Ethernet Basics and Network Troubleshooting

Wires, switches, hubs, and what to plug where

 Communication between two or more devices. Parts required for Networking:

Host Computer, networked printer, etc. Sends/receives data for network to card Card Every card on a network has to have a unique address Card breaks outgoing data into packets and addresses them Card receives packets addressed to it and re-assembles
packets to data

Networking

Wire Transmits packets across network For this discussion includes all wires, radios and devices
between network cards (including hubs, switches, access points, etc.)

Wire types
Co-Ax
Composed of: Core, insulation, shielding,
insulation

10 Mb only 10Base5 Thicknet 1600 ft (500 meters) 10Base2 Thinnet 600 ft (200 meters)

Twisted Pair
10/100/1000 Mb 340 ft. (100 meters) between devices CAT3, CAT5, CAT5e, CAT6, CAT6e

Wire Types (cont.)

Fiber 10/100/1000/10,000 Mb Multi-mode Long Haul (20 km) Single-mode Short Haul (3 Km) what we use Carries light, not electricity Wireless Speeds 11/7 Mb, 54/27Mb Because of encryption and connection upkeep, available bandwidth is about of stated speed Common mediums InfraRed (IR) Microwave, (long distances) Radio Licensed/private Un-licensed (802.11b/g/a)

Ethernet (Infancy)
10Base5 Original Ethernet
Large Co-ax Backbone (garden hose) Terminated at ends Vampire tap, to transceiver 1600 ft. backbone Jumper from transceiver to card How it works: 10 Mb/s One Wire every packet goes to every host CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access/ Carrier Detect) Collisions Half Duplex

Ethernet (Toddler)
10Base2
Smaller diameter, less expensive cable shorter length 600 ft total length Get rid of the backbone use a T connector on each card Daisy chained the whole network together Terminated on ends Still ONE WIRE Still CSMA/CD

Ethernet (Adolescent)
10BaseT
HUB Packet is simultaneously
sent out all ports If two packets come in at the same time it is a collision

Twisted pair wire The Hub is part of The Wire 340 feet between devices 3 hops maximum (no daisy chaining)

Limitations/Issues
Still CSMA/CD Hubs listen (receive) on the transmit wires, send (transmit) on the receive wires (backwards to a host) Connections between hubs need to be crossed over
Crossover cable (red) MIDX switch MIDX port Auto Negotiate on one end (or both)

Speeds Early years 10 Mb/s - 70 stations, average network traffic

50% of packets are collisions, useable bandwidth 5 Mb/s Later 100 Mb/s - faster data rate, faster collisions, 7 stations, average network traffic, 50% of all packets are collisions, useable bandwidth 50 Mb/s Last class of hub, 10/100 dual speed hub
Has a two sides, auto detects hosts speed If 10 Mb/s, puts on 10 Mb/s side of switch If 100 Mb/s, puts on 100 Mb side of switch

Where we were 10 yrs ago & the Limitations:

One Wire Relied on CSMA/CD
All data goes to every Host Total bandwidth shared by ALL hosts Collisions if / when two hosts talk at the same time, both stop, wait a random period of time and try again (70 computers on 10BaseT average 50% collisions)

Half Duplex ONLY, like a CB radio 3 HOP rule

If packets go through more than 3 hubs, it may become corrupt Corrupt packets are re-requested and must be re-sent

SWITCHES!!!!
Switches are
INTELEGENT:
Have CPU & RAM Builds a table, what address is on what port

Switches can do Full

Duplex. Store and Forward
Packet comes into switch, is looked at and sent out only on the port(s) that it needs to go to

No 3 hop rule

SWITCHES!!! (Cont.)
Switches can handle multiple
speeds.
This allows multiple 10/100 workstations to talk full speed to a 1000 Mb/sec server connection

Reduces/Eliminates Collisions Dedicated bandwidth to each port

in switch Big switches are managed, has an IP address and you can customize ports

Switches, limitations
Traffic that still goes to every port:
Broadcast traffic (addressed to 255.255.255.255) Multicast Traffic (Imaging) Smart switches pay attention and only send the multicast
traffic to the clients once they have responded

Lower end switches, any packet not on the table goes to all ports (the response from the unknown host will add it to the table) If a switch overruns its table (runs out of ram) it goes into blocking mode, basically becomes a hub Still may need to use crossover cable, MIDX port, some switches auto negotiate crossover

