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Top 10 Basic Network Troubleshooting Tools Every IT Pro Should Know
Top 10 Basic Network Troubleshooting Tools Every IT Pro Should Know
ProShouldKnow
BySeanWilkinsonJuly13,2011
Networktroubleshootingtoolsareanecessityforeverynetworkadministrator.Whengettingstarted
inthenetworkingfield,itisimportanttoamassanumberoftoolsthatcanbeusedtotroubleshoota
varietyofdifferentnetworkconditions.
Whileitistruethatthetheuseofspecifictoolscanbesubjectiveandatthediscretionofthe
engineer,theselectionoftoolsinthisarticlehasbeenmadebasedontheirgeneralityandcommon
use.Thisarticlereviewsthetop10basictoolsthatcanhelpyoutroubleshootmostnetworking
issues.
10.Ping
Themostcommonlyusednetworktoolisthepingutility.Thisutilityisusedtoprovideabasic
connectivitytestbetweentherequestinghostandadestinationhost.Thisisdonebyusingthe
InternetControlMessageProtocol(ICMP)whichhastheabilitytosendanechopackettoa
destinationhostandamechanismtolistenforaresponsefromthishost.Simplystated,ifthe
requestinghostreceivesaresponsefromthedestinationhost,thishostisreachable.Thisutilityis
commonlyusedtoprovideabasicpictureofwhereaspecificnetworkingproblemmayexist.For
example,ifanInternetconnectionisdownatanoffice,thepingutilitycanbeusedtofigureout
whethertheproblemexistswithintheofficeorwithinthenetworkoftheInternetprovider.Figure1
belowshowsanexampleofthepingutilitybeingusedtoobtainthereachabilitystatusofthelocally
connectedrouter.
Figure1:Pingutility
9.Tracert/traceroute
Typically,oncethepingutilityhasbeenusedtodeterminebasicconnectivity,thetracert/traceroute
utilitycanusedtodeterminemorespecificinformationaboutthepathtothedestinationhostincluding
theroutethepackettakesandtheresponsetimeoftheseintermediatehosts.Figure2belowshows
anexampleofthetracertutilitybeingusedtofindthepathfromahostinsideanofficeto
www.google.com.Thetracertutilityandtracerouteutilitiesperformthesamefunctionbutoperateon
differentoperatingsystems,TracertforWindowsmachinesandtracerouteforLinux/*nixbased
machines.
Figure2:Tracert/tracerouteutility
8.Ipconfig/ifconfig
Oneofthemostimportantthingsthatmustbecompletedwhentroubleshootinganetworkingissueis
tofindoutthespecificIPconfigurationofthevariouslyaffectedhosts.Sometimesthisinformationis
alreadyknownwhenaddressingisconfiguredstatically,butwhenadynamicaddressingmethodis
used,theIPaddressofeachhostcanpotentiallychangeoften.Theutilitiesthatcanbeusedtofind
outthisIPconfigurationinformationincludetheipconfigutilityonWindowsmachinesandtheifconfig
utilityonLinux/*nixbasedmachines.Figure3belowshowsanexampleoftheifconfigutilityshowing
theIPconfigurationinformationofaquerieshost.
Figure3:Ifconfigutility
7.Nslookup
SomeofthemostcommonnetworkingissuesrevolvearoundissueswithDynamicNameSystem
(DNS)addressresolutionissues.DNSisusedbyeveryoneusingtheInternettoresolvecommonly
knowndomainnames(i.e.google.com)tocommonlyunknownIPaddresses(i.e.74.125.115.147).
Whenthissystemdoesnotwork,mostofthefunctionalitythatpeopleareusedtogoesaway,as
thereisnowaytoresolvethisinformation.ThenslookuputilitycanbeusedtolookupthespecificIP
address(es)associatedwithadomainname.Ifthisutilityisunabletoresolvethisinformation,thereis
aDNSissue.Alongwithsimplelookup,thenslookuputilityisabletoqueryspecificDNSserversto
determineanissuewiththedefaultDNSserversconfiguredonahost.Figure4belowshowsan
exampleofhowthenslookuputilitycanbeusedtoquerytheassociatedIPaddressinformation.
Figure4:Nslookuputility
6.Netstat
Often,oneofthethingsthatarerequiredtobefiguredoutisthecurrentstateoftheactivenetwork
connectionsonahost.Thisisveryimportantinformationtofindforavarietyofreasons.For
example,whenverifyingthestatusofalisteningportonahostortocheckandseewhatremote
hostsareconnectedtoalocalhostonaspecificport.Itisalsopossibletousethenetstatutilityto
determinewhichservicesonahostthatisassociatedwithspecificactiveports.Figure5belowshows
anexampleofthenetstatutilitybeingusedtodisplaythecurrentlyactiveportsonaLinuxmachine.
Figure5:Netstatutility
5.PuTTY/TeraTerm
Whenconnectingtoavarietyofdifferenttypesofequipment,atelnet,SSHorserialclientisrequired
whenthisisrequiredboththepuTTYandTeraTermprogramsareabletoprovidethese
functionalities.Theselectionofoneovertheotherisstrictlyapersonalpreference.Figures6and7
belowshowbothpuTTYandTeraTermbeingusedtoconnecttoahostviaSSH.
