Introduction to network troubleshooting

This article is an introduction to basic network troubleshooting concepts.Table of Contents

• Introduction to network troubleshooting
  • Troubleshooting network connectivity
  • Troubleshooting DNS

Introduction to network troubleshooting

Consider that when you attempt to access a website, the pages either load slowly or not at all. When this occurs, locating the issue is helpful (albeit perhaps a little challenging). For instance, is there a problem with the web server? or the network link that runs from your PC to the server? or even your computer itself, perhaps?

You can perform some basic network troubleshooting using a variety of tools to assist in answering these concerns. You can use the command line to operate some of these tools. As an alternative, a lot of websites offer browser-based online versions of these products.

Troubleshooting network connectivity

Sometimes you just want to know if your computer can reach a remote host. To test basic network connectivity, you can use the ping tool. Ping enables you to quickly determine if a remote host is available. For this reason, it is often the first thing administrators do when troubleshooting network issues. The ping program works by sending a special type of packet to the host and then waiting for a response back. If a response is received, then basic network connectivity exists between the remote host and the local computer.

The traceroute (or tracert on Microsoft Windows) tool enables you to view the complete route network packets take from your computer to a remote host. Whereas ping simply tells you if a remote host is active and responding to ping requests, traceroute provides much more detail about the actual route packets follow from one host to another. For example, traceroute can help you determine if (and where) there is a bottleneck in the network connection between your computer and a remote host.

For more information about how to troubleshoot network connectivity issues and how to use these tools, please see this article.

Troubleshooting DNS

For troubleshooting DNS (domain name server) issues, you can use tools like dig and nslookup, which enable you to do detailed DNS lookups for a given host. For example, you can quickly determine the IP address associated with a given domain name, or confirm a domain’s mail server settings.

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