GIGABIT Ethernet
Eliminated CSMA/CD
There is no such thing as a Gigabit hub, its switched only! NO Collisions (it cant detect them or correct them, so they simply arent allowed)
Uses all 8 wires, each one individually Requires CAT5e or better CAT5e keep under 250 feet (prefer CAT6) All copper gig equipment auto-negotiates crossover/duplex/speed No Crossover cable needed, if used must have all 4 pairs crossed over

Copper Gig

Wireless
50% of the bandwidth used for encryption,
connection and error correction
11 Mb 802.11b useable bandwidth is 7 Mb 54 MB 802.11a/g useable bandwidth is 24 Mb 802.11n, uses more channels (less access points pre area more contention for channels) Faster, more reliable

A wireless access point is a HUB

All communication between the wireless hosts and the access point are on one radio channel (wire). All hub limitations apply

Summary so far
Hubs Stink!!!
Half Duplex only Collisions are the norm Shared bandwidth between all devices on hubs

Wireless is slower than wired

Its a hub, and 40% of bandwidth is wasted But, its darned convenient (thats why we use it) If you can use a wired connection, do so Try and keep it to 15 or fewer computers per access point

Use switches
Full duplex Eliminates Collisions Dedicated bandwidth to each switched port 3-20 times faster than hubs

Ethernet Troubleshooting
What does network does not work mean?
Internet down Server down One computer, or group of computers cant access network Wing of building down Whole building down

Understand the path data takes through the

network What does work, and specifically, what does not

Common problems
Four common network problem
categories:
1. Everything is slow/not working 2. Internet is slow, server access is normal 3. Server access is slow/not working, Internet access seems normal 4. Single computer, room of computers, area of building is slow/not working

Everything is slow/not working

Wiring/Network problems
Ethernet loops (nasty to find, messes up whole school) Two wires to wall? (use ONE red cable)
Use a red cable to the wall.

Count cables/computers Remove extra cables (teachers/kids love to plug

stuff in)
Airport extreme, both wires to wall

Everything is slow/not working (cont.)

Wiring/Network problems (cont.)
Cable too long (less than 320 from switch to host) Cable with electrical/florescent ballast? Hubs still there? Daisy chained hubs (deeper than 3?)

Everything is slow/not working (cont.)

Network is very busy, so its slow (solid activity
lights on switches) Look at lights on MDF/IDF switches, unplugreplug one at a time to see if traffic returns to normal - note the port and track it down
Causes: Worm viruses/spyware Loop Chattery Network Card (bad drivers or bad card)

Keep OS updates and anti-Virus software up to

date Have NE analyze network

Internet is slow/not working (cont.)

Can be a Router
Problem
Contact your NE/Helpdesk then Turn router off and back on

Can be a Upstream
problem
Ping around

Internet is slow/not working

Overloaded Wan line(s)
Can be worm/e-mail viruses eating up bandwidth Can be peer-to-peer file sharing program on a computer in your school Streaming video/audio congesting the network? (video/audio over the internet is for educational use only, not for entertainment)

Ping around
Get to a command prompt XP/Win2k/Vista
Run ipconfig Note your default gateway Run Ping <default gateway>
No response, your router may not be working

Run Ping <known district server/router>

No response, your connection to the outside world (Geomax/T1 etc) is down

Run ping www.xmission.com

No response - your districts connection to the outside world is down

Server is slow/not working

Work this with your NE!! What you *CAN* do Step 1
Un-plug/re-plug the servers network cables First Contact helpdesk/your NE. Dont move them, plug them back in
the same place Only do one end of one cable at a time The server will be down while they are un-plugged

Step 2 (still not working)

Check it out, or have the network guy check it out Contact helpdesk/your NE, get server restarted

Group of computers is slow/not working

What do they have in common?
All connected to same hub? Get a switch!!! All connected to same mini-switch? Power-cycle switch Check for loops Replace switch ($18.00 for 8 port.) Change port on IDF/MDF

Group of computers is slow/not working (cont.)

What do they have in common? (cont.)
All same model/from same image? Virus/Spyware in image? Client software installed/configured wrong? OS not patched? Bad NIC driver? Same wing or area Power cycle switches in IDF/MDF (some of these
take over 3 min. to boot, so dont just go and do this without warning users)

Single computer is slow/not working

Restart the computer Un-plug/re-plug/replace
cables Check its connection at MDF/IDF

Single computer is slow/not working (cont.)

Change its port at MDF/IDF
Dont move other wires Dont clean up wiring!!! If it doesn't fix it, change it back

Patches/ AntiVirus / Spyware Upgrade/Re-install NIC

driver Replace NIC Force speed/duplex (gig switch, Cat5 wiring?)