – Application Layer

Application layer problems prevent services from

being provided to application programs.

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 63
Network Troubleshooting – Application Layer

Requires
understanding
the process of
ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public
the protocol. 64
Network Troubleshooting – Application Layer

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 65
 Summary

ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 66
ITE 1 Chapter 6 © 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 67