Figure6:PuTTY
Figure7:TeraTerm
4.SubnetandIPCalculator
OneofthemostimportanttoolsinthebeltofajuniornetworkengineerisanIPnetworkcalculator.
ThesecanbeusedtounsureacorrectIPaddressselectionandwiththisacorrectIPaddress
configuration.Whilethistypeoftoolisusedbyseniorlevelnetworkengineers,muchofthe
informationobtainedfromthetoolbecomessimplertocalculatethelongerandmoreexperienceyou
haveinthefield.TwoofthemorecommonlyusedfreeIPcalculatorsincludeWildpackets(Bitcricket)
NetworkCalculatorandSolarwindsAdvancedSubnetCalculatorwhichcanbefoundatthelinks
below.
http://www.bitcricket.com/downloads/IPCalculator.msihttp://downloads.solarwinds.com/solarwinds/Rel
ease/FreeTool/SolarWindsSubnetCalculator.zip
Figure8:Subnetcalculator
3.Speedtest.net/pingtest.net
AveryeasytestthatcanbeusedtobothdeterminetheInternetbandwidthavailabletoaspecific
hostandtodeterminethequalityofanInternetconnectionistheuseofthetoolsavailableatthe
speedtest.netandpingtest.netwebsites.Thespeedtest.netsiteprovidestheabilitytodeterminethe
amountofbandwidththatisavailabletoaspecifichostataspecificpointintimethisisoftenagood
tooltousewhenmeasuringhowlongitisgoingtotaketouploadordownloadinformationfroma
localtoremotehost.Thismeasurementcanalsobeusedtodeterminewhethertheconnectionis
offeringtheamountofbandwidththatwaspurchasedfromtheInternetproviderkeepinmind
howeverthatsomeamountofbandwidthdifferenceisexpectedbetweenthequotedbandwidth
purchasedandthemeasuredbandwidth.Thepingtest.netwebsiteisusedtodeterminethequalityof
theconnectionbymeasuringthepingresponsetimesandjitteramountsoverashortperiodoftime.
Thisinformationcanbeusedtodeterminealikelihoodofhowwellthemeasuredconnectionwilldeal
withcertaintypesofhighdemandtrafficlikeVoiceoverIP(VoIP)orgaming.Figure9and10below
showexampleoutputfrombothofthesesites.
Figure9:Speedtest
Figure10:Pingtest
2.Pathping/mtr
Inanefforttotakeadvantageofthebenefitsofboththepingandtracert/traceroutecommands,the
pathpingandmtrutilitiesweredeveloped.Bothofthesetoolstakethefunctionalityandinformation
thatcanbeobtainedfromthesetypesoftoolsandprovideamoredetailedsinglepictureofthepath
characteristicsfromaspecifichosttoaspecificdestination.Figure11and12belowshowexamples
ofthesetwotoolsandwhatinformationtheyprovide.
Figure11:Pathping
Figure12:Mtr
1.Route
Thelastofthetoolscoveredinthisarticleistherouteutility.Thisutilityisusedtodisplaythecurrent
statusoftheroutingtableonahost.Whiletheuseoftherouteutilityislimitedincommonsituations
wherethehostonlyhasasingleIPaddresswithasinglegateway,itisvitalinothersituationswhere
multipleIPaddressandmultiplegatewaysareavailable.Figure13belowshowsanexampleofthe
routeutilitybeingusedonaWindowsmachine.
Figure13:RouteUtility
Summary
Aswithanyjob,thetypeoftoolsthatarequicklyavailablecangreatlyinfluencetheamountoftime
thatittakestocompleteajob.Whentroubleshootinganetworkingissue,theamountoftimethatit
takestofindandfixaproblemdirectlyaffectthewastedcoststhatitcausestoanysystemrelyingon
thenetwork.Thisarticlehastakenalookatthe10mostcommonlyusedtoolsthatcanhelpin
ensuringthatthetimethatittakestofindandfixaproblemisasshortaspossible.Ihopethe
informationinthisarticlecanbehelpfulinfuturetroubleshooting.
Getourcontentfirst.Inyourinbox.
Contributor
SeanWilkins
isanaccomplishednetworkingconsultantforSRWConsulting(http://www.srwconsulting.com)and
writer/editorforinfoDispersion(http://www.idisperse.info).SeanhasbeenintheITfieldforover15
years,workingwithcompanieslikeCisco,Lucent,VerizonandAT&Taswellasseveralotherprivate
companies.SeanholdscertificationswithCisco(CCNP/CCDP),Microsoft(MCSE)andCompTIA(A+
andNetwork+).Hiseducationalaccomplishmentsinclude:aMastersofScienceinInformation
TechnologywithafocusinNetworkArchitectureandDesign,aMastersofScienceinOrganizational
Management,aMastersCertificateinNetworkSecurity,aBachelorsofScienceinComputer
Networking,andanAssociatesofAppliedScienceinComputerInformationSystems.
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