How to Troubleshooting Network Problems?

As you may not know, you don't need to be a network engineer to perform basic network troubleshooting. After working as a network engineering for many years, I realized how many problems a normal user could handle without having to call the helpdesk or open a ticket.

To back up my claim, here are some simple step-by-step steps you can take to determine if the problem you're having is due to your laptop, network, or the application you're trying to access. With this information, you can easily discover what you need to do and save time and frustration.

What Happens?

First, we need to define the problem. Ideally, you want your help desk service to give your friends the most accurate information possible. It is not enough to say that the Internet is broken or that it cannot connect to the network.

"Can you access major websites like google.com and cnn.com by opening your browser?"

• ·         If you can't, read on.
• ·      If you can, but you're having trouble accessing a particular app or website, you can open a ticket and see if the help desk can solve it. In most cases, the user has no control over a part of the network or is related to the application itself.

Are You Connected?

You should check if your Ethernet or WiFi interface is connected to your network. In Windows, the icon representing the Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection is in the lower right corner of the desktop, but in Mac it is in the upper right bar.

If not, check with your support team that your wireless network is active. You can also ask other users in the same location if they can connect to your network. If possible, restart your workstation and try another test before contacting the help desk.

Console Open

Then open a command prompt and run some diagnostic commands. If you are using Windows, type cmd in the search bar (Windows 10) next to the Start menu icon or the Start menu (Windows 7 and earlier versions). If you are using a Mac Os X, click on the magnifying glass icon in the upper right corner and type "terminal" in the search bar, which you can access.

Do You Have an IP Address?

Your computer needs an IP address to communicate with other computers. The IP address also uniquely identifies a workstation within the network. This step requires that you have obtained an IP address from your DHCP server. The DHCP server is responsible for dynamically assigning IP addresses to clients.

To find the IP address of your system, type the following command at the command prompt:

Windows: ipconfig / all

Mac OS X: ifconfig

If the IP address starts with 169.254, it has been automatically configured by the operating system. That is, the communication between the workstation and the DHCP server is lost. If it's a problem, tell the support team that you can't get a DHCP address.

Can You Ping The Default Gateway?

The default gateway host is responsible for sending packets to external networks, including the Internet. In this step, you first get the IP address of the default gateway, and then a PING command to make sure the workstation is accessible.

To get the IP address of the gateway, type the following command and press Enter.

Windows: ipconfig / all | Search "Default Gateway"

Mac OS X: netstat -rn | grep default

This command returns an IP address.

Then use the ping command to see if the gateway is accessible and replace it with the IP address obtained with the previous command.

Windows: ping

Mac OS X: ping -c 4