Introduction to Troubleshooting and Network Maintenance

Introduction to Troubleshooting and Network Maintenance

Business operations, without a doubt, depend on the reliable operation of data networks (which might also carry voice and video traffic). This statement holds true regardless of the business size. A structured and systematic maintenance approach significantly contributes to the uptime for all networks. In addition, having a sound troubleshooting methodology in place helps ensure that when issues arise you are confident and ready to fix them.

Consider a vehicle as an example. Regular maintenance such as oil changes, joint lubrication, and fluid top-offs are performed on a vehicle to ensure that problems do not arise and the life of that vehicle is maximized. However, if an issue does arise, it is taken to a mechanic so that they may troubleshoot the issue using a structured troubleshooting process and ultimately fix the vehicle. Similarly, the number of issues in a network can be reduced by following a maintenance plan, and troubleshooting can be more effective with a structured approach in place.

This chapter discusses the importance of having a structured troubleshooting approach and a solid network maintenance plan. It identifies many popular models, structures, and tasks that should be considered by all organizations. However, as you will see, there is no “one-stop shop for all your needs” when it comes to troubleshooting and network maintenance. It is more of an art that you will master over time.

“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz

The “Do I Know This Already?” quiz allows you to assess whether you should read this entire chapter thoroughly or jump to the “Exam Preparation Tasks” section. If you are in doubt about your answers to these questions or your own assessment of your knowledge of the topics, read the entire chapter. Table 1-1 lists the major headings in this chapter and their corresponding “Do I Know This Already?” quiz questions. You can find the answers in Appendix A , “Answers to the ‘Do I Know This Already?’ Quizzes.”

Table 1-1 “Do I Know This Already?” Section-to-Question Mapping

Caution :- The goal of self-assessment is to gauge your mastery of the topics in this chapter. If you do not know the answer to a question or are only partially sure of the answer, you should mark that question as wrong for purposes of the self-assessment. Giving yourself credit for an answer that you correctly guess skews your self-assessment results and might provide you with a false sense of security

1. Identify the three steps in a simplified troubleshooting model.

a. Problem replication

b. Problem diagnosis

c. Problem resolution

d. Problem report

2. Which of the following is the best statement to include in a problem report?

a. The network is broken.

b. User A cannot reach the network.

c. User B recently changed his PC’s operating system to Microsoft Windows 7.

d. User C is unable to attach to an internal share resource of \\10.1.1.1\Budget, although he can print to all network printers, and he can reach the Internet.

3. What troubleshooting step should you perform after a problem has been reported and clearly defined?

a. Propose an hypothesis

b. Collect information

c. Eliminate potential causes

d. Examine collected information

4. What are the two primary goals of troubleshooters as they are collecting information?

a. Eliminate potential causes from consideration

b. Identify indicators pointing to the underlying cause of the problem

c. Propose an hypothesis about what is most likely causing the problem

d. Find evidence that can be used to eliminate potential causes

5. When performing the “eliminate potential causes” troubleshooting step, which caution should the troubleshooter be aware of?

a. The danger of drawing an invalid conclusion from the observed data

b. The danger of troubleshooting a network component over which the troubleshooter does not have authority

c. The danger of causing disruptions in workflow by implementing the proposed solution

d. The danger of creating a new problem by implementing the proposed solution

6. A troubleshooter is hypothesizing a cause for an urgent problem, and her hypothesis involves a network device that she is not authorized to configure. The person who is

authorized to configure the network device is unavailable. What should the troubleshooter do?

a. Wait for authorized personnel to address the issue.

b. Attempt to find a temporary workaround for the issue.

c. Override corporate policy, based on the urgency, and configure the network device independently because authorized personnel are not currently available.

d. Instruct the user to report the problem to the proper department that is authorized to resolve the issue.

7. Experienced troubleshooters with in-depth comprehension of a particular network might skip the examine information and eliminate potential causes steps in a structured troubleshooting model, instead relying on their own insight to determine the most likely cause of a problem. This illustrates what approach to network troubleshooting?

a. Ad hoc

b. Shoot from the hip

c. Crystal ball

d. Independent path

8. Which of the following troubleshooting models requires access to a specific application?

a. Bottom-up

b. Divide-and-conquer

c. Comparing configurations

d. Top-down

9. Based on your analysis of a problem report and the data collected, you want to use a troubleshooting model that can quickly eliminate multiple layers of the OSI model as potential sources of the reported problem. Which of the following troubleshooting methods would be most appropriate?

a. Following the traffic path

b. Bottom-up

c. Divide-and-conquer

d. Component swapping

10. Which of the following are considered network maintenance tasks? (Choose the three best answers.)

a. Troubleshooting problem reports

b. Attending training on emerging network technologies

c. Planning for network expansion

d. Hardware installation

11. Network maintenance tasks can be categorized into one of which two categories?

a. Recovery tasks

b. Interrupt-driven tasks

c. Structured tasks

d. Installation tasks

12. Which letter in the FCAPS acronym represents the maintenance area responsible for billing end users?

a. F

b. C

c. A

d. P

e. S

13. The lists of tasks required to maintain a network can vary widely, depending on the goals and characteristics of that network. However, some network maintenance tasks are common to most networks. Which of the following would be considered a common task that should be present in any network maintenance model?

a. Performing database synchronization for a network’s Microsoft Active Directory

b. Making sure that digital certificates used for PKI are renewed in advance of their expiration

c. Using Cisco Prime to dynamically discover network device changes

d. Performing scheduled backups

14. Which of the following statements is true about scheduled maintenance?

a. Scheduled maintenance helps ensure that important maintenance tasks are not overlooked.

b. Scheduled maintenance is not recommended for larger networks, because of the diversity of maintenance needs.

c. Maintenance tasks should only be performed based on a scheduled maintenance schedule, to reduce unexpected workflow interruptions.

d. Scheduled maintenance is more of a reactive approach to network maintenance, as opposed to a proactive approach.

15. Which of the following questions are appropriate when defining your change management policies?

a. What version of operating system is currently running on the device to be upgraded?

b. What is the return on investment (ROI) of an upgrade?

c. What measureable criteria determine the success or failure of a network change?

d. Who is responsible for authorizing various types of network changes?

16. Which three of the following components would you expect to find in a set of network documentation?

a. Logical topology diagram

b. Listing of interconnections

c. Copy of IOS image

d. IP address assignments

17. What is the ideal relationship between network maintenance and troubleshooting?

a. Networking maintenance and troubleshooting efforts should be isolated from one another.

b. Networking maintenance and troubleshooting efforts should complement one another.

c. Networking maintenance and troubleshooting efforts should be conducted by different personnel.

d. Networking maintenance is a subset of network troubleshooting.

18. Which three of the following suggestions can best help troubleshooters keep in mind the need to document their steps?

a. Require documentation

b. Keep documentation in a hidden folder

c. Schedule documentation checks

d. Automate documentation

19. Which three troubleshooting phases require clear communication with end users?

a. Problem report

b. Information collection

c. Hypothesis verification

d. Problem resolution

20. What are two elements of a change management system?

a. Determine when changes can be made

b. Determine potential causes for the problem requiring the change

c. Determine who can authorize a change

d. Determine what change should